Letters to England

So.

It's been at least 7 months that I posted on here.

All for the 'keeping a blog' thing, eh?
I can only apologise. To all those who have been checking my blog, or interested in what is going on over here in Vietnam, I'm sorry.

The past seven months have been extremely busy.
My sister came and visited in May and my parents came and visited in July. I had an amazing time with all of them, and I'm so happy they came over to Vietnam to see the country I have been calling home this year. We visited some great places, including... Hanoi, Ninh Binh, Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Dalat, Ho Chi Minh City and they all came to Vinh. My parents and I met up with some of my Mum's Vietnamese ex-students, in both Hanoi and HCMC, which was so lovely! I'm really glad I was able to meet so many of them. I think my family all had a fantastic time and I know we all made some great memories.

School is well and truly into its new semester. I have nearly all new classes and love them all.
I'm teaching Grade 1 Maths and Science now and I think they are my favourite lessons to teach. It's nice to get a little creative with the lessons and see the children genuinely loving the subject and learning. My two year olds are adorable and I want to take them all home with me. Every lesson I have about 6 clinging onto me at once, hanging on to every limb they can reach.

A few other things that happened (in no particular order):

• I crashed my friend's motorbike and ended up with the biggest bruise I have ever had on my thigh, going across the width of it.
• An American girl called Jenn came as a summer intern for Summer School, who was so tall that she got more looks over here than I do.
• We have some new staff now at school, including a Scottish girl called Ruth to join our English Department.
• The weather reached about 40 degrees and stayed in the high 30s for a good 3 months, but is finally cooling down. (As of this week I can sleep without the AC on.)
• I saw my cousin get married in England over Skype. Technology is brilliant!
• Stef, Ian and I went to Hanoi for a few days in April. The sleeper train is definitely an experience I won't ever forget. Especially sleeping on the top bunk of 3!
• We had a one night staff trip to a beach resort, which was great fun. Beach volleyball, football and swimming in the sea with lots of friends was awesome!
• There was another 3 day trip for some of the staff at the end of July to celebrate the end of Summer School before the new school year started. We went to Nha Trang and Dalat and were able to chill for a bit.
• I got food poisoning :( I had to have a doctor and 2 nurses come to my room and had a drip, hung creatively from a hanger attached to a violin case handle! That is an experience I never want to have again!!!
• I got nominated to do the ice bucket challenge, which my children loved as they were able to pour the water over me.
• I bought a bicycle (sensible!!!)
• I celebrated International Women's Day for the first time in my life. I wore the traditional Vietnamese dress, the áo dài, and I felt like I was really a part of the school.
• I celebrated turning 26. Wow, I really am getting old.
• My Gran unfortunately passed away at the beginning of October. Years ago she asked me to sing for her at her funeral, and I never thought I'd have been able to do it. I didn't go home for her funeral, but I was able to record her favourite hymn to be played for her. My mum has uploaded it to YouTube if anybody would like to listen. 

• I'm really enjoying reading at the moment. I think that's worthy of a mention itself.
• I saw the biggest spider of my life in my room and screamed the place down. It was absolutely terrifying. A few days later, I stood barefoot on a massive, dead spider, but I'm not sure if it was the same one or not.
• The school celebrated Halloween in style yesterday. The whole school got involved to decorate each department, and English had to do the hall. I never realised I was so artistic haha! I've never celebrated Halloween like we did here, and it was a great party that I think I'll always remember.

This can only be a short update as I'm off to the cinema in a few minutes. The prices here for the cinema are outstanding. It costs £3 for the ticket, the popcorn and the drink. I'm never going to want to go again when I'm home.

Journeys are not only about places, they are also about people. And it may be the people, rather than the places, that we remember.

Lizzie x

AWOL!!

So.

I realise it has been well over a month since I last wrote a post for this blog, and I really have no excuse other than the fact I have been so busy.

I'm going to try and give you an update on what has happened since my last post on 26th January, but no doubt I will forget some things.

