Hi Everyone, yep, we are still here and still finding something new to do everyday.
At the moment I am sitting waiting for the lights to go out because we're in the middle of a thunder storm, it is bucketing down. James is at work and will probably be riding home in it. We have seen on the English news the devastation caused by the typhoon up north from here. I can not feel anything but pain for those people because they live simply, to loose so much at nature's hand must be demoralizing for them.
But, on a brighter note..... What's new? Well. I have started teaching in Maple Bear, a new kindergarten at City Smart. The children are aged from 2 years to 5 years and really with no communicating English to speak of, unless you want to know their name or how old they are. So, imagine me with 8 kids, no common language, one child who isn't properly toilet trained and poos on the floor, another who has a fascination for my boobs and keeps touching them and an expectation that I am going to instill in these children a level of usable English. I am anxiously awaiting a DVD of the Wiggles from Australia. I figure if I sit them in front of the telly, at lease I will remain sane. Actually, I lie, they are a pure delight with the same child like innocence of children world wide. But I didn't lie about the kid who poos everywhere, they don't wear undies, just shorts and of course it falls out. But that is enough of that.
I am working 4 hours a day, Tues to Sun, in the kindergarten and with a few classes of older kids included. I have given a challenge to the oldest children I teach. I've said I will teach them English if they teach me Vietnamese. I can say "hello, my name is Diane" and that was with homework. James has changed schools and I think is a little happier with a more organized institute. We do have slightly different schedules with James working into the evenings a few days a week. But we have the afternoons on weekends and all day Monday plus a few hours in the middle of the day.
In our free time together we get out and about. We have discovered a great little cafe around the corner from school, they have western music playing through the day and live piano and violin at night. It is very relaxing and they meet my addiction for mango smoothies.
We have also made friends with a few Aussie girls who are a lot of fun. We have dinner or drinks together every now and then. They were here last week and after a few drinks (they discovered that I had a bottle of scotch) and at about midnight, James was out in the alley teaching one of them to ride the bike....now there is a scary thought...but they had helmets.
I have found the Viet equivalent of Bunnings Garden Centre and am helping the local economy. A lady who lives around the corner gave me the address and I took off on the back of a Honda om (motorbike taxi) without a helmet....risky stuff. Anyway we got their safely and although I wanted a normal taxi home, he insisted on waiting and even helped me with my plant selection. I spent the equivalent to $16 and had 4 big shopping bags of plants. My "driver" loaded them onto the bike, one on each handle bar, one perched on the top of the handle bars, one between his legs, and me (without helmet) on the back....what must it have looked like! Anyway, I've had my fix of playing with dirt and now have to wait until I have some more potting mix. With the scarcity of land here, I wonder what a bag of potting mix will cost.
Got our water rates for a month today. James said he was lucky he had the money in the house, they collect it at the door. It cost us 20,000 dong for the month.....that is $2. Reckon we might stay here forever if utilities are that cheap. Maybe not, I miss .... family and friends (thank God for Skype), carpet, my pillow, my dishwasher, guttering, a kitchen that is just a kitchen, not also doubling as laundry with bathroom on the side, only having to turn one key to get into the house ( 3 padlocks and a front door are really hard work when you are busting for the loo) We have found black shoe laces rarer than hens teeth here. James broke the ones in his dress shoes and it is virtually impossible to get replacements. The closest I've found is black hat elastic, that was better than white sneaker laces. Shoes are so cheap, they probably chuck them out when the laces break, but most people wear slip-on shoes.
I have just has four kids talking to me through the gate. They are out in the rain, soaked, but have visited us before. Their dialogue is always the same....what is your name? where are you from? I think that is all they have learnt so far.
I have made a few friends on my walk to and from school. Everyone seems to be out early in the morning. I leave our front door and head down the alley. Around the corner is the lady who has a little stall at her front door. Here, a pot boils away with I don't know what in it. She only nods, I guess she realizes there is no chance of selling me her wares. A little further up are a group of old gentlemen who sit on plastic folding chairs, not caring that they are in Woolies style mens pyjamas. They seem to stay in their jammies all day. They watch, obviously wondering who I am and where I'm going, but I never get a response to my hello. Then, on the corner is Lin. She is a lady probably around my age and lots of fun. She will see me coming and sing out "Hello Di" to which I dutifully reply "Hello Lin" then she says "where are you going" I say "to work at the school", she says "Oh" and that is it. Rehearsed every day. But she will wave, proud of her mastering of the English language. I've tried to teach her G'day but it is not a happening thing. Opposite her is a tarp spread on the ground with fresh fruit for sale, transported in big open weave baskets on the back of a bike. The sales lady sits against the wall, just waiting till someone buys something. Then I make my way past the tin shed that I think houses a family of about 5, past another boiling pot of something that I think should not be for human consumption and on to the wave from the security guy who sits under an umbrella watching the bikes belonging to the school staff. I'm there. Up the stairs and into the classroom that also doubles as the kindergarten. The kids are always excited when I get there and I must say, I'm happy to get there too.
The rain has stopped, and James will be home soon. Guess I should hang the washing under the ceiling fan and then unlock all those padlocks for him.
So, till next time.
Love Di and James
