6 May 2010

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Son and Co had invited me to meet up with them but after a leisurely breakfast I’m running out of time as today I’m off to the Independence Palace. After my visit I’m making my way back to my guesthouse through the park, intending to get changed and return to join the aerobics session. I get approached by a couple of students who want to practice English and they have such hopeful expressions that I agree. They only turn out to be Son’s friends!

One of the students has noted phrases from American films that do not make sense in terms of grammar and as I explain the phrases and move on to pronunciation, more students gather to listen and I soon have an audience of more than a dozen. Students filter in and out and eventually a rather lively gentleman joins us, smelling suspiciously of beer. He is very entertaining and has us all in stitches. He sings Gangster's Paradise and is later preparing his voice to sing something special but then forgets what he was doing.

Later on, I watch some of the ballroom dancing. Eventually it's time to get something to eat but seating is limited at my favourite cafe so I join Anne, who is teaching English in Saigon and we spend some time chatting.

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