Teacher's Day!

Vietnam has a wonderful holiday each year on the 20th of November: Teacher's Day!  It is a day off for teachers and students... and a day for students to honor their teachers.  There is a major sense of honor for teachers in this culture.  So it actually began the evening of the 19th- with an evening of performances... traditional dances, not-so-traditional dances, Vietnamese songs, English songs, etc.  It was so fun to see our students perform!  And of course, we also had to perform... so we sang, ahem, and I'm glad that's over ;)  I must admit I kind of just smiled during the song.  I tried to sing, but couldn't hear myself, and the students were standing and waving their hands back and forth like it was an Elton John concert or something, and it just was one of those really out-of-body experiences.  Ha, ha.  They gave all of us teachers flowers and afterwards my students bombarded me for pictures- it's funny sometimes how you start to feel famous as a foreigner.  Oh my.  We also wore our Ao-Dais (traditional VN dresses) for the first time!  Everyone commented on how much more beautiful we looked in our Ao-Dais :)

Then on the 20th, students came by our apartment with flowers, small gifts, words of thanks and well wishes- especially through text messages (such as "I wish you happy, lucky, healthy, and successful in your life always").  During the afternoon I went to a student's one bedroom apartment and learned how to make "sweet soup" with her!  Maren and I both taught these gals in the photo below, and they gave us a set of mugs.  Their gift couldn't have been more perfect because we only have two mugs, and we are always washing them for hot chocolate and tea on these cold Dalat nights!  We felt a lot of love and honor from our sweet students, and definitely chose the right country to teach in :)

The evening of Teacher's Day we were invited to two dinners- one by the Foreign Languages Department and another by the International Relations Department.  So we decided to go to both :)  Oh, man- we were stuffed by the end to say the least!  Here's a photo of the new outfit outside the first place we ate dinner.  

The next adventures include a visit from my teammate Jenny's mom and sister this weekend, a very full teaching schedule of 12 hours on Monday and Tuesday, and then a trip to visit our closest neighbors in our organization (9 hour bus ride away) to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with them.  We leave Wednesday morning the 26th and come back on Sunday the 30th.  I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!  Please know that YOU are definitely on my list of "thankfuls"... I know I wouldn't be here without your thought support, financial generosity, and encouraging notes/packages/e-mails/etc.  From the bottom of... Vietnam... and my heart, 

Thank You! 

What's normal?

This morning we hosted a little "Thanksgiving" party for the students in one of our Speaking classes.  My momma always said that company is good motivation- and that was SO true... last night we totally cleaned our apartment and finally got some art hung on the wall and it's such a great feeling!!  About 30 students came to our apartment, and we enjoyed mango bread (just like banana bread- except with mangos- delicious!), dragon fruit, apples, and pomelos (kind of similar to grapegruit).  We played games, explained the "Thanksgiving" holiday, and sang "Give Thanks" together.  Of course, it isn't a party without some songs in Vietnam.  It was really something to hear the students singing, "Give thanks to the Holy One..."  I was also blessed by the students each sharing what they were thankful for- although each one said the same thing- their family (parents), their friends, and their teachers- Miss Maren and Miss Suzy :)  I think most of them didn't really know what to say- so after one person shared, the rest followed suit.  However, it still made me think- how many people back home 'normally' give thanks for material things, and yet the only thing students mentioned were relationships.  Very interesting.

Our students continually look puzzled when they see two beds in our home, and ask why we don't sleep in the same bed.  That is just mind boggling to them that we would have separate beds :)  What's normal?  They also are always commenting on our knives and other kitchen utensils- brought from America... it's funny how strange our 'normal' utensils seem to them. Many students have said our 2 room apartment is very large or "high" (because the ceilings are really tall).  We are definitely thankful for our cute homes, and it's a privilege to fill it with students!  In America, I definitely felt normal- but everyday I am reminded that I am not normal with blonde hair, blue eyes, large feet (size 8.5) that do not fit any shoes in VN, and a gigantic height of 5'5''.  It also strikes them as odd if our team walks with our own umbrellas instead of sharing, or if we walk together without our arms around each other's waists.  Oh, well :)  As we do our best to be culturally appropriate and adapt, we will never be Vietnamese no matter how hard we try.  Normal is relative- and for that I am thankful!  This morning's party really got me excited about the upcoming holidays and celebrations... I even traced my hand to draw a little Turkey last night!!  Gobble Gobble.

