New Schools and MSTRKRFT

It's been a while since my last post; this is mostly due to my acute problems with laziness. That is not to say, however, that I've just been sitting on my ass for the last ten days. I've probably only spent 3 or 4 of those days sitting on my ass. Back to work, starting with more hours next week, and will be full time by March. My schedule is less than stellar, but I'm willing to pay my dues at my new job. By some sick twist of fate, I begin work before 8 AM 5 days a week. Enough said.

This morning I taught at a new school that has never had a foreign english teacher before. The school is a 25 minute ride with no traffic, and more of a 45 minute ride with it. So, I had to be at Apollo for my taxi at 6:40. No joke. I was less than pleased, as my students at this school are 1st graders, who I usually hate teaching. They tend to be out of control, lack focus, and are impervious to my favorite mode of discipline: sarcasm and attitude. Probably because they speak no english and are 6 years old. Happy to say I was pleasantly surprised with this school, not only because I was treated like a celebrity. I had not only a TA, but multiple other teachers sitting in with cameras, making sure they had documentation of their first english class with a foreigner. It not only made me feel good, but the children were well behaved despite their numbers of 40 students per class. During my half hour break between my two 70-minute classes, I went with the TA to get a coffee. We sat in a room adjacent to the school store, which sells not only food and snacks to the children, but toys as well. Don't really understand why they do that, but there you go. After the students were done with their morning exercises* (this is common to all elementary schools in Vietnam-they blast music and everyone stands in the outdoor courtyard to do their exercise routine. It looks kind of creepy to me, but also cool in a 2008-Beijing-Olympics kind of way) a lot of kids came in to buy food and toys, and then spent the next 20 minutes standing around staring at me. It was kind of awkward and kind of flattering. 

Despite the favorable teaching conditions, it was a bit of a difficult morning, as I had gotten all of 4 hours of sleep the night before. MSTRKRFT (musician from Canada) was performing at Lush on Thursday night, so I obviously had to go and dance until I was so drenched in sweat I was dripping onto the floor. Now, something you may or may not know about Vietnam: as a general rule, the music taste blows. So, when a musician I've not only heard of, but whose music I enjoy and who has the stamp of approval of my music-guru brother randomly came to Saigon, I just had to go. 100,000 Vietnamese Dong (equivalent to around $5, though the government is in the process of devaluing the Dong, so who knows how much it will be worth in the next few months) got you into the show, and also got you a free drink. It was my big splurge for the week. A group of teachers from Apollo went together. It was all around a great time, but come 1 AM I realized it would be irresponsible to stay longer, so I left in the middle. Bummer. 

I am a bit tired, so will leave my rich-people-eating-endangered-species talk for another post. Get excited for that.

*This is just one of the interesting things about Vietnamese public schools. All lunches are provided for students, which are brought and distributed by a bunch of female workers whose job I believe is to clean and keep the schools orderly. There are a huge number of staff at the schools. Not only are lunches comped, but each student has a toothbrush and a water cup, identified by number. Vietnamese like to brush their teeth after lunch. In the afternoons, everyone takes a nap. The desks are moved to the side of the room, and students sleep on mats on the floor. Not something that was offered at Burns Park Elementary. All in all, the schooling experience is quite different.

Philosophical gems

Today marks 2 1/2 weeks of my mandatory vacation time, and I must say I am almost excited to go back to teaching those troublesome children on Friday. Not that I have much to worry about; I have exactly 2 weeks more of working a mere 8 hours a week, until I begin working full time on the 22nd. Maybe having so much time off has allowed me to stew a bit too long in my own juices (monetary woes and few friends made those juices deliciously acidic), but I am very much starting to worry about my current job situation. Hoping my new classes that are NOT at the public schools will be better and more rewarding; worried it could be teaching children I don't like (as most of my classes will be with children, that's not a welcome idea). Teaching small children just isn't intellectually stimulating, and involves way too much discipline which is apparently something I consider myself above. Nothing like an upper-middle-class upbringing to make one feel like their expertly honed god-given talents are not being utilized properly. I think the worst thought is that perhaps it is teaching in general I don't like. I suppose I will just have to wait and see.

