Hurricane Honey: Vietnam (3): Lunar New Year

Greetings from 'nam!!!

It's been a while since last I posted, as we've had a rather languid and calm few weeks here over the holidays.

Vietnamese New Year/ Lunar New Year/ Tết started at the beginning of February, so we weren't working or job-hunting at all for a few weeks, but we DID find a home - just as soon as the holidays ended and a bunch of listings suddenly went up, we quickly found a veritable gem. It's PERFECT. More about that later!

The Lunar New Year celebrations here are much like our Western Christmas and New Year December holidays rolled into one GIANT celebration. The whole country is on holiday, and people go home to visit their families, wherever they are. Also, many people bring their families to the coast for a beach holiday, so our little town has been FILLED with out-of-towners such that the roads were packed, eateries were packed, beaches were packed... Damn tourists! Hee hee.

Because of how busy it was outdoors, for the most part we didn't do very much over the holiday... reading, hanging out at the house with friends, catching up on shows, cooking yummy meals at home - which, let's face it, are all rather splendid ways to spend one's days!

There were certainly a few highlights, though - one of which was the actual first night of Lunar New Year. We, with what felt like literally every other person in the town that night, headed down to the seafront for the big fireworks display at midnight. Down by Front Beach, they'd decorated a park with so many fairy-lights and sparkly statues and sculptures that it looked like a magical wonderland for people to wander through in the evening. So we did! It was lovely!

After that, a big group of us expats gathered at a cheap 'n cheerful beer hall, had some drinks, then headed down to another park filled with statues near the waterfront. We sat there, on the grass, under the stars, chatting, drinking, socialising, surrounded by Vietnamese people of all ages - families with little kids, teenagers, elderly couples - who were all doing the same thing: waiting for the midnight fireworks. Which did NOT disappoint! We were treated to a full 18 minutes of the most beautiful, most glorious patterns and colours and lights in the night sky - just MAGICAL!

The other highlight was a day on which we went out hiking, also a rather large group of us. Everyone hopped onto their scooters and motorbikes, and drove together to a place about half an hour outside of town, called Minh Đạm. Once there, we walked through a quiet temple complex, up several hundred steps to a vantage point at the top of a mountain, from which we had the most incredible view of the whole area - miles and miles of coastline, mountains, greenery, rock formations, mountain streams... beautiful. On the way back down, we made some stops to crawl into caves and nooks, and little hidden spots - what a lovely way to spend a morning!

Driving home, we stopped for lunch towards the top of yet another mountain, at a rustic eating spot - low ceramic tables surrounded by plastic chairs, along the side of a rockpool with kids splashing about and chattering happily. We ate delicious barbecued chicken as we were serenaded by the off-key karaoke stylings of happy, beer-drinking locals - booming at us from giant speakers that had suddenly appeared, seemingly from out of nowhere! It would be fair to say that "soothing", it was not. Entertaining and endearing - certainly, yes.

So that was the holiday - a day trip here, a sunset there, Candice and Connor threw a big party at a cafe on a hill that was good fun... Just... goodness.

And a final, wonderful cherry-on-top: finding the perfect spot to call home!

Shaun and I always fantasised about living near the sea when we first decided to move to a coastal town, and after seeing a number of houses and apartments in a day - some in the town, some near the beach, we both fell in love with the little place we're moving into next month. It feels warm and cozy, the finishes are classical and beautiful, and there's a balcony which runs along the entire expanse of this 6th floor apartment that offers an almost 180 degree view of the sea and the horizon. We're so excited!!! It's also across the road from the beach itself, and I have grand plans of waking up early every morning and going for long walks on the beach to start my day in serenity and gratitude.

I made a decision yesterday that I would actively be focusing on no longer living my life around work. Work is going to be just another part of my day - something on the itinerary, just like reading, or exploring, or going out for meals and sundowners.
It's going to be an adjustment, because I feel like we're all so consumed by work that we build our lives around it. Given the unique set of circumstances in which I currently find myself, I want to make it just another part of my day, of my week.

Speaking of work, I started my regular classes at the public school this week: from 2 to 5 pm, Tuesdays through Thursdays. It's not easy. Each of my 6 Grade 3 classes has 35 kids in it (aged 9 - 10), whose English is very weak, and who've been taught the way most second-language learners are taught: formulaic, repetitive. They're incapable of answering even the most basic of questions, like "How was your holiday?", and need to be guided through conversations slowly and carefully. It's almost like they freeze up the minute I veer away from the textbook pages I'm supposed to be teaching them.

Now, the easiest thing for me would be to continue to teach like that: repetitive, rote, the same sentences over and over again until they've learnt them off by heart... But that's not enough. I want to make them comfortable with the language. At the moment, they're terrified of it. I feel a duty to these kids to make English accessible to them. I want them to relax into it. Language is not mechanical - it should never be.
We'll see how it goes.

My other classes with kids are at a large private language centre. On Saturday and Sunday mornings, I teach a class of 7 year olds for an hour and a half at a time - 3 Russian kids and 10 Vietnamese kids. (There's a rather substantial Russian community here, due to the Russian petrol companies having sizeable contracts with Vietnam, and setting up shop here in Vung Tau.)
THESE kids have been learning English for about a month (4 lessons or thereabouts) Soooooooo... their English is nonexistent. And because they're bored and frustrated by not knowing what's going on, their behaviour isn't ideal - they're alllllllllllll over the place. It's a challenge. BUT! This ain't my first rodeo! I know how this goes. In EVERY job, the first 3 months are always the hardest. It's inevitable. The kids need to grow to trust me, like me, and relax into my energy. Routines take time to be established. I know for a fact that there were classes in my life that were atrocious to start with - that brought me untold anxiety and crippling self-doubt - and that ended up being happy, positive, joyful environments after just a few months. The trick is to remain calm. Which is obviously easier said than done! But I think that with experience and time, I myself am learning how to negotiate the teaching space better every single day.

It's a gentle dance, working with kids. It requires finding the perfect balance between firm boundaries, and joyful exuberance. The foundation, of course, is to approach the situation with love, and kindness. Always. Too many adults hold children accountable for the bad parenting which they've received. Too many children are met with annoyance and frustration at their "bad" behaviour - which is almost always a symptom of several factors outside of their control.

My University classes only kick in in March, and then it'll be only one - until mid-April, when two more classes ensue. I'm excited to be lecturing at a University again! I have fond memories of my evenings lecturing in Sociology at Wits University, although I don't expect the same kind of rigorous philosopical, ideological, socio-cultural debates from my timid Vietnamese second-language learners. Still, it'll be a great experience to be teaching at the tertiary level again, after all these years.

And that's really it, as far as summaries go.

Tonight, Shaun's DJing again at the Pineapple Beach Bar 2nd Anniversary Party, and I'm excited to see him in action again. It'll be fun to catch up with some of my new friends whom I haven't seen in a few weeks. It'll be fantastic to get my dance on, and shake my tail-feathers once again!

Until next time, this is me signing off in love, as always.
Smooches!!! xxx