Hi from Hanoi
Hi Everyone,
Sorry I haven’t written lately. I’ve been very busy and the compuyer at home has not been working. Had it looked at twice and it seems to be OK now.
I’m teaching a full load (24 hours per week) and it is very hectic. For those of you who are not teachers, let me explain that the 24 hours represents only the time that you are in class and for which I am paid. I’m getting $16 per hour here which is a handsome salary as the average in come in the country is less than $700 per year. But when I also include the time spent planning my lessons, the per hour rate drops considerably.
On Monday and Wednesday, I teach from 2:30 to 4:30 and from 7:30 to 9:30. Tuesday, Thursday and saturday, it’s 9:00 to 11:00 and 4:30 to 7:00. Saturday it’s 9:00 to 11:00 and 1:30 to 4:00. So the schedule is such that I teach six days a week and it is spaced out so that there is not quite enough time to do anything in between classes. Luckily, all the classes are at the school so I don’t have to travel all over town. These classes all end in January and I will get a new schedule. Hopefully a better one that will at least allow me to get out of town on weekends.
The weather has cooled down into the seventies. Feels great to me but the Vietnamese are complaining about the heat. Monday, every one of my students was wearing a jacket. Usually I catch a cab to work because if I walk, I get sweaty and feel clammy all day. But Monday was so nice I considered walking. For the Vietnamese, winter had set in!
Novenber 20th was National Teacher’s Day in Vietnam. It’s a big thing. Teachers are very well respected here much like Doctors used to be in the US. Teachers at the school got large bouquets of flowers, scarves, ties, appointment books, wall decorations, etc. It was quite impressive. My class of adults who work for Vietnam Customs, invited me to a restaurant in a village outside of town. The specialty of the village is snake but they assured me that the main course was pork. It was delightful. The restaurant was beautiful, a converted old house with lots of beautifully carved and polished wood. Very ornate. The meal lasted a couple of hours with different courses which seemed to appear at random without being requested. It was served family style and we ate with chopsticks (I’m getting pretty good). We drnk wine which was more like a strong after dinner liquor. They kept making toasts and i kept drinking. They presented flowers and we took pictures. After the meal, we moved to an outside balcony and had tea and fruit. I didn’t see anyone pay the bill but it was taken care of and then one of the students announced, “Mr. Tom, we go home now.” It was very nice and I appreciated it. As we left the restaurant, I noticed several large jars (probably 5 to 10 gallon jars) with dead snakes soaking in some sort of liquid. The snake on top was a cobra and its nech was flared and its mouth was open. This, I was told, is snake wine and the snakes soak for a year before the wine is finally prepared and served. I will try it before I leave. I will also try cat and dog meat, which my students assure me is delicious.
Went to a pavilion which was set up during APEC to display the history and culture of Vietnam. I went to see a concert of traditional music but unfortunately, it turned out to be modern music from many Asian countries. I was wearing sorts and carrying groceries I had just bought. As I was sitting there, a lady came up and asked if I would move down to the front where there were tables set up for VIPs. I declined because I wasn’t sure i wanted to stay and I wasn’t dressed properly. A short time later, a woman wih a TV crew came up and asked if I would answer two questions on TV. Again, I declined. It seems that the vietnames are very happy to have westerners here and want to show them on TV etc. People still say hello as I walk down the street.
OK, must run for now. More later.
Love to all,
Tom
higgiro39