I think the biggest problem is my utter lack of a routine for the past 3 months (CELTA course aside; anyone looking for a crazy structured 4 weeks should find the nearest CELTA certification program). In that respect, I can't wait to start working full time.  My vacation has progressed as I expected-gradually sleeping later and later, watching loads of TV, finally forcing myself to get up and do something physical, all the while hoping so much free time doesn't lend itself to depressing existential quandaries. I woke up this morning convinced I was wasting my life and doing nothing productive. Had to remind myself that's the entire point of vacation. Somehow I envisioned my move across the globe with fewer hitches. Ah, youth.

Street food is amazing, but sometimes it gets you sick. Just sayin'.

Had a few interesting nights out this weekend, the first with a woman I met at the gym and her friend who is a fashion designer. They are a lot wealthier than me, and we ended up at the Park Hyatt club/bar. It's really awkward when you can't even afford juice on a menu. Carmen (my new gym friend) is looking for a roommate and wants me to come take a look at her apartment. We'll see where that goes. Might as well have a look. Sunday night I went out with 2 other teachers at Apollo. We were the only people in town. Had a lot of fun, but ended up in the middle of an awkward conversation about how Britain is too PC and diverse, and spends far too much money on its immigrant population while neglecting its tax-paying citizens. Since I don't pay taxes in England and also don't know all that much about English politics in general, I didn't contribute much to the conversation, but went away from the whole thing wondering whether the British government is over-correcting for it's hundreds of years of racism and colonialism, or I had just had drinks with a few people who are the English equivalent of Tea Partiers. It's anyone's guess.

Luckily, people are finally coming back from their trips abroad, so I will now have more people to hang out with, which will hopefully mean less time watching reruns of various seasons of America's Next Top Model. Not that it isn't an excellent program.

acid reflux ruins everything. Shout out to Maggie. It's her birthday. She also used to have killer acid reflux.

It is super weird to live in a country that doesn't give a damn about the Superbowl. Had I not been at a western sports bar on Sunday night, I'd have forgotten about it completely. Call me un-American, but I opted to go to bed instead of staying up to watch the live-broadcast of the game which started at 6 AM. Time difference is a bitch.

Chuc Mung Nam Moi

I really like having a second chance at the New Year and resolutions and such. It's like the month of January is a test run for any difficult resolutions you attempt to live out.

I must say, I was not thrilled at the prospect of staying in HCM City for Tet. Most people I know are off in delightful places like Cambodia, Malaysia, and Bali. But, I have managed to enjoy myself a good deal. Having quite a relaxing holiday here, complete with lazy days and late-ish nights, and plenty of time to experience Tet.

Saigon puts on an amazing Flower show each Tet, and it takes up an entire large city street, which they close off to everything but foot traffic. It's beautiful and amazing, with tons of flowers in all kinds of designs and sculptures, complete with lights and music and so many people that at times walking down the street feels more like waiting in line for the good roller coasters at Cedar Point. There are also dozens of sculptures of cats (as this is the year of the cat), in a bunch of different art styles. It sounds creepy when I explain it, but it's actually pretty cool.

The new year is rung in by fireworks at midnight, as well as processions of people dressed in those iconic dragon-like costumes, with 2-4 people in each costume. They are actually not dragons, but more like lions, though I'm told they are mythical creatures nonetheless. The people in the processions are amazing martial artists, and create all kinds of cool figures by standing on top of each other, etc. (think Chinese New Year-they are very similar affairs)There are also lots of drums. Now, I am a huge fan of loud noises, don't get me wrong, but I have been woken up every morning by random processions of new-year-wishing people with their costumes and insanely loud drums.

