The Start of Class...I thought I was done with homework!

Elsbeth writing...

Hello everyone! Here's just a brief update on the last few days. Updates will probably be sporadic this month since this class is supposed to be intense. Besides that we probably won't have much to talk about since apparently our lives will be consumed by school and homework. I doubt we'll have much time for sightseeing on the weekends--only after the course is finished.

Anyway, Ellyn is updating you on all we did Friday. I'll give you a brief update on last weekend and this week so far. On Saturday we had dinner with our class, which went well. It was at the Barbeque Garden where we had a real Vietnamese dinner. It was...different, but good. Part of the dinner included cooking our food on the burners in the middle of our tables. We cooked things like beef wrapped around pineapple, ocher (sp? what they use to make gumbo out of), and prawn. We also had rice dishes, crab rolls, fruit, and vegetables. All the food came out in these little appetizer-like courses. Of course, that night we met our fellow classmates who are all very nice. It's a fairly even distribution of men and women in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s and from English-speaking countries like England, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the U.S. Many of them are also staying at our hotel or nearby so we've been walking to and from school with them.

We definitely felt the Monsoon rains that evening when it started pouring like mad. The restaurant is completely out in the open (thus, "Barbeque Garden"). So to protect us from the rain the waiters grabbed long bamboo poles and pulled tarps overhead to cover us. It didn't protect us from the rain completely though. I had huge drops from some hole in the tarp dripping right onto my plate. Luckily the rains generally only last an hour in the evening. This cools everything down as well. During the day the heat is almost unbearable.

On Sunday we had our orientation for four hours in the afternoon. We got a ton of papers to read as well as a complementary backpack, binder (both of which are broken), and a bottle of wine (I think we'll be needing that later on :-). So now, Ellyn and I are loaded down for cheap Vietnamese wine, since we bought a $2 bottle on Friday. We also got a tour of the building. There's lots to remember. I'm still a bit confused.

Yesterday was our first official day of class. It went well--not too stressful. We had to teach a short lesson/activity in the morning. Then we had two classes and time to plan our lessons. We were divided into three groups of six people and each group has a class of Vietnamese students to teach. Today, though, I stayed home because I was sick with a cold. It's just a common cold, but I didn't want it to get worse. Who knows where I got it from. There's all sorts of places to pick up some illness here. Knock on wood, it hasn't been the food yet.

That's about it for now. The rest of the week seems pretty much the same--eat, sleep, school.... If something interesting comes up all let you know. Until then, I hope all is well at home.

Teacher, Teacher!

Ellyn Writing....

So much to write so little time!  So I am already falling behind from what I had hoped to do on here.  It looks like it will be like this, however, because this class is extremely intensive.  Quick overview of how the last couple days. 

Friday we went to many sites and got more acclimated to the area where we are staying.  We went and found the US embassy which was closed because it was a holiday...apparently Fridays are holidays.  We also tried to get into a cathedral which was also closed for the day.  We went to Pizza Hut on Friday...yes folks we broke down after only a couple days!  I guess we needed some of that hearty American food.  It was actually quite the cultural experience to see how the western culture seeps into every nation.  The Pizza Hut was in a mall which seemed to be the hang out for all the rich teenagers. 

After Pizza Hut we moved on to the Central Post Office, and who would think a post office could be so intriguing?  It was a huge beautiful building where we took several pictures and bought some postcards....hopefully we can send some out soon!  We also went to the Independence Palace, also named the Reunification Palace where the North (Vietcong) came to at the end of the war to reunify the country in the the mid-70's.  

We got into the Palace for a dollar and then got a free hour tour!  I love the prices here!  The Palace was wonderful and helped me develop a bit of knowledge of Vietnamese history, which I need to continue to add to in the future.  After the palace we went back and had some pho which is just a noodle soup that is very famous here.  Women have a little cart where they make it and you sit on small stools on the side of the street and pay less than a dollar for a meal!  And sooo great!  I think I will be eating it a lot while here!  And I will probably miss it when i have to come home. 

Saturday and Sunday we pretty much stayed in except on Saturday night when we met the rest of our class for the first time during dinner and then a four hour orientation on Sunday.  Meeting the class was so great!  Meeting more people always help.  Now we have many more people to rely on in this country.  We have many different aged people in our group, the genders are quite balanced, and we have student from all over the world.  It is so interesting and exciting to meet people from all different backgrounds.  Orientation went ok, it was a bit of an eye opener in the intensity of the course.  I think we may forget we are in Vietnam while taking the class because we will either be at school or in our hotel room studying.  No time for anything else! 

The first couple days of class have been extremely exhausting, I have already given two lessons.  The first was not evaluated and all I had to do was a couple of get to know you activities with the students, which ended up being alright.  I also gave a lesson today on grammar and I'm sure if you asked anyone close to me, they would tell you that grammar is not my strong suit.  And indeed I did screw up on my lesson with a couple verb tenses, however this turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the lesson because a student yelled out "teacher, teacher I don't think that is right!"  I stood back from the board looked at it again and laughed and said "You know what you are right, I am wrong"  and we all laughed at the mistake.  It was actually a nice ice breaker.  I absolutely love the students we are working with, they are very receptive, energetic, and very helpful.  You really couldn't ask for anyone better to teach to as a beginner.

