Ha Long Bae?

I’m not even sure how long it’s been since my last post. Time has been flying by here in Halong Bay.

I took a local shuttle from Hanoi, where no one at the company spoke English. It worked out though. As we made the approach to my drop off point, we drove along the water and the plethora of limestone islands gave an impressive vibe.

I was the last one to get out and I felt a small sense of relief when I realized I was indeed at the right place. I walked inside the building and took the elevator up to the 15th.

After knocking on the door, I was greeted by Hiểu, who is the 15 year old son of my host, Quynh. He let me into the small yet tidy apartment and we chatted for a while about soccer and his other interests.

The view from the apartments balcony is epic by the way. The weather has mostly been overcast/rainy since I’ve been here but when it turns, the complete vista will be very epic.

Eventually, Quynh got home so we met and talked as she prepared dinner. It was a tasty meal of fish and rice, which we ate early because there were two English classes (that I was there to help teach) that startied soon.

Even though it was the first day I was there, I went to the classes for a short amount of time to introduce myself. The kids were excited for a foreign visitor and did their best to ask me questions and satisfy their curiosities.

That was a Thursday. On the way to get coffee on Saturday, Quynh said we were going to swing by the local English Center so I could have an interview with the director there. I didn’t really have any idea what this was about. After a very brief 15 minute meeting, of which I said maybe 5 sentences, I was signed up to teach additional English classes during the day in actual schools. It was a paying job which was unexpected, but also very quick. Baptism by fire. With no teaching certification and no experience commanding a classroom, I was set to have 4 classes per day between the center and the Workaway. Crazy. I taught two of the older classes by myself over the weekend in an effort to get up for the school gig.

Quynh took me on a special outing Sunday afternoon to see her home town and meet some of her family. Because we were still in the getting to know each other phase, and I was acclimating to the communication style, it was a unique experience. I came out of it wondering if it was an audition/initiation into the family that I was unaware of. Her brother had me repeat something he said in Vietnamese which I found out was “Do you want to be my son-in-law?” (because he was the patriarch of the family since the father passed away). We had dinner at one of her sisters’ houses where they gave me local whiskey and laughed at how little I ate. Finally, on the drive home, Quynh asked me if I wanted to be part of her big family. I said I could be an honorary member but she insisted I could only join by marriage. My heart paused beating before she said she was joking. But then mentioned she did have a lot of nieces.

Now, I think it was all an innocent thing. But before I knew her all that well, a decent part of me thought I was being courted.

Flash forward to Monday and I was thrown into the deep end by the English Center. I observed two public school kindergarten classes in the morning and was told I’d be teaching three of my own in the afternoon.

Let me reiterate my complete lack of teaching experience again. That combined with my…how should I say…slight aversion to young kids did not seem like it would produce a positive end result.

Also, my classes were all at Montessori schools which had syllabi. I had to create three lesson plans in two hours and make flashcards and such. I had no idea what I was doing. I had no concept of the games and songs the kids needed to stay entertained.

There was a last minute scramble to find everything I needed. In no way did that mean I was fully prepared though. I ended up running to the school to make it on time. When I got there, I was told there was a mistake and I was meant to go to a different class…for which I didn’t have the required materials. Even younger kids. Fucked.

It was a full blown disaster. Keeping the attention of a class that young for an hour is a near impossible feat. I have a new level of appreciation for pre-k and kindergarten teachers. I ran out of things to do after 20 minutes. I sweat through my button down shirt, and somehow my pants. It was a full blown disaster.

I can’t remember the last time I felt as uncomfortable and out of my element as I did that first day of “official” teaching. Thankfully there was a godsend of a TA in my 0-3yr old class that helped me along as best she could. But it was still rough.

My last class of the day went better but still miles below average. It was just 40 minutes. Still, I staggered over the finish line like an exhausted Iron Man competitor. Yikes.

Since that first day, things have gotten mildly better. I still don’t feel like I’m doing a good job, but I’m wearing an under shirt now so it’s harder to notice my sweatiness. And I’ve found a few different activities that help me stretch time. I‘ve also developed a good rapport with my night class students. They’re going well because it’s a chill and informal format.

The downside is I’ve had practically no free time to explore because I’m planning in the morning, teaching in the afternoon, eating dinner, and then teaching in the evening. And the grubby little buggers got me sick for the first time this trip.

I’m sure there will come a time when I settle into a rhythm and don’t have to take as much time to plan but it hasn’t happened yet.

The good news, is that my brother was here over the weekend. The weather left something to be desired, but we got to spend a day romping around Halong Bay and even won some money at the casino. Then we went to Hanoi and explored some sights and food. It was great to see a familiar face and pal around.

Before he arrived, he asked me about the bar scene and for once in my life I didn’t know how to respond. I’ve only had one real night out and it was down the block to a very local place where a friend of Quynh’s kept making me chug bia hoi (the fresh, unfiltered beer). She was hammered.

Maybe next post I’ll have more juiciness to report. For right now, it’s mostly flashcards and unruly toddlers with a light reprieve of conversations with Quynh/Hiểu and a visit from family. I’ll take it.