Going alone to Tan Binh.

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This past Friday I went to Tan Binh alone, since the local volunteer who was scheduled to go with me was ill. I felt comfortable going on my own, since I know where to get off and knew that one of the Tan Binh staff members was going to assist me during class. Being a "Westerner" here will ALWAYS attract attention and often people will start a conversation, since they are very curious. I'm getting used to being tapped on the shoulder and hearing a "Excuse me, where are you from?". Even if peoples English is very poor they will still try to talk to you. Sometimes it is fun, since it is interesting to get to know new people, but sometimes it can be quite exhausting and even annoying. A lot of people have asked for my email-address and cellphone number and unless I know that I'll see them again or find the person very nice, I usually try to find some polite way out of it, since I don't feel comfortable giving out (personal) addresses and numbers to random people. Especially during bus rides I have noticed how curious Vietnamese people are. Even though some will be shy and almost scared when seeing a "Westerner" a lot of people will turn around at least once to "dare" taking a glance at us foreigners.
One time this older lady turned around when I got on the bus and didn't turn away the while ride and just kept on looking at me! If the starring does get too much I usually just put on my sunglasses, since they make me feel a little more "protected". 😊

Anyway, so the class on Friday went well and it was a lot of fun. We had a girl visiting the class, which was nice. Her English is pretty good, so I am hoping since she'll come back every Friday that at least some of the boys will become more ambitious and will want to study even harder... 😊

On the way back, I had to wait some time for the bus and it was funny what people did to not look overly curious, but still couldn't stop looking at me. This one guy across the street actually took his cellphone out to take pictures of me! Just imagine us doing that, if we see an Asian looking person. 😊

Being a "westerner" can have two effects: Either you are offered the only free seat left in the whole bus , instead of giving it to a old lady who is packed with many bags (their respect for older people is amazing!). Or people will try to hide that they are scared to sit close to you, by (obviously) chatting with their neighbor about you.
There is one kid at Ky Quang who starts crying and screaming whenever he sees one of us international volunteers! Some of the women there sometimes push him into the room we're in and laugh when he starts to cry.

So, over the last two months I've observed many different ways how people react towards foreigners and I still discover new things every day!

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