Being Grounded

I know I know I haven’t posted it two entire weeks. I can’t blame it on lack of Internet, rather on a busy schedule. In the past two weeks I gave individual oral exams to over 200 students, selected the best 110 to be in my 3 classes and then last week was my first week of teaching. Thus I will give everybody the highlights, but first a message to all my teachers and professors.

I never knew or truly appreciated how HARD it is to teach. The sheer amount of time it takes to make lesson plans, create PowerPoint presentations, appropriate homework, good handouts that won’t confuse students, and track down fun music, games or videos that advance the lesson and serve a purpose is daunting. What’s even more difficult then the planning is standing at the front of the room and taking that leap and hoping, praying even, that most of your students follow you. I am ashamed to say that I never really thanked most of my teachers. The outstanding ones in college I feel (or hope at least) that I stressed to them the role they played in my development. But for all the others: Ms. Daughtery and Ms. Wegman in Council Rock, Ms. Pettit and Mr. Tellex at French Road, and the many at Brighton High School thank you. Thank you for your selfless service and kindred spirits.

Now on to the show:

• TEACHING! – I loved it. It was so much fun, even that day when we didn’t have any power. I have a co-teacher in the classroom Co (meaning female teacher) Dung who recently returned from Australia with her Masters in English and she is an angel. We meet at the start of the week to review the lesson plan, activities, presentations, handouts and homework for that week and get synced up. In the classroom we were able to move in and out of each other rather seamlessly leading various parts of the lesson. Plus, if needed, she can translate grammar points and directions into Vietnamese. We will teach together for my entire placement. It looks like it will be a wonderful eight-and-a-half more months.

• My College Administration – These people are wonderful. Not only have they really integrated me into the college faculty but they are incredibly flexible. Last Friday (September 21) the US Consulate hosted a dinner for the Fulbrighters in HCMC and I didn’t think I would be able to attend, but when I told the college I was thinking of going they reworked my weekend schedule so I could go.  In total 7 ETAs and 4 researchers attended. It was so much fun to see everybody. We were screaming like schoolgirls when we saw each other, freaking out the locals every time. And for literally the entire day we were talking a mile a minute, using slang, dropping words, finishing each other’s sentences. It was great and felt so good to be with family again. My 24 hours in HCMC were exactly what my soul needed. 

The sign on the back of the bus seats on the bus to HCMC. It's a steep fare in Vietnam. I heard if you take the bus to Hanoi the bus company gets to keep your legs too. It's a hilarious mistranslation. What they mean is don't keep your feet up on the seat backs. But somebody translated it word for word. It's moments likes these that I love!

Rainbow from our hostel balcony.

There we are. The Fulbrighters and staff from the US Consulate in HCMC as well as our host and his wife.

• Bong the Dog – Bong (meaning flower) is the college’s dog whom they acquired to do some experiments on and since he lived they now keep him as the local pet. Bong has a gimpy leg so he totters around on 3 and he is the cutest dog in the world. He also doesn’t get much love, but being an American from the minute I saw him I scratched his head and ears and now whenever he sees me he wags his tail, hobbles over and we have a good long petting session. Seriously I love this animal and when I pet him I feel like I am petting my girls at home. The only difference is that my cats are only excited to see me for the length of time it takes them to realize that they are not getting food and then the optimism and shining love in those kitty eyes ebbs back into the usual spite and indifference. Beggars can’t be choosers so I take what I can get!

Like my cats he was an uncooperative model. First he was bashful.

Then he was over excited.

Now that's the shot! Gotta love this guy. He's a trooper and such a friendly dog.

• Badminton. Nearly every night the college staff plays 2 hours of badminton following the conclusion of classes and they have invited me to play. So far I have played about 4 or 5 times with them and I am quickly becoming a regular… a really sucky regular. Until I arrived in this country my experiences with this game were limited to lazy summer backyard BBQs and carried a gentile sophisticated air. Well this shuttle must have done something in its former life because it was being wailed across the court so fast I could barely see it. Everybody here (or at least those I play with) is really good. So good in fact that I am convinced there is Vietnamese genetic predisposition to this sport. One might imagine that being nearly two heads taller and longer then anyone around me would prove to be an advantage. WRONG! It’s more limbs to traipse across the court. These guys and gals are hitting superhero poses in the air and slamming this shuttle while I look like a tazed and confused Bambi learning to walk for the very first time and only using two of my four feet. Despite being constantly schooled I sometimes land good shots (entirely by luck) and it is tons of fun. Being with my colleagues and bonding over my clear lack of skill really makes me feel like I am slowly earning my stripes here and that is key to a successful placement, regardless of the humiliation.