Other Tet pastimes include firecrackers, which have been outlawed in Vietnam so no one can use them anymore. People also give out money to friends and children in little red envelopes, something I can totally get behind. Most people spend Tet visiting and spending time with Family, and eating lots of food together. Much like our Thanksgiving, but drawn out into 5 days. Over the past few days, I've had some pretty good food. Interesting highlights include dove (actually a very tasty bird), homemade rice wine (nice, but white in color and also quite grainy), snails, and hot pot with octopus tentacles in it.

I got a singing job offer, in a nice restaurant/bar type place. Now I just need to learn some Vietnamese songs to sing there, and I will be able to start. I'm actually looking forward to learning Vietnamese, and I feel fine about the fact that I will probably be a gimmick, being a white chick who sings in Vietnamese.

Quite enjoying Tet, but also looking forward to being able to go grocery shopping soon (everything is closed for the holiday).

Happy Lunar New Year!

History plus Tet

February 3rd marks the first day of the lunar new year, the year of the cat (in China it's the year of the Hare), and coincidentally I was born in the year of the cat. I'm going to pretend like that's good luck for me, or a good sign or something.

Had another interesting chat with Chinh this evening, and another one of his friends in the bar. The conversation centered mostly around the government today. I've been thinking about communist theory vs. communism in practice (AJ is taking a course on 'spaces of hope' or something, and is reading the Communist Manifesto. I also watched 'Reds' twice on HBO in the past month...). Chinh says he was very close to becoming a communist himself as a young man. He gave me an interesting quote: if one isn't a communist at age 20, they have no heart. If one is a communist at age 40, they are stupid. There's also another gem he gave me: communism is born in stupidity, grows up in violence, and dies in corruption. Quite the cynic, my friend Chinh. He has a point, though. He pointed not only to Vietnamese history, where the communist regime came in and took both money and property from the rich and land from the poor country-folk, but also to China with Mao Zedong and Cambodia with Pol Pot, as well as Che Guevarra and Castro.

Basically, we went through the communist history, starting with the years 1980-85, when Chinh was getting out of prison. This was the time of 'true' communism, when there was no western culture allowed into the country, and even speaking to a foreigner on the street ended in a formal police interrogation. In '85, the doors opened slightly, and rules eased up. These days, the government is communist in name only; the system is still communist (meaning the Party rules over all, as well as the 'People's Committee'), but the policy isn't. I'd heard when I moved over here that if you have money, you can basically get away with anything. That is literally how things work here. The high-ranking officals are insanely wealthy, driving BMWs and Bentleys (which BTW all have 200% import tax), sending their children to international schools, etc. They are also above basically all laws-Tuan, a man who spends many evenings at the Chu bar and is related to a very high ranking Party official, is quite into weed and smokes it freely in the bar. I'm told that if most people tried to pull something like that, they'd be arrested. But, since everyone knows who he is and that he is untouchable, no one bats an eye. It is so screwed up here!

At least in the US, when big deal people are douchebags about following laws, the media gets pics and everyone gets in an uproar. Here, because there is no free press or free speech, that stuff just doesn't happen. Apparently the chief editor of every newspaper is a Party member, so every written word has been approved by the Communists. In schools, there are always a few Party members in the staff, who incidentally make all decisions and policies, including salaries, etc.

I've been writing so much about the government, and I apologize if it bores people to tears. I find it fascinating, but maybe because I'm here. I think it's kind of me trying to work everything out; there's so much going on under the surface, and I can't imagine living here without truly understanding how things work. It is so easy to live here as a foreigner and not notice any of these things, but I think that is a disservice to oneself.

I'm planning on trying to go to some of the museums here in the next few weeks (lets face it, I have all the time in the WORLD), including the War Remnants Museum and the Art Museum. Also planning on going to the Reunification Palace. Gotta see how much it is to go to the Cu Chi tunnels. Definitely want to check that out.

As this week is Tet, and everyone who is still in the city that I know is Vietnamese, I will hopefully be following them to what apparently is a never-ending string of parties. Tomorrow at 4 PM it kicks off, with seafood and music and I don't know what else. I'll try to remember to bring my camera so I can take some pics of downtown, complete with lights and flowers and all manner of things.