It’s hard to believe that I’ve been here for five months now. I’m halfway through the school year, and completely ready to fall down. I never realised how exhausting this job would be! Don’t get me wrong, I do really enjoy it, but some days I wish I was at home with all of my creature comforts. I now have a motorbike licence, and a bank account here. The traffic is a little hard to get used to, but I am really enjoying having a little more freedom of movement!
Overall it’s been a really great experience, and I’m learning a lot about myself. I’m definitely considering going to study teaching at uni when I get home. Maybe I’ll finally decide what I want to be when I grow up… I’ve definitely learned what I can cope with, and I feel a bit more myself. I feel like I’m getting my independent self back, and enjoying my own company. I might not be super exciting all the time, but I think that that is OK. I certainly need my downtime after teaching preschool and primary school all day!
The Christmas and New Year season has been one of the hardest times for me. I’ve missed my preparation rituals: planning parties, food, and presents, decorating the house, visiting everyone, watching the carols by candlelight, and making fudge. At home, I’m always busy getting ready. Here, it’s not a huge thing. Everyone works through until New Years Day, including Christmas Day and Boxing Day. It felt very strange to teach classes when everyone I love was spending time together and relaxing! Needless to say, I got a bit teary during Christmas week. Marie and I hung out in town on Christmas Eve. A lot of the people in our town go to Church for midnight mass, so there were thousands of people wandering around. There were a lot of places set up where you could get some kitsch Christmas photos taken, so of course that happened. I’m getting quite a collection of photos to bring home… After we got back to school, we had a few glasses of wine by candlelight and swapped gifts just after midnight. On Christmas Day we skipped the canteen lunch and went for banh xeo at my favourite restaurant, followed by a ride around the prettier parts of town. I think that we both enjoyed the respite from the noisy lunchtimes!
I was looking forward to my friend Jack visiting from Perth for some New Year celebrations, but unfortunately he had Visa issues, so he’s spending the time in Bangkok instead. This was very disappointing, but I admit that I wasn’t surprised. Especially when he told me that he got his VOA application through a source other than the Vietnamese Consulate. People, be very careful about these websites promising cheap VOA applications! Most of them are dodgy, and then you end up having to pay way more! Anyway, since he didn’t find out about the Visa problem until I was already in Ho Chi Minh City, I decided to stay there on my own. It was fine, but it’s never going to be my favourite place to hang out. I got new foundation (MAC is a little hard to come by in Long Xuyen!), then went and had a few drinks on my own, before chatting to some other people and ended up hanging out with them for the night. Sunday I just hung around at my hotel. I tried going shopping at Ben Thanh Market, but wasn’t up for the antics, so I just went and kept myself (and the ants) company.
We’re having a little holiday at school this week; New Years Day is a national holiday, and we’ve been given Friday off as well. I’m planning to get lots of sleep, and thinking of going on a long ride, maybe out to Chau Doc.
I suppose I should make some resolutions but, to be honest, I’ll just be really happy to have fun with my students until it’s time to go travelling!
Well, I’m off to sulk with my favourite Dr and some wine. Chuc mung nam moi! xx
Teacher Jess' Adventures 