• Knocked Down. Now for the downers. While I was in HCMC and leaving the dentist I was hit by a motorbike and knocked to the ground. It was a case of serious miscommunication. I was crossing doing the head swivel and thought I made eye contact with a biker because I looked at him and he nodded. So I kept my straight and steady path toward my cab and turned to look the other way for traffic in the other direction. Next thing I know I was making contact with a motorbike. I was knocked to the street and only had some scrapes and a nice bone bruise on my leg. Nothing was broken but I was sore the next day with a nice welt where I was clobbered. It reminds of those really hard skating falls where you boot-out and land directly on your hip. It hurts like crazy but you can still move it and for a week or so it complains but eventually it dies down. So far I have been able to walk, run, dance and play my regular inept badminton on it so I am not worried. What was kinda funny was that morning I got another interview at a medical school high on my list. So while I was somewhere near cloud nine Vietnam brought me back to earth, literally. Ouch! The lesson: you’re never safe on these roads…especially in HCMC and Hanoi.

• Tonal misfortunes continue. To make my class more comfortable I introduced myself in Vietnamese saying basic things like my name, where I was from, age, colleges, and where I lived. I worked on this for a week or so with my Vietnamese teacher before I broke it out in front of students. The first time I tried this I used English intonation on top of the Vietnamese language and hilarity ensued. I tried to say: "I am American. I come from the United States of America and I live in Cao Lanh". What I said was: "I am a noddle. I come from the land of the flat flower and I live in Feather Bridge". The joys of Vietnamese.

Have a good week readers and sorry again for the lack of weekly posts. Please forgive me?

Walking a Tightrope

This week started out tenuous at best. I began the week by Skyping with my parents. At the beginning of the call it was obvious that my wifi couldn’t support a Skype call so I tried to use my Ethernet connection and the cord wasn’t working and let’s just say I had a tine-tiny meltdown.  In that moment all I wanted was to see my parents and hear their voices, just a little comfort from home. After pulling myself back together my host and I found the college internet guru and it was fixed. I had a wonderful hour-and-a-half long call with my parents. At moments I was near tears and when we hung up I let out one huge sob. I am not sad here and feel rather blessed, but things are very different (more different then I predicted) and it’s hard being the only foreigner, frustrating to communicate and when most of the simple daily tasks are a struggle you begin to miss the rhythms and cultural simplicity of home.

After the call I felt bucked up and ready to tackle the week. Unlike my Monday morning the week went much better. This week I got my working schedule for September and my schedule for the entire placement. For this semester (next week through Tet Holiday) I will have 5 classes (2 for teachers, 3 for students) of 30 students taught Monday through Friday with 3 hours for each class (15 total teaching hours a week). I will have 1 hour of Vietnamese lessons on Monday and Thursday morning. Then on 3 Saturday mornings a month I have an English Speaking Club (ESC) in addition to 1 soft skills seminar and 1 movie night a month on Saturdays. I usually get Sundays off and 1 Sunday morning a month I have a picnic with some college staff in various locations around Dong Thap province so I can see the province. I also found out that at the end of this month 2 volunteers (either British or Australian) will arrive and teach the conversational English classes for the other two faculties at the college. More native English speakers! Yeah!

I also met my co-teacher who will be in the classroom with me and help me translate, make photocopies and run the classes. She just returned to Vietnam from Australia where she completed her Masters degree in English at La Trobe University about an hour outside of Melbourne. To quote Disney it is a small world after all! Next week her and I will be giving the oral entrance examination for my classes.

This weekend was rather interesting as well. To start on Friday I talked with Michelle, one of the other ETAs and we shared our stories, both the good and the bad. We laughed and reconnected. It felt really good to talk with one of the Fulbright Family again. On Saturday I went to my host’s housewarming party. He just finished building a beautiful three-story home for him, his wife and daughter, his mother-in-law, brother and nephew. The party was massive; I counted close to 100 chairs. They served a 7-course meal. I skipped the snail course but I did try pig stomach. It tasted like what I imagined stomach to taste like and it was rather chewy and leathery. Not my favorite but at least I gave it a try. Later that night I Skyped with Koua and Trevor, two of the other ETAs and we talked about our issues, made jokes, reminisced and had many good laughs. It was just what I needed.

