I'm finally getting the visiting children situation under control. The entrance way in my house, where I park my bike, is now the kids' zone. There are puzzles, crayons, a game or two, and clay. To enter, you have be 7 or older. And kids can't come past the couch into my kitchen or beyond without special written consent. A couple of real little guys were wandering in, and it made me uncomfortable. They're banned. The visitors are wonderful. They cheered when I rather quickly cut a carrot down to size for stew. The only parent I have met is Huong's mom, a nice lady who suggested English lessons for Huong. I tried to tell mom that Huong comes over to play with the toys and watch some TV, and that she wasn't interested in having English lessons. Huong, who's 7, is remarkably well-behaved and fun-loving. She's one of the awesome neighbors I have. Clearly, along with the students, my neighbors are one of the highlights of living in Bien Hoa. They give me food and drinks, