Mo' Mo

The last two days have been full of a flurry of festivities. Between Ben Tre's first Halloween and Morena's birthday the smiles were non-stop.

10.31.11

Can't tell what we're supposed to be? We're a pair of chopsticks! Last night was the English Club Halloween Party, and even though officially I was in charge, I had a pretty minimal idea of what was going on at any given time. Students were supposed to help me make preparations, but what really happened was that the students took over. I had no problem with that, except when the teachers attending the event came to me asking what the plan was or where the supplies were, and I couldn't really answer.

The party started with a surprise birthday party for Morena, which I am proud to say I managed to keep a surprise up until about five seconds before we arrived, at which point some suspicious student behavior caused her to suspect that something was afoot. Similarly to my birthday, the students brought out a cake which was lovingly force fed and smeared across Morena's face. To my surprise, I was also included in the hand-feeding and frosting facial, though to a lesser degree.

The Halloween part of the party started with a Halloween movie and many technical difficulties. I had had my misgivings about showing a full-length film, but it had been Morena's idea and in the interest of being a team player I didn't want to dismiss it. However, about 45 minutes into the movie, one of the teachers came an asked if we could stop it there and proceed to the rest of the activities. I guess the movie's mystery wasn't mysterious enough to overcome everyone's eagerness to get to the next part: the costume fashion show.

Flower and 'worm', which I'm 90% sure meant caterpillar

The whole cast

I had suspected that the costumes would be quite impressive, and I was not disappointed. There was a witch on broomstick, a pretty scary ghost, a flower being chased by a caterpillar, and a pair of mummies. I think the last two were my favorites. Next was a mask-making contest. Originally I had wanted everyone at the party to participate in the contest, but because of budget constraints there were only enough supplies for students to work in groups and make a total of three masks. Ultimately, I just hope the students had fun; sometimes it was hard to tell.

The final three masks

More thrilling than the movie, or than the costume runway set to Thriller, was my bike ride. Morena and I went out for snacks after the club, and for some reason I proposed that we take our bikes. As soon as I opened my mouth I regretted it, but didn't. I think that's my general relationship to bike riding right now: I want to do it, but it's so much easier to not do it, but I want to do it. And Morena is good for accountability. Anyway, last night I had my first off-campus bike ride. And I'm still here to tell the tale. The near-nonexistence of traffic was certainly helpful. I realized that I've gotten to the point where riding around an empty campus is too easy but riding in the street is still challenging, but the only way that's going to change is if I do more of the latter. As Trang said to me today, if you don't go outside for fear of breaking your legs, your legs might as well be broken.

After my derring-do, Morena and I capped off the night by watching Bridget Jones's Diary in French. I'm not sure what proportion of my understanding of the dialogue is due to my French comprehension and how much is due to how many times I've seen the movie. As part of my (pre)birthday concession to Morena, I tried to chat with her in French. She laughed and told me I have an Italian accent when I speak French. Better Italian than American, I posed. She agreed.


11.1.11

Today was Morena's birthday. We went out to the by now 'usual' feast of a lunch. New dishes included crispy rice cakes with a ground meat and tomato sauce (not a traditional Vietnamese dish) and the usual hotpot soup, but with squid this time. This might be my favorite version of hotpot soup, if only because it does not include any bones or beaks or feet.

Crispy rice, meat sauce, and a peek of shrimp salad

Served

Hotpot soup

Served

Later, we had a special treat. I have heard rave reviews about 'getting your hair washed'. This afternoon, I got to experience it. Getting your hair washed is the least of your experience. You lay down on a bed with your head in a sink. First, you get a face massage, after which your face is covered in icy strips of cucumber. Then, the hair washing and scalp massaging begins. By the time you get rinsed and de-cucumbered, it's been almost an hour of pampering, and your skin feels like new. At a wallet-friendly 25,000 VND, a girl could get used to this.

Tonight we were supposed to have the teacher's English club. Instead, the classroom had been transformed into a Karaoke room. After the Happy Birthday singing and the cake cutting, we spent the rest of the two hours snacking on fruit and candy and taking turns serenading each other. I worked up the nerve to participate by singing 500 Miles by Peter, Paul, and Mary. My hands were shaking but I made it through the song with my ego intact. Later I was encouraged to sing Killing Me Softly. I should have quit while I was ahead. At the end of the evening a chacha song was played, and a teacher requested me as her dance partner while other teachers sang. Lucky for me I'm quick on my feet and after a bumbling 30 seconds I kept up with her for the rest of the song.

Mr. Dinh Tuan and Ms. Trang

Chacha time