Curvy, creative, and cute

Saturday was the death anniversary of the first king of Vietnam, and so most people had the day off on Monday. For some reason, the college decided to have the day off on Friday, and so we were the only people working yesterday. Now that I'm not teaching Translation anymore, my Monday workday doesn't start until 9:55. It felt very strange to wake up so late but still have to go into work. When I got to class, only 18 of my 40 students were present. Apparently, more than half of them stayed home out of concern for the storm. However, rain never even made an appearance, and it was just a pleasantly cool day instead. I decided to take advantage of having a small class, and spent the last 45 minutes using my speed dating conversation activity. It got off to a slightly rockier start than it did when I used it in English club, which makes me wonder if those who attend the club regularly have gotten a leg up or if attendees are more capable and confident to begin with. When the conversations kept hitting lulls at around 3:30 minutes during the first round or two, I decided to write a few conversation starters on the board to help students if they got stuck. I worried that they would just ask each partner the same questions and end up exchanging canned answers instead of having a more natural conversation, but it seemed to help. One girl managed to look sleepy and bothered through most of the activity, but by the last few rounds I was happy to finally see here smiling and engaging with her partners. I don't usually ask my students if they enjoyed class or a certain activity -- it feels needy and I don't trust that it would generate sincere answers -- but I did ask this time. I was happy to receive an enthusiastic and resounding 'yes!' The best thing about this activity for me is that it is a sign of progress; I don't think it would have been possible six months ago.

Below, the rabble of casual English.

I was supposed to have a Vietnamese lesson this morning but Trang texted me about half an hour before we were supposed to meet because it was raining and asked if I wanted to reschedule for tomorrow. Since it took me about three rounds of falling back asleep with my phone in my hand and dreaming that I responded before I actually texted her back, it seemed like a good idea to reschedule.

At eleven I went out for lunch with Thuy (Trang's sister). She insists on taking me somewhere nice and always refuses to let me pay, even when I'm the one who initiates the going out. Last time I tried to pay for our milk tea but she took the money out of the cashier's hand and gave it back to me. I told her that if we were going to go out for food and drinks she should at least let me pay for drinks, but she told me that if I was going to pay for drinks we just wouldn't go out for drinks anymore. So. So we had lunch today: grilled shrimp in tamarind sauce, soup with fish meatballs and bitter melon, and clams in fish sauce. I wore my new heels and had a funny realization. If I wear four-inch heels in the US I am just less short; wearing four-inch heels in Vietnam makes me a towering giant.

My precious(es)

We had milk tea after lunch, but we went to a new place this time. Walking through that doorway was like walking out of Vietnam. There was effective air-conditioning. There was wi-fi. There were foreigners inside! It was surreal. It was the kind of place I sometimes wish for, but didn't know existed, much less within reasonable walking distance from the college. I don't know that I'll feel the need to go back, but it's nice to know it exists.

Much to my surprise, the teacher's English club went rather well today. I think my steadily decreasing expectations have as much to do with my satisfaction as any potential improvement might. I went in with the seed of a lesson plan, and it blossomed pretty nicely as I went along. I asked them to brainstorm words we can use to describe someone. They started with physical descriptors, and then I ushered them towards personality traits. After getting a good word bank I asked them to choose three words they would use to describe themselves. When we shared answers, with their help, I ended up being dubbed 'curvy (my word, for the sake of expanding vocabulary), creative, and cute (their suggestion). I probably would have finished my three with 'optimistic', but I liked the alliteration and wanted to honor their contribution. Next was three qualities they liked about themselves and three qualities they didn't like. Next was five words you think other people would use to describe you. I asked them each to give one word to describe me, and I was lovely, enthusiastic, confident, kind, and creative. It sounds like a short lesson, but between explaining new words and discussing with partners and then sharing with the class, it easily filled the time.

Now that's a word bank if there ever was one