Things That Go Bump in the Morning

Whoever lives in the apartment above me must be running a woodshop or something because from about 8 AM to 6 PM every day I hear sawing and hammering. I should complain, but I'm not sure getting into an argument with someone who probably doesn't speak English and owns alot of power tools is a good idea.

Also the weather has gotten much colder recently, as a result of which I have a persistent cold. Baaahh....

Dai Nam Park

If Walt Disney had been Vietnamese, he may very well have come up with Dai Nam Park. DNP is a huge complex, comprising a shopping center, hotel, movie theater, theme park, campground, water park, zoo, and numerous temples.

The park is so large that people get around it by bus and electric train. To give you an idea; here's the entrance:


Luckily I had a lovely and talented Vietnamese guide so I was able to make sense of most of it.

For me, the oddest party was the 'hells', temples which were basically haunted houses. They were scary enough at first, but after a little while you get used to them.

Trouble was, I had to be back in HCMC by a certain time and this cut my enjoyment short. I'll be back there one day...

Today was Teacher's Day, the national holiday in honor of educators across Vietnam. In return for my faithful service, I received:

- a day off from school
- a new notebook
- a card
- a rather ugly striped blue shirt
- A donut with the date and 'teacher's day' written in frosting
-Best of all, a conversation with a pack of Argentines in a pizzeria on Thai Van Lung St. Excellent pizza and I got to hear 'mira vos!' for the first time in over a year.

Cutting More than Hair

I was sitting in a hot toc (barbershop) getting my tri-monthly haircut when a red-faced woman came rushing in brandishing a pair of scissors and attempting to stab one of the hairdressers. The rest of the staff quickly restrained, disarmed, and expelled the offender, then everything went back to normal.

When in Saigon...

Something They Didn't Teach Me at TEFL

Among other things, what to do when you get this text message, as I did about an hour ago:

Hello teacher im your student I have a truth that i want to tell u Do you have any girlfriend? Hope no coz i love you really Let me know your feelings

I don't even know who the student is. I only gave out my cell number in the first place in case the students had any questions on the upcoming exam.

In any case, it's a dangerous situation on a number of levels. I'll have to defuse it carefully.