But to kick this off, I will tell you some of the highlights of my Tết trip, to Laos and Thailand.

• Thailand and Laos were both beautiful, but we spent most of the time travelling by bus. When we weren't in the bus we were in Shopping Malls (They don't have them in Vietnam) and as we were with some teachers from school, and on a guided tour, that consisted of visiting places that were not necessarily my first choice. We did however go to a Buddhist Statue Garden, saw a tiny street with Thai street food and went to a replica of Ho Chi Minh's house (in Thailand) haha!
• I also had a headache for the whole time in Thailand, which made me miss out on seeing what Thailand has to offer at night! At least it gives me a great excuse to go back one day and see what I missed.

The second part of the trip to Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City was really great!

• I visited Monkey Island where I attempted to get a selfie with a monkey.
• Got up close and personal with an elephant.
• I drove a jetski, which has got to be one of the most enjoyable things ever. Stef and I each had one, and liked it so much after the first ride we had to go again!
• I got sunburnt.
• Visited some bars that were full of foreigners in Nha Trang!
• Visited the most tranquil setting and shared a mud bath with my boss! It was fantastic and so relaxing (It's just a shame I had a hangover which made me sick in this beautiful, peaceful place haha)
• Travelled by cable car to a themepark on an island - Vinpearl - and went on an Alpine Coaster. You are in control of your speed as you race down the mountainside in your one person car!
• Ate some absolutely amazing seafood. It was that fresh, we chose what we wanted from the fishtanks!
• Visited a place called Dai Nam where there is a variety of things to see in this one place. We visited the zoo, the Golden Temple and the theme park! Stef, Greg (My boss' husband) and I went on a water ride that got us absolutely soaked, and then a rollercoaster that was so old and rickety it flung our heads from side to side, leaving me with a headache for the rest of the day. It was definitely no Disney- but an experience none the less.
• Stef, Sean and I visited the Backpacker's area of HCMC where we met up with a friend from Vinh. It was really odd, but lovely, to see so many foreigners. 

Riding a tuk tuk

View from the plane

As fresh as it comes

The best shrimp I've ever tried!

Nha Trang

Gorgeous beach on Monkey Island

What a cutie!

Look at that awful tour cap we had to wear!

Yes!!! Monkey selfie!

This speaks for itself how much fun I was having
- before I even started!

Going up, up, up!

Sunset in Nha Trang

Turtle!

One of the statues on a big Buddha
in the Golden Temple! Haha!

Dai Nam

After our Lunar New Year Celebrations, it was pretty much straight back to work, and has been ever since. I am teaching a lot more classes now, which I love, but it means that I have very little free time. I teach 5 out of the 7 Kindergarten classes, 2 out of the 5 Primary classes, and 3 Evening classes!

Here are a few highlights from the past month or so:

• Harley and Jerry (two of the people involved in getting me my job - and my principal's sons) came home for a little under a week and it was lovely to be able to spend time with them.
• A guy called John came over from America to introduce the school to 3D printing. He's a guy in his mid-fifties who has had the opportunity to visit so many interesting places in the world. It was really nice to be able to meet somebody new who was interested in so many things, but who was also pretty cool!
• I learnt a couple new games that you can play with pool balls! When money is involved though, I seem to lose every time!
• I've been teaching some of my children songs for our end of year show already, and they seem to LOVE them! I can't say what they are though yet--I will hopefully be able to post a video of them singing, so you'll have to wait and see.
• I travelled by night bus to Hanoi which took seven hours. I was in Hanoi for less than 12 hours in total, sorting out stuff with the British Embassy. So much hassle, but great to go back! night buses are seriously something else though! Haha!! I actually slept, but thank God for my iPod my Mum sent over with Jerry, as I wouldn't have coped with the man next to me snoring without it.
• I met back up with Jerry in Hanoi for about 45 minutes - very short, but sweet :)
• I received my first parcel from my parents!!! YAY!!! Full of lovely British things!
• I had my first cup of tea in 2 months! Definitely needed.
• The school celebrated International Women's Day with a cooking and karaoke competition. The whole school was put into 7 teams, and I was a judge along with the Principal, Vice Principal and Head of Security. I must be important :P It was great to see the whole school having fun, and some of the food was amazing!!!
• I went to a Vietnamese hospital for the first time, and spent about 3 hours running around seeing different people to sign forms and do tests for my Medical that is needed. Anybody who complains about the NHS needs to get over here! Then they will find something genuine to complain about. Oh - and they take blood from a really random place.