Today I also had the opportunity to interview one of the students in my class for an assignment.   I learned a lot more about her and the Vietnamese culture.   She also volunteered to give me Vietnamese lessons in exchange for English lessons which I think I need to follow up.  I really only know how to say hello, no, yes, and thank you.  She also invited me to go with her to visit her hometown, which is about a 4 hour drive south from Ho Chi Minh City.  She goes there every weekend like many of the other Vietnamese people living in Ho Chi Minh City.  I think this would be quite the experience so I hope that I am able to find time!

Every day that I am here I find myself delving in further into the life and the people.  As I become more orientated I see myself falling in love with this culture in the near future.  I continue to hold the idea, however, that one month in Ho Chi Minh City is enough for me if only due to the pollution.  I do love the culture, the food, and the people.  I have found that they have such a high respect for teachers in this country, therefore, we are treated extremely well.  Unlike in the US teachers in Vietnam are at the top of the totem pole, on top of doctors or lawyers.  When we walk to school in our dressy clothes and our backpacks we are never asked if we want to buy anything or if we want a ride, as we are no longer seen as tourist.  Many people will try to practice their English with us as we pass....I think we are becoming celebrities!  

Well...that's all folks!  I hope to attach my picture website very soon so stay posted!  Keep the comments coming!  Miss you all!

We're not in Minnesota anymore, Toto

Elsbeth writing...

Well, I am finally able to get on the internet with my computer, since it didn't work at the hotel we stayed at last night. I was so excited to be able to use my own computer, finally, after not being able to access the internet with my laptop in New Zealand a few months ago. This is a blog I typed this morning (if you’re looking at the time it was posted), but the internet went down so I'm finally posting it now.

So I am suddenly here in Vietnam after only one week of deciding to go to Vietnam (immediately after graduation) and three short months of planning all the other details. Actually, though, I've wanted to teach abroad since middle school, but perhaps I didn't think I'd find myself here this quickly.

Thus far all has gone as well as can be expected, as Ellyn mentioned. It was just a bit overwhelming at first. All the sights and sounds and smells. The pollution and heat and people. I'm not used to taking so much in at once. It made me realize that I am definitely a country girl in an enormous city. I like my space, fresh air, and peace and quiet. Ho Chi Minh is a very different city from any I've ever been to. Although you could say I'm a pretty seasoned traveler, I've really only traveled to countries with similar cultures as mine. Still, I've always been interested in Asian cultures so this is a novelty for me. And this city seems to be classically Asian. Everywhere there are old women carting around their goods in baskets on their bikes or on a stick loaded at each end and hoisted on their shoulders. There are small shrines to Buddha with incense in each family-owned shop. There are ancient pagodas, palm trees, and small alleys packed with shops, hotels and neon signs. All the shops here seem to be little holes in the wall, including our hotel. But there are also plenty of new things. Many Asians dress very fashionably, especially the younger ones. I almost want to throw out my whole wardrobe and start again. There are glossy new banks, business buildings and condos. Those who have cars have very nice ones and most of those who have motorbikes have sleek new ones. This city is a cross between first world and third world. All the worlds combine to make it both a fetid mess and a highly fashionable city.

I think we’ll get used to this. But one month in HCMC will suffice for both of us. Personally, I'll need to live in a quieter place surrounded by nature (but still close to all the amenities).

Well, those are my first impressions of the city. I felt much better yesterday when we found our school (about a 20 minute walk from our hotel). The school was very nice and new, plus the people seemed friendly. Afterwards we ate at a Vietnamese fast food restaurant called Lotteria. It was delicious. We had rice and chicken, but there were also raw vegetables on our plate and before I thought I had eaten some cucumbers. Then we realized there was also ice in our pop. Oops. Well, we haven’t gotten sick yet. Oh well, we’ll probably get sick at some point, we might as well get it over with. On the way back we found several Marts and bookstores on or near our route. I was so relieved. I was starting to miss Wal-mart and this is a similar version. We bought some breakfast food for our little red fridge from there. We also bought plastic children’s bowls, spoons and a cup to eat from. When we got back we finally moved into our hotel across the street where we’ll stay for the rest of the month. It felt good to get unpacked and settle in. Our room is tiny, but cozy. Plus there are more amenities then the other hotel, including cable TV with international channels (i.e. CNN, MTV, and HBO). Today we’re going to find a few more important places and maybe find the Water Puppet Show…just exploring in general. If we can dodge the traffic while we’re at it :-).

GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!!!!

Ellyn Writing.....

