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Published: February 20th 2009
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Nha Trang
A shot of the city from the top of one of the "mountains" that line the coast of Vietnam. I have not been as diligent at publishing lately. I think because I've settled into the routine and rhythm of Nha Trang. When I took my Intro to ESL course at NorQuest, one of the instructors talked about stages of
"culture shock". I remember him talking about how one of the stages was an embracing of the culture accompanied by rejection of the traveller's home culture. I won't say that I have rejected our culture at home - I sure miss the conveniences and ease of many things at home, but most of all I miss the people. But I can say that I've fallen into an easy acceptance of the pace of life and the routine here. That's not to say that it's a "Hey, man - don't worry - be happy" kind of pace, it's more of a "Well there isn't too much else to do but hang out at the beach or have dinner with friends" pace. And that is pretty much what day to day life as a volunteer at Crazy Kim's is like. Generally, I get up early - around 6:00 am - mainly because of the sounds of the town which you can't help but
Loi
My little sweetheart Loi. She is a handful, but totally loveable. First to give me a hug and always hanging back to help me clean up the pencil crayons. hear. Honking mopeds, a jackhammer operator who likely wants to get started before the heat of the day, dogs barking, dishes clanging as the neighbors prepare breakfast for the 15 people that seem to eat outside their shop every morning and the sounds of kids getting ready for school which starts at 7:00 am.
Sometimes I'll spend time in the morning preparing for my group of students or do a few errands or just have a leisurely breakfast with my housemate Gloria. At around 9:00 I head to the classrooms where there will always be some students who have shown up early so that they can spend some 1-1 time with any of the volunteers who also show up early for class.
As we did have 5 volunteers for the last 2 weeks, we generally switched groups or took turns working with the 3 groups of students in the morning. I work with the little guys every second day as they take the most work to prepare for. My good friend and neighbor at home, Marg, sure deserves a pat on the back for all her great advice on how to keep the kids entertained. “What time is
My kid's class
We've had a few more arrivals since this shot. Here we are making Valentine's Day cards for moms. Lucky me also received a card from each of them! it Mr. Wolf?” was a real hit when we were learning to tell time!
After working with the kids, we are free to join them for lunch in the bar. It is usually so hot by then that I really haven’t had much of an appetite for lunch. Generally, in the afternoon we head down to the beach to spend the afternoon lounging, reading, playing Suduko or chatting. A nice Mohito, ice-cream or order of spring rolls usually round out our perfect afternoon.
I haven’t been completely lazy. One day we did pedal bikes from 9:00 -4:00 up and down the length of the city. Had a wonderful visit with a local family when we stopped to buy some bottled water and had a great lunch in a restaurant overlooking the ocean. A highlight of the day was a cruise in a rowboat for over an hour around the harbor where the local fishermen moor their boats and live.
One afternoon, three of us took a cooking class at a local restaurant. We learned to make deep fried spring rolls, spicey chicken and fish in a clay pot. All are very traditional Vietnames dishes and over a
Flo on the beach
Just to prove to you that I do know how to kick back and relax! bottle of chilled local wine, we sampled our afternoon’s efforts.
After our hectic afternoons (how will I ever get used to the pace at home again??), we have a shower and get ready to go to our evening class. The evening class runs from 5:30 - 7:00. Again, students will be waiting by 5:00 in case any of us comes early. They love to chat and practice speaking in English. This group loves to celebrate and this evening they presented me with a birthday gift and we all went out for dinner to one of their favorite spring roll place. Of course, a celebration is not a celebration until you’ve played games, so we played all kinds of weird, wacky and wonderful games for an hour and a half. We rode on the back of their mopeds to the restaurant and after dinner visited a local silk embroidery gallery. Finally made it “home” by 10:30. Usually though, we volunteers go out for supper after the 7:00 class. We do have a TV in our house and in the evening we channel surf and generally end up watching reruns of “Canada’s next top model”, “Discovery Channel”, “America’s best dog” or
Rowboat cruise in the harbor
Notice how the our "tour guide" rows the boat with her feet. a movie that is on HBO or Star Choice. One time we watched a Vietnamese soap opera, turn down the volume and added our own dialogue. Doesn’t take much to amuse us.
Anyway, that’s pretty much how the weeks have flown by. This weekend, my housemate Gloria and I are taking a bus to a town about 3 hours away called Dalat. It is in the highlands, so should be a little cooler than Nha Trang. Next weekend, some students have said they will take me on their motorbike just outside of town to a rice field so I can see how they grow and harvest rice. I’ll be leaving this beautiful place next week Saturday and taking a night bus to another coastal city called Hoi An.
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Debbie
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Gloria
Flo ... My name is Debbie ... and Gloria is my mom. She gave me the link for your blog. I love reading the details of your trip and seeing the pictures. My mother is somewhat "computer impaired" so I appreciate your sharing everything (don't tell her I said that). Looks like you guys are having a great time. Can't wait to read more. Thanks!!