Night Bus!

My first package!!

YES!
Yorkshire Tea and Wotsits!

My first British cuppa! 

My favourite dish from the competition!

My favourite team! And the winning team!!!

Everyone is working hard!

Team One tried hard!

The winning team!!!

The Emergency Department!

BSA staff!

My poor face is hidden by Ms. Hanh's hand! Haha!!

And now, for the best, but most scariest highlight:

• My bedroom floor decided to break at midnight on 12th March. I was talking to my friend on the computer, when all of a sudden there was this hideous noise. I didn't know what it was, but it sounded as if it was raining next door, and something was trying to break through the wall. I got out of bed and moved towards the door. As I did, I could see the floor had risen up, and as I watched it cracked infront of my eyes. I went and woke Stef and Pat (A new member of staff) up because I was freaking out haha!! They came to see, and went and got Security. The Security guy came back, and took a chunk out of the floor with the hammer and then said it was fine. After he and Pat left, Stef and me were talking and heard all the creaking again. It was so freaky. Anyway, I went back to bed, as there was nowhere else I could go, and tried to go to sleep. At around 3am, I woke up to the same sounds and a massive breaking sound which, let's be honest, is seriously scary! I thought I was going to wake up on the ground floor haha!!! I managed to get back to sleep, and woke up in the morning to the whole floor raised up, and more cracks. I was moved to the next room in the afternoon, and maintenance were already sorting out the floor by lunchtime. I'm still not back in that room, but there is a new floor there now (even though it is a different colour). Scary stuff eh!!!!

The first set of creaking
and floor boards rising!

The first crack!

The morning after

All gone!

And on that note, I'm going to go!! 

When you stop and look around, your life is pretty amazing. 

Tết

So.

It's the Holiday Season!!!

I am about to celebrate my second New Year!! This time, Vietnamese New Year. I feel incredibly lucky that I get to see in two New Years in such a short space of time.

I've been in Vietnam for 3 weeks and have only been teaching for two weeks, and now I have nearly 2 weeks off.

Tomorrow morning (in 9 hours) I'm flying to Laos. We are going there for two days, and will also take a trip to Thailand. We're flying back to Vinh for two days (the last day and the first day of the years) and then we'll be off to Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh and Binh Duong. My carbon footprint is going to dramatically increase over the next few days.

When I come back from Laos I hope to write a longer update. The past few weeks have been busy but so great! After Tết however, I will be even busier as I have 3 more classes - an extra 8.5 hours a week - to teach!

I better get some sleep anyway! But here is a video from a Vietnamese TV news station where I appeared in the background a few times! I was invited to a Year End celebration from the People's Committee of Nghe An Province (so all the important people were there!) where speeches, food, drinks, dances and lots of hand shaking took place!

The invitation

Second row seats

Awesome food display

Life needs a little chaos to make it interesting.

Lizzie x

Here in Vinh!

So.

I am having an absolutely brilliant time. I love it here! I have met some great people, that I feel I am able to already call my friends. The children and staff at the school are lovely, and the city itself is pretty interesting.

I have been so busy that I haven't had much of an opportunity to write.

I will however try and let you in on what I've been doing in the 11 days I have been here.

My very first day at the school was really exciting!! The pool had it's opening ceremony. I am so happy I was here to join in the celebration. It was a really big deal as it has been a long time in ideas, planning and building. There were speeches, ribbon cutting and then races between students and teachers. All very exciting, and I was lucky to have front row seats (which also meant getting slightly wet).