Today (Sunday) I spent the morning Skyping with my parents…no tears this time! Then I met Qyunh and we went to the local pagoda. I thought it would be a quiet kinda day to take some photos. NOPE! There was a huge festival for children to celebrate and honor their parents. After parking my bike I entered a sea of shoulder high and traditionally dressed Vietnamese. I got more then a few looks. I took pictures of the pagoda (Buddhist) and then we went inside. Everybody was so nice they were smiling and bowing. Qyunh and I stayed near the edge and then we came to the part of the ceremony where group participation is involved…and I was roped in. I was given a very colorful box, which I carried on top of my head and we all marched in a line around the pagoda. People thought this was hilarious and it was. A 6’ tall, white boy with a camera around his neck, Fulbright bag around one arm and camera bag around the other with a box on his head...smiling and nodding. Such a tourist. I would've paid to see myself do that walk again. After finishing the walk and kneeling in the middle of the pagoda the community had a feast. Not surprisingly an elderly women took Qyunh and me under her arm and invited us to the feast! I understood nothing that was said but the food was good and everybody was smiling.  After parting from the celebration Qyunh took me to a pastry shop that has awesome creampuffs and we got some sweets and had them by the lake.

The pagoda gates.

The main prayer space inside the pagoda. Also the end point for the head box procession thing.

The main section of the pagoda.

One of the smaller structures.

Really great roof carvings and detail work. Plus pretty clouds.

More of the pagoda.

One of the flowers in the fishpond.

Later that day I went back to the lake to meet another friend and we talked for 2 hours and just sat and watched the world pass us by. On my way out to get back home I said hello to a group of ladies sitting by the library and one of them asked me my name. This made me stop in my tracks. Most people say hello and I say hello back, wave and then they say goodbye. So the fact that there was a follow up question was enough to make me stop. I got to talking with her. As it turns out her husband is Scottish (so I’m not the only foreigner around here) and she served as the interpreter between her friends and me. They bought me orange juice and gave me 2 loaves of bread (it was French baguette with honey and sesame seeds) and I answered her friend’s questions. It was during this conversation that I discovered a new way to communicate. The iPod Touch! Since I lack the Vietnamese to describe my home, family and life in the US I wiped out my iPod and showed them pictures of my life and travels. It was great and one of the ladies has a cat! So we bonded in broken English and Vietnamese about our kitties, our love for them and their general disdain and contempt for us.

It’s in these moments when I realize that walking the tightrope is so worth it. Those moments when I want to give up, when I miss the ease and familiarity of home and when the lump develops in my throat are some of my lowest. What counters those lonely moments are the highs that are just stratospheric. Meeting new people, taking part in local customs even if slightly lost in translation, being welcomed into homes and families and sharing the events and people of my life is what Fulbright was set out to do...and (dare I write it) what it seems I am doing! I hope I can make these connections with my students in a weeks' time. Fingers crossed!

One more thing. I found out perhaps a week ago that I have an interview with a medical school!!!!!! Yippie! I have pushed it off to around February when I can be home to attend the interview. Let's hope more come rollin on in.

Have a great week readers. Take some time to really connect with somebody this week…with or without an iPod touch!

NOTE: The author has received nothing from Apple for the product placement in this blog post. If Apple would like to contribute to the Tyler Fleming Medical School Fund it would be greatly appreciated!

A Positive Point of Contact

Welcome to Cao Lanh! I arrived in the Mekong Delta on Thursday afternoon and since then it has been a whirlwind. I was picked up at the airport by Anh (Anh = Mr.) Hung, who is my host and serves as the liaison between the Dong Thap Community College (DTCC) and the Fulbright Program at the US Embassy in Hanoi. Accompanying Anh Hung was the college's driver and his daughter, Qyunh who will re-enter this story in a moment. The drive from HCMC to Cao Lanh was roughly 3 hours through flat jungle countryside. Upon arriving in Cao Lanh and DTCC I was shown to my apartment, which was well appointed. Some pictures are below:

2 beds for 1 person? As you can see the other bed is my huge nightstand and perhaps it will become a sofa in the future. You can see behind the bed my "closet" and the wonderful AC.

My dresser and desk. I have wifi and wired internet.

My living room, with cable TV (including HBO, Starz movies, ESPN, CNN, MSNBC, Cartoon Network and Starz Worlds), living room, tea set and fridge.

My bike to get around Cao Lanh and Dong Thap.

My kitchen corner. It's separated from my bedroom and living room by a glass door. I am cleaning my veggies and fruit I bought at the market.

The bathroom. Not spectacular but functional. The hot water heater is wonderful. Currently the ceiling has a drip, but my host said it would be fixed quickly.

Here are some pictures from DTCC. It sits on 2 hectors (they are currently building expansions on an additional 7 hectors). DTCC has roughly 4,000 students; about half of those are part-time students. Some pictures of the college are below.

The gates of DTCC.

The main square. The building I live in is on the right.

This is one of the main teaching halls at DTCC.

