I Almost Held it Together

I have been saying goodbye to classes all week and it has been tough but I have gotten through...mostly by occupying their time until the last second. But yeah, it hasn't been easy.

Tonight I was really nervous to say goodbye to one class. They were so much fun to teach and super sweet. Anyway, I said my goodbyes and they said theirs...I actually got sung to but I held it together....maybe teared up a slight bit but that was all. I new if I started crying, the water works would come.

On my way home, I decided to get some Banh Mi for dinner which is the same place that we get our bikes fixed. As I was waiting for my dinner, the Bike Man pulled up and checked out my bike. He communicated that the rain had made my bike rust and that I should come back tomorrow. He also clarified that I did not have to pay...which he has NEVER made us do. I said thank you, thinking that was the end of it but I was wrong...he proceeded to point to his wife, himself and then to me and say, "family. no money. family". I said thank you again and touched my heart to let him know that meant a lot and then I took my Banh Mi and hauled it home, not wanting to cry in front of him. On the way the tears started coming and I could hardly even finish the story as I told the girls.

We have been to this man on occasion but not a lot since bikes don't always need fixing but that apparently didn't matter. We are his family and I will always remember that. The funny thing is that I wrote my dad an email a few months ago, saying that this guy reminded me of him because he always goes beyond what I have asked him to do. If I go to him to get air in my tires, he not only airs them up but he oils my chain and fixes my pedals. I had already considered him a member of my family but it's amazing to know he thinks that too.

Less Than a Month and Counting

These past few weeks have been stressful to the max. Visas have never been more frustrating to get and the thought of leaving so soon has made nights restless. However, the Father knows how much I can take and when I feel like I am about to go over the edge, He brings me back, using the small things in life.

Last Saturday, I had one night class. One night class is usually a cause for celebration because it usually means you teach an early class and have the rest of the night free. This past Saturday though, I had a late class. However, despite the horrible timing, I was excited to go. This class is one of my highest and it’s refreshing to be able to talk at a normal pace with them. The lesson was on “jobs” which is not the most exciting lesson but they were worked hard and did all I asked of them. With forty five minutes left in class, as we were going to move on to one of our last activities, one of the students asked me an off topic question. My answer to that question sparked a follow-up question which lead to even more questions…mostly about my future husband and if I will marry a Vietnamese or American man. Forty five minutes turned into an hour…way past the end time of the class but no one seemed to mind. One student even commented that that night was his favorite so far. Sometimes I get down on myself about my teaching but I know it’s just the Enemy trying to break me because he knows I have made an impact. (I will get a picture of them soon)

After such a wonderful class, Lily and I met our friend Duy for coffee. His English is so stinking good and each time we hang out it has been a blast. He is definitely one of the people I will miss the most.

The next night, three of my students and their friends, took Lily and I to the beach where we ate sushi and played games. The girl who invited me out was a student that I had skipped over in class. Out of a class of students that hardly talked anyway, she was mute. I really didn’t know her speaking ability until the last night of class. It was that class too, that she came up to me and asked if she could make me dinner sometime. I was surprised but excited to know that she hadn’t felt passed over. She obviously felt like we made enough of a connection to invite me to dinner and I am glad she extended the offer because we got to spend quality time together, making fools of ourselves as we played games on the beach.

Something that I find so interesting about this culture is the times of the day that they go to the beach….before the sun comes up and when the sun goes down. It’s so weird to go to the beach on a perfectly sunny day and not see ANYONE there and if there are Vietnamese people there, they are under umbrellas, taking naps.

Cute little boy with toilet paper up his nose

I think they do this when they do their exercises...it helps them keep stable?

I don't even know how to explain this

The hills were so beautiful

Other things that have been great about the past few weeks….I got my visa extended! Nicky’s guy friends came into town! Our house cleaner gave us the sweetest gifts…one being a CD case that says, “Praise the L0rd Always,” and a shirt that says, “J*sus is L0rd”. I wish I knew more Vietnamese to be able to talk to her because she really is an amazing woman.

Fireworks, Ban Beo and Karaoke

What do you do with a four day holiday? Me? Oh, I just watch an international firework competition that is hosted in my city, have awesome spaghetti dinner with the girls and have a jam-packed Sunday full of food and karaoke.

For a few years now, Da Nang City has been hosting an International Fireworks Competition where countries come from all over the world to compete. This year, we got to enjoy shows from Italy, Korea, China, the UK and Vietnam.

So let me set the scene for you so you understand what we went through the first night. Imagine a sidewalk filled with people….and since you have an American mindset…times the number of people by two or three and then picture that in the streets as well. People here in Vietnam don’t really mind crossing over personal bubbles. In fact, one kid that was near us was using Lily for a backrest. Another kid’s head was in Nicky’s side and yet another guy had his leg pretty much overlapping mine. It was a mess and the greatest part of all was that we sat like this for nearly four hours!

Everyone told us we needed to get there early so we went down at five and claimed a spot. We played UNO and attracted a lot of unwanted attention but it passed the time. At around 7:30, Nicky and Lily volunteered to get us some food and when people saw a gap, they filled in. Our friend, Duy, and I had our legs spread out so we could save room for the girls but nothing worked. Had they gotten back five minutes after when they did, I am pretty sure they would not have found a spot.

There were a ton of police there controlling the masses and because of them, no one could stand up except for the people directly behind us. At one point I remember looking back to see a guy literally restraining people. We agreed at that point that the police could whistle all they wanted but we were going to stand up, in fear that we might be trampled when the fireworks started…which the finally did…at 9 o’clock.
The first night, we watched shows by the UK and Korea and because the masses started to leave, we figured the night was over, only to find out that Vietnam was still to go. We were able to see the tale end on our roof though.

The next night, the girls and I made spaghetti and had a nice dinner at home. Because we did not care to deal with the sweatiness of the crowd, we decided to watch the last two countries from our roof top and it was not a bad seat.

Even though the first night was complete chaos, it was an experience that I didn’t mind having... once.

Today was another on the move day. After church and lunch, I came home, took a quick nap to prepare myself for the rest of the day and headed out with a group of students to get some yogurt. While we were there, one of the girls handed me her pocket book that had translations of food words in it. As I looked through, I mentioned that I like ban beo which is a flour or rice patty with shrimp on top….maybe. Apparently my pointing was enough for them and we took off to get ban beo for dinner. I am a little bummed that I haven’t been to that restaurant until now because it was amazing! After two hours of hang out time with them, they took me home so I could go to karaoke with the Shine girls.

Carol, Jenny, Lona and Alex

I should have known that the Shine girls would not be there on time, since people here don’t usually come at the time they say they will, so we waited until 6:30 to leave. Now, at the beginning of the year, we had a really fun time at karaoke with our staff and their friends and up until now, no one has been able to beat that but after tonight, it will take a lot to top this night. We had SO much fun dancing around and being crazy. This night solidified the fact that the girls bonded during the program. I am so thankful I got to be a part of it and am so happy that they bonded with us as well! After our graduation, they obviously didn't want any of the relationships to end...hence a wild and crazy night at karaoke!

What a weekend! Thank goodness we have one more day to recoup!

This is only a sneak peek into what went down. By the way, "Dancing Queen" (not featured in this video) was a hit. It got everyone up and dancing...even the one random guy that showed up...I think he was a boyfriend of one of the girls...what a brave guy!