28.08.11 - 05.09.11

Sunday the 28th of August

 

We had a relaxing day as the course starts tomorrow. In the morning we walked to our school just to see where it was. Ms Tu then told us of a "tourst park" about 10 minutes away. We walked there and had lunch on a little deck on the lake. The place is set up so that there are clusters of three huts per area and each have their own walkway over the lake onto it. They had the biggest lily pads I have ever seen!

While we were eating a toddler fell into the lake and about 7 men jumped in after it. The koi in the lake got a massive fright and all jumped out of the water.

After lunch we walked around the park (which is pretty big) and did not see any tourists. The area is exquisite. They have lovely gardens with local art, a swimming pool and tennis courts.

All in all, a stunning day.

 

Monday

 

Our first day on the course and very different to how we imagined it would be. We were expecting alot of young people keen to travel, but we are possibly the youngest people in the class. Not a bad thing. It was quite a long day and by the end of it Donovan was craving Eisbein (typical South African) so we took a taxi into district 1. The place was still extremely busy and even more beautiful at night. All the buildings are lit up and there are people walking around everywhere drinking iced coffee, shopping, meeting with friends. I found it quite romantic :)

There money system is crazy here. Our bill came up to 1.4 million VND. Not the cheapest meal we've had here but still cheaper than what we get back home!

 

Tuesday to Friday

 

It's been a really busy week with loads of homework. We were hoping to go to the the Mekong Delta this weekend but decided against it as we have a lot of work to do and are all pretty tired after concentrating all day (a big change from the last month at home.)

The course has been really interesting so far. There are a couple of people who don't speak English as a first language so they hold the class up a bit which gets a bit frustrating. One guy in particular is just awful. He says he's from America but thats like saying Im afrikaans. Impossible. We were put into pairs for our first 90 minute lesson next week, and we were all happy with who we got. None of us got the fake American. Yay.

 

On friday about 9 of us met up for a drink after class to celebrate being 1/4 of the way through. We ended up in a pub called O'Briens. An Irish pub owned by a French man with Indian decor inside. Brilliant! The place was as diverse as the group of people we were with. Us "safa's", Canadians, an Irishman, an Englishma and, some Australians. The best part of the pub was you could play pool for free and whenever you finished a game, 2 Vietnamese woman would run up and re-set the table, then dissappear. Its crazy.

The night turned out to be a lot of fun and it was interesting getting to know everyone a bit better outside of the classroom.

 

Saturday

 

Woke up to beautiful weather and decided the best way to unwind after such a long week was to visit the local swimming pool at the tourist area. We met up with some friends from class and had a beer on the lake then went or a lovely swim. The water was so inviting that even Duncan got in! We then had lunch, obeyed the 20 minute eating rule all of our moms taught us, then went back into the pool untill late afternoon.

The 6 of us then decided to explore the infamous "back-packers" district we had heard so much about. It was really dissapointing. A lot of very messed up looking Europeans roaming around and some women looking for business. Definitely not my favourite part of this city so far.

 

Sunday

 

Duncan and I went out for coffee and managed to order everything in Vietnamese, including the bill. We were quite chuffed with ourselves. The rest of the day was spent catching up on homework. Spoke to Amy and grn, and Duncan spoke to his family too. We were both really happy to hear from home!!

 

Monday the 5th of September

 

We had our first one to one teaching today. We spent the morning preparing and then went to a high school n the afternoon. It was slightly nerve racking. I seemed to hit a luck with my student as she spoke English pretty well. The hour passed by quickly. Duncan's student didn't speak English too well but Duncan taught him quite a bit. At the end of the lesson he told Duncan he couldnt wait to see him tomorrow. Sweet!

And the fake American has left the course.

Not a bad Monday.