It is a bit hard for me to believe that 110 people actually looked at this site since I started it. I don’t even know that many people. Of course, probably it is 5 people who have looked 110 times, but I will allow myself an ego trip, isn’t that what blogs are for?
So this week has been interesting in my Tefl course. Monday and Tuesday we met individually with students for one-on-one tutoring sessions. That went pretty well for me, not much different than what I do when I am trying to talk to someone in a café, except that I tried to avoid using the seventeen Vietnamese words I have remembered. Wednesday we observed one of our trainers doing two classes. Today, Thursday, we taught classes in teams of two, and tomorrow am we do our first individual classes. The kids in my class today were probably 11 or 12 years old. I would describe them as eager to be involved and severely prone to sudden extemporaneous and uncontrollable bursts of chanting. That was my week so far. We essentially have to prepare our own lessons using the Tefl format, so I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time drawing pictures for purposes of demonstration. I am not a good picture drawer. I’m quite sure the kids could do better at that than I. I suppose I’ll get used to it. Actually I suppose that after the course is over I will get a job teaching from an actual textbook and not have to make the whole lesson up out of nothing. That might be a good thing.
Last Sunday was a quite good day. Beginning, of course, with a perfectly arranged bowl of pho (see photo.) In the afternoon I had arranged to meet Mr. Chen Vinh for a tour of ChợLon, an old part of Saigon which is primarily Chinese. Chen is Chinese-Vietnamese, and he was at a loss to understand how it could be that I actually studied Mandarin, in Shanghai, and want to teach English, but still decided to come back to Vietnam instead of China. In spite of that, we had a good afternoon mostly just walking around talking, interspersed with visits to a few pagodas, a shopping mall, and yet another coffee shop.
After this I met Mr. Tai and his son, in a park, to practice his English. This is the third time I met them, I think, and they invite me to their house for dinner. This is fascinating. After a longish bike ride out District 1 where I spend most of my time, we arrive at a little computer shop with a room behind (and above) it, this is home. One of the more amusing aspects of this little dinner was the food – they went out to Lotteria, a fast food chain, and got me a hamburger and fries. I am American, so shouldn’t I be eating hamburgers and fries?? We had fun trying to communicate, and I met numerous neighbors, aunts, brothers, etc.
Finally, if 110 people looked at all this aimless rambling, why did only three of you COMMENT? If you say anything I don’t like, it won’t show up, other than that it is a free-for-all. OK, I have to get some sleep so I can stay awake in class tomorrow, I’m supposed to be the teacher. Hmm.
Cheers ... (?)
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1 comment:
hi there steve, perhaps so few people comment cuz like me they hadnt figured how to do it yet.glad u r having fun. later, Jo
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