My Students!!

Here are 6 of my Senior Journalism students (we took this photo after class one morning on campus... what a beautiful University we have)!

These are some of my Sophomore speaking students.  Our team had a fall party where students came over and carved their first every Jack-O-Lanterns on our front porch!  I didn't think we could find pumpkins in Dalat- but lo and behold- the market had short greenish pumpkins :)  They were SO creative with them!!

This is another Sophomore student, who is actually about my age... oldest in her class.  She just got married to the father of her little baby boy.  Maren and I went to her one-room-house for a wedding party... which was dinner on the floor by candlelight since the electricity was out.  It's very different here- if someone has a birthday or wedding, they are the party hosts and do all the work... whereas it's the opposite back home (others throw a party in your honor).

So you can picture a few of my students.  In all, I have taught about 330 different students.  My mind is swimming with names most of the time- I feel badly I can't remember more names :(  I have a bad memory as it is... with names in my own culture!  Oh, dear.

Here are a few other tidbits about my students...

• My senior students have very high level English skills.  I am blown away by the words they use sometimes, or the questions they ask me.  Just last night I went to grab a bit to eat with a group of girls, and our conversation was very fluid and intelligent.  They even use idioms and can make good jokes in English- that's impressive stuff!  One topic many students continue to bring up is that of couples living together before getting married.  It's definitely a hot issue on campus right now.  Traditional Vietnamese values do not allow couples to live together before marriage.  But sadly, many VN youth have adopted the ways of the West.  Way to go America (ARG!).  I was able to share my view with the students in several ways... and use the "Christmas present" analogy- you can only open it once!  They seemed to connect with that.  I hope I can speak into these girls' lives more and more- they are super sharp!
• My sophomore students are all spending these next three weeks in "military training"... learning how to use guns, taking some sort of written exam, etc.  Every student in the country, male and female, must complete the training so they will be ready and equipped if ever called upon by their communist country.  All regular classes are pushed aside during this time.  
• My freshman students are definitely at a very different level than my senior students in every way imaginable- maturity, pronunciation and speaking skills, class behavior, etc.  I feel bad that some of them are learning the hard way.  For example, I have had to give low "marks" on assignments because students didn't follow any of my instructions, handed it in during class rather than the beginning when I asked for it, or copied another's students' work word for word.  Today I handed back a bunch of homework and they looked stricken at the low scores.  I had to stick to it though, and they will be better students because of it.  Those who copied each other's work even came up and apologized to me after class- which was very much appreciated.  I'm anxious to see if everyone has their homework done BEFORE class next time :)  It's important to train the students well their first year... 
• During a recent quiz in Journalism class... I walked back to one student who was looking at his neighbor's paper- and made a BIG X on the top... which I had previously warned the students about.  If I saw them talking or looking at another paper, I would mark an X on their paper, and that means they get a ZERO.  So the entire class watched me walk to the back row, and my heart was beating like crazy, and it was one of the hardest things for me to draw an X on his paper and then walk back to the front of the class.  A murmur went through the class of 90 some students.  As I stood up in the front for the rest of the quiz with teary eyes, I think I understood for the first time what my parents meant when they spanked me and said, "This hurts me more than it hurts you."  I really love my students and want to believe the best in them and see them succeed!

Please ask that the Father will continue to give me wisdom in the classroom, and love for my students.  I would also appreciate your thoughts for good health- I think I have had some food poisoning this week :(  And I continue to treat the burn blister on my leg that I got after getting off a motorbike taxi this weekend.  C'est la vie.  The good news is that the medication I needed for my burn was $1.00 over the counter (whereas it requires prescription stateside- as well as several more dollars I would assume).  The perks of life in Asia :)

"Life is fast, it doesn't wait nobody."

