Blogs from Quang Ngai , South Central Coast, Vietnam, Asia

English Club What a great group of students at Pham Van Dong! They are so eager to learn English that they come on Saturday morning to a hot classroom to enjoy speaking and reading English! It's a pleasure to see them -- they are so eager! Each Saturday morning we enjoyed reading VietNews, a newspaper out of Ho Chi Minh City full of articles about people, culture, sports, and all those topics that are interesting to young people. We did one of my favorite activities which is a team competition -- each team chooses an article, writes some questions about the article, and then they ask the questions about their article. The team gets a point for each good question and a point for each answer. First person to raise their hand gets to answer! The ... read more

Two weddings in Quang Ngai! What a special experience! In some ways different from US weddings but hey a wedding is a wedding isn't it? What happens first? The wedding reception/dinner is held in a catering hall -- some large restaurant that is like a ballroom or convention center with a huge hall -- the first wedding I attended held over a 1,000 people -- the hall was packed with friends and family! The 2nd was at Ocean Blue Convention Center in the middle of Quang Ngai City. What we would call the maids of honor and groomsmen line the red carpeted stair up to the entrance of the hall dressed in traditional dress to welcome the guests. There is a receiving line of the bride and groom and family as guests enter the hall. After ... read more

In the Son Tinh District Thien An Mountain (106m high) and the tomb of Uncle Huynh Thuc Khang is found on the left bank of Tra Khuc River. The famous Thien An Pagoda, built in 1695, stands in the Northeast. There is the legendary Great Bell, cast in 1845, which resounds with a reportedly light clear sound. It is said that thieves once removed the bell but many years later it was retrieved and reset. In the garden of the pagoda there is a Buddhist well, which also is legendary. The story I was told by the Monk who spoke with us was that a follower of Buddha came to this mountain a long time ago and settled, living as a recluse for 10 years. Later a group of followers came and because attracted to his ... read more

PDU's Faculty of Foreign Languages held its annual end-of-year party at Xu'a va Nay in Quang Ngai. What a feast! Lots of seafood, com ga, fish, crispy rice cakes, and beer! The main entertainment was karaoke! These teachers are true entertainers! They all have great voices and enjoy performing! A good time was had by all! Afterwards we went to a coffee shop next door for a cup of cappuccino to die for! Den du: Lien hoan Tai nien va Mung xuan moi At Mui Tai: Nha hang Xua va Nay duong Phan Boi Chau, TP, Quang Ngai... read more

Administrative Building Everyone at the university seems to know everyone else, at least in this faculty at Pham Van Dong University. The new campus opened only 2 years ago. The administrative building is an imposing solid structure that communicates strength and stability positioned at the entrance of the campus. Three new buildings house classes in Foreign Languages, IT and Business. Two other buildings are dormitories for students who board at the university. First Day in the Waiting Room, aka the Teachers Room. The Faculty for Foreign Languages holds many of its classes in the G building. Between classes, teachers can take a short tea break in the Waiting Room.here's always a pot of green tea waiting to refresh ourselves before the next session meets.There I had a chance to meet some of my co-teachers. The talented ... read more