All the children getting ready for the races

Cutting the ribbon

Teachers race

My first week at the school, last week, I observed Stef and Sean teach some lessons. Well, I watched them on Monday and Tuesday, while still trying to get to grips with how things work. On Wednesday I had time to plan for the two lessons I then taught on Thursday. They went so well, I honestly couldn't be happier. I taught a class of 9/10 year olds and a class of 5 year olds. Even though through training to become a teacher, and being a fully-fledged one in a school I had to get used to being observed, I was still a little nervous to be watched over here. I had 4 people sit in on my lessons, including the principal of the school, and in the pretty small classrooms, it's slightly intimidating. The observers were thrilled with my lessons though and the principal said, and I quote "If all teachers taught like you, especially on the first day, BSA would be a wonderful place". WHOOP!!!!

On Thursday night, I went to a German Beer place with Stef and Sean and met up with some other Expats. Ian, from Scotland. Alex, from Australia (Sydney, if I remember correctly). And Derek, also from Australia. Ian has lived here for 4 years now, and absolutely loves it. He came here at 21 for 6 months, and hasn't looked back.

SO big! I had to hold it with two hands!

On Friday I had a meeting and then had the day to myself. I decided I would take the next step and go into Vinh on my own. I went to the local mall type place, with a supermarket called "The Big C" in there, and spent over an hour looking round.
The thing to remember here though, is you can't do any shopping in peace. I'm like a celebrity. So many people stop and say "hi", and want to start a conversation with you. You then get the young girls who stop and look at you, run away, and then follow you around the stop. It's a very interesting experience, I must admit.

That was a small rundown of my first week at the school. I'm awful, because I didn't post anything and now I can't fully remember what I did, but I know it was all good fun!

On Saturday, the real fun began though.
Stef, Sean and I went out for lunch to a Japanese restaurant. The food was really good, and I tried something I'd never had before. It was a kind of pizza, but with egg for the base. Very interesting, but good.

Ian came and joined us part way through lunch, and afterwards, we all went and played crazy golf! Who'd have thought there would be a grazy golf course in Vinh! I'm so glad they have one though as it was so much fun!!! I was the only one to get a hole in one (YES!!!), but I still didn't win. Third's the one with the hairy chest and all that :)

Climb every mountain!

In brief, we then went for more food, drinks, hung out by the lake (which I still haven't seen in daylight) and then went to a gorgeous bar called Caligo. (Vinh isn't a very big city. I think it's about 5km from one end to the other, so you can see a lot of it in a short space of time. I haven't seen much of it yet, but from what I have seen it's really cool and got a nice buzz! It's also especially good to see it from a motorbike. I've never had so much fun travelling around a city! I'm starting to feel like a local and it's not even been two weeks!)

They had an open mic night, which I think happens every Saturday, or maybe even weekday. The people that played music and sang were brilliant. We were sat with the guy who started the night playing his soprano saxophone, and then he ended up playing the guitar, drums and also sang a song himself. Multi-talented eh!

A girl then got up to sing, and everyone said how good she was. I didn't realise how good she was though. She was amazing. She sang a couple of English songs, and a couple in Vietnamese and accompanied herself on the guitar. A truly, undiscovered talent!! (I have a video but it's not letting me upload for some reason.)

Playing the guitar, while holding a cigarette.

We stayed til close, and then Stef, Ian, the saxophonist, Ian's boss and I all went to get some street food to end the night. Saturday really was a good day.

On Sunday, we went and had a swim in the new pool which is just meters away from where I'm staying. It's fab having a pool on site!! I also had to plan my lessons on Sunday because the next day I officially started teaching.

My first week of teaching is nearly over, but I'll save the stories for another day. The children are brilliant though and I'm loving it. It's so nice to be back in the classroom.

Oh, and I forgot to mention. I am also BSA's new singing teacher =D

Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. 

Lizzie x