This is a quote from a freshman student's short story homework.  It caught my eye- how true!  The days are flying by and before we know it, we'll be finished with 1/2 of our year in Vietnam.  CRAZY!  There have been so many moments I've thought about blogging, and then needed to spend time lesson planning, grading, meeting with students, etc.  So many stories I've wanted to share, but life is fast... so here are two for you.

1- My Watch

Several weeks ago, I was running around the lake in the center of town for a bit of exercise.  To avoid colliding with a man walking towards us, I moved to the left of the sidewalk, but my left arm barely hit a light  pole.  Actually, my arm didn't hit it, but my watch did- causing a small but important piece (like a little pin) to fall to the ground never to be found again.  My watch is a cheapo Wal-Mart one- but I LOVE it- and can't find any like it in Dalat (with a velcro band).  Anyway, it was one of those moments where I just wanted to cry.  I use my watch every day for class- it's a must.  However, after our run I saw a watch shop.  I thought I would just look to see if they had any similar ones.  While I held my broken watch in my hand- the man at the counter took it, saw the problem, and immediately found a replacement piece and had it fixed within two minutes for just a few thousand Dong (maybe 20 cents).  I didn't even think it could be fixed- I was just looking for a new one.  I didn't have any Vietnamese words to explain, and yet it all worked out.  I wanted to cry for joy this time!!  And some things this 'minor' mishap taught me included:

-One small watch part, or one seemingly small/insignificant person, can make such a difference... each member of the body is so important.

-I had no idea the watch could be fixed at all- and there ended up being a simple, quick, cheap, nearby solution.  How often do I see no solutions to life's problems, when the Father is above all of that and we cannot comprehend what He might bring about.  Ah... I'm overwhelmed with His goodness and love.

-Just like the man at the watch store, how quick the Father is to heal our hearts and mend our brokenness- He continually makes us new.

-The verse that kept playing over in my mind that night was the one about how our Father delights in giving us good gifts... taste and see that He is good.  Sometimes it strikes me most through the small things- like watch parts :)

2- The Flame

This past Sunday night our team of four was invited to dine at the home of Momma and Poppa Kim (some prominent Korean teachers here at Dalat University).  Poppa Kim has brought several Korean teachers to the school, and has quite a bit of influence in Vietnam and South Korea and has played an important role in building relations between the countries.  Both of them speak a good bit of English (their daughter and son-in-law live in Atlanta, GA).  Anyway, we had some DELICIOUS Korean food- and it was a very unique experience to say the least.  They live in a VERY nice (very non-VN-style) home that they designed and built.  Their home was filled with very nice things- a 24 karat gold silverware type of home :)  Anyway, the electricity was out that night, so we had dinner by candlelight.  After we finished dinner and were enjoying a good conversation, I noticed a candle flame by the window that was getting dangerously high.  I debated whether or not to say anything in my mind.  I didn't want to offend these very important people, and I wasn't sure what would be appropriate to say or do in Korean culture.  I couldn't stop staring at the flame, and yet wasn't sure if I should interrupt?  Finally my teammate Maren also noticed and she said something right away, the candle was blown out, and there was a big black mark on the wall.  Momma and Poppa were thankful (their backs were to the candle).  This little mishap was a great challenge to me:

-How many times do I see something in someone's life that I know isn't healthy or helpful, and yet for fear of offending them or of making the relationship awkward, I keep silent?  Afraid I will be viewed as judgmental or prideful?

-This made me think about how harmful it could be if I keep silent... worse case scenario (the beautiful wood home would have burned to the ground).

-And on the other hand, I know how thankful I am when someone speaks into my life to keep me from living in sin, or making poor choices... so why am I not quick to do the same?

-I think sometimes the people-pleasing side of me wins too often.  

Well folks, "Life is fast, it doesn't wait nobody."  So don't spend time worrying about little watch parts- the Father is bigger than any perceived problem.  And don't waste time keeping silent... but in the words of John Mayer- say what you need to say.

Cheers! (A common VN-English ending to e-mail messages)