On Thursday after checking in Anh Hung took me to a local cafe where I ate fried baby fish and washed it down with Saigon Beer. The next day I had my official introduction to DTCC. I started the morning by meeting the Board of Rectors and the Rector and Vice-Rector. After initial introductions there was a meeting with the heads of the faculties and the English teachers and we did a SWOT analysis of the ETA program at DTCC. This was done in Vietnamese but Anh. Hung and Anh. Nam (the head of Foreign Languages) translated key points. I might have my teaching schedule tomorrow I hope. Following the meeting Anh Hung took me around to meet the college staff. I managed to mispronounce everybody's name and we all had a good laugh. I had to start a list so I could remember key people. Following introductions I registered with the local police and then I had dinner with the Board of Rectors and a wonderful restaurant and the food kept on coming and coming. The food was good but it was a lot.

On Saturday I spent most of day at Anh Hung's house. We started the day over fried eggs and baguettes. Over brunch I met Anh Lam, he teaches English at Dong Thap Medical College, we exchanged contact info (like Qyunh he will re-enter the story). After brunch I went to Anh Hung's house and his wife cooked duck (it was great) and I met his daughter, nephew and his mother-in-law. It was a privilege to spend a day with them. I practiced my Vietnamese (and the English equivalents) food vocab with his mother-in-law and wife and spent time with the children reviewing colors. During orientation the Embassy's Public Affairs Officer told us to be positive points of contact in the communities. It was during that afternoon that I began to understand what he meant and began to see what the ambassador part of this Fulbright was.

On Sunday Anh Hung and Anh Nam took me to an eco-tourist park near Cao Lanh. It's a nesting sight for numerous large bird species. We started with a boat tour and then hiked up the observation tour. After the walking we took in lunch over the marsh. It was very relaxing and the food was very good, though the rice-wine was extremely strong... I sipped it.

Now that brings me to today (Monday). Since yesterday was a holiday I had today off. Being in a new place and not having a rhythm yet has left me missing home, my family, my friends and the comforts of being in a land and culture I know. When I walk through town people stop and stare. I know it's out of curiosity but being the only foreigner here is strange and at times awkward for me. So when I woke up this morning I wasn't sure how I would fill this day... but boy I did! I woke up early and ran around a nearby lake. Then at 8:30 Qyunh met me and we biked to the local market. FYI I did wear a helmet, which is strange in Vietnam. The law in Vietnam is that motorbikers must wear helmets, but cyclists don't... so I looked very strange. Qyunh showed me which stand to by my veggies and fruit at. Then we went back to my place. Since it was hot today we sat in my living room and talked. Qyunh is entering her junior year in high school and she wants to get a degree in law. She also wants to study in Australia...so we had much to talk about.

After she went home for lunch I strolled through Cao Lanh and took some photos. See below:

The lake I ran around this morning.

The local supermarket where you can buy a TV, blender, clothes, rice, oil, towels, yogurt, candy, pots or pans. Everything but food. I miss Wegmans so much. Danny open a store in Cao Lanh...please?!

This is only part of the market. There are sections for veggies, brooms, oils and garlic, eggs, fish, meats and fruits.

Lotus flower roundabout.

A flower near the lake.

More of the lake.

After taking pictures I stopped by the lake and bought some ice cream and water. The young women who served me is a student at Dong Thap University studying to become an English teacher. So we talked for about 2 hours and exchanged contact information. The lake was stunning. This will be my weekend spot. Me + book + shaded lawn chair + fruit and water = wonderful. The increasing presence of dark clouds forced me to come home and when I arrived I bumped into the two ladies who cook and do laundry for the college (i.e. they clean my apartment and will do my laundry). They don't speak English and I don't speak enough Vietnamese. I heard them ask me what did I buy. So I said I bought...and tried to say 3 mangos, then re-tried to say 3 mangos. After trying this many times I raced into my apartment and grabbed all my fruit. Then we went through each piece reviewing vocab and numbers and had a good laugh.

To finish the day I went to a local eatery, which has English menus, is super cheap, really good and next to a wine store (grape wines, not rice wines). This may be my new heaven. After supper I got a call from Anh Lam, the English teacher at the medical college, and he asked me to grab coffee with him. I said yes, and after getting him lost for 20 minutes because I couldn't pronounce the name of eatery or street (Anh Hung intervened) we grabbed coffee at a canal front cafe next to DTCC. We talked about teaching, college in America and Vietnam and just gabbed. It was so fun and I realized how many people I interacted with today. Perhaps I can do this thing. Not only did I get my mind off missing home, but by being present and open I made new friends and meaningfully interacted with 5 Vietnamese, made a new contact, found a new favorite hang-out and learned more about Vietnamese culture. I hope all my days can be so blessed.