Here we are!  Set up our blog!  Which hopefully will be used enough to keep everyone updated.  We reached our final destination yesterday Aug 20 around 11:00 am (11:00 pm Aug 19 for all of you back home).  We reached our hotel in Ho Chi Minh City after about 30 hours of travel.  Our trip actually went pretty smoothly, only 1-2 hour layovers at every stop.  We found that having 2 people is very nice because we catch each other making mistakes.  Example of one of my big mistakes....I did not print out a copy of our visa that they emailed us...big oops! Luckily Elsbeth had printed out 2 copies.  The trip was long, we were able to get sleep on the 13 hour plane ride, so we had enough to get us by.  A girl from the company we are working with, about our age picked us up to bring us to our hotel.  

First Impressions of Vietnam....As we flew over the countryside of Vietnam we saw many rice fields as we would have expected.  As we touched down we saw old war planes, not something I would have expected to see right away.  The airport was actually very nice, we however feel very stupid because we do not know any Vietnamese and have to keep asking how to pronounce the most basic words.  It sounds so different from any other language I have come across in all of my travels.  Hopefully we able to learn enough to get by and look like we are trying.  I also need to read up on my Vietnamese history!  I know nothing, I will be doing that very soon!  Driving through the city we are stunned.  I do have the experience of Cairo to compare Ho Chi Minh City to, whereas Elsbeth really has seen nothing like it.  Like Cairo the streets are buzzing with traffic, unlike Cairo however there is an outstanding amount of motorbike travelers.  Everyone has a moped or a motorcycle.  Traffic laws are not followed and you wonder how people aren't in more accidents.  There is a constant honking noise going on.  I had been wanting to get a moped and drive it around to school and elsewhere....I don't think that will be happening any time soon.  The buildings here are pretty run down, the pollution is pretty hard to handle, everyone has big hats and some have masks (we asked the girl why that is and she says for the sun and pollution, we are ready to go get our masks for the pollution!), everyone is dressed pretty well so we were ready to be somewhere to clean up.

When we first arrived at our hotel we were told that we could not move in today because some of their guests were ill and were at the hospital.  We could, however, stay at her friends place, which happened to be across the street.  So we walk across our street and they bring us right up to our room.  As soon as the door is shut there is silence and after a while I ask Elsbeth "What the heck are we doing here?"  She answers "I don't know" So we start talking to remind ourselves what is is we are doing here besides...do we really want to do another 30 hour trip back home? :).  We also realize how much we appreciate being with each other as we both had wanted to do this on our own but find that we would be hurting if we were on our own.  

What are we doing here?

I will talk for myself.  I graduated from Concordia College in May with degrees in exercise science and psychology.  So why English and why Vietnam?  My junior year of college I went on a study abroad trip that changed my life.  I went to Malta a small country in the Mediteranean, and during this time had the opportunity to travel to other countries in the Meditteranean.  While in Malta the group of students I was with was able to volunteer in a refugee camp to teach English to some young adults.  Then when I traveled to Egypt during my spring break I met a couple who had just come from Korea after teaching for a year.  They were traveling for a year after only saving up while teaching for a year.  I knew that I loved teaching at the refugee center and that I loved to travel...I thought to myself "I can do that!"  So the research began...I know I wanted to take a class because I needed to know how to teach before I could teach, might be helpful! :)   So I found the Cambridge CELTA course.  CELTA stands for Certificate in English Teaching to Adults and is the most internationally accepted certificate, therefore if I want to teach anywhere else, I would be more likely to get a position (even the US).  So I decided it would be a good idea to take the class in a country where I would want to teach.  This way through the duration of the class, 1 month, I could get a taste of the country and city where I was taking the class and decide whether it was a good place for me.  Somehow in all the research Vietnam became a good option simply because of timing.  Vietnam also had a certain appeal to me because of our history in the country.  

Then the last question is how did I end up with Elsbeth?  This was quite accidental, Elsbeth and I had met freshmen year when we lived down the hall from each other.  We really only hung out a few times and then only ran into each other in passing in college.  One day, towards the end of senior year we ran into each other and decided we should get together and swap travel stories...after a couple coffees we found that we both wanted to travel and teach...so why not together?!  A lot safer and a less lonely!  So it all came together and here we are!  After a year of waiting I am back out traveling! 

So that is why I am here with Elsbeth.  After reconnecting to people back home with our internet and listening to music, and taking a shower I was reconnected and ready for more.  I think its the whole two steps forward and one step back ideas.  We went out to find a bank and some food.  Somehow we stubbled upon the main ILA Vietnam office on our way.  ILA Vietnam is the company that we are taking the CELTA course through and also the company that we may get a job through once we are done with the class.  After stubbling across the building we find an ATM and some AMAZING Vietnamese food...we also grabbed some ice cream....2 for a total of less than 50 cents!  I think we will be able to deal with these prices.  We were beat by about 7 pm and it was getting dark!  It gets dark at 7 here!  Which was to our advantage last night because we were out by 7:30 and woke by 5:30...we hope to get on schedule and stay up till 8 or 9 tonight.  Well sorry for the length of this post but I thought I would set everything up for future stories.  Please feel free to comment we love to hear from everyone!  Miss you and love you all back in the great state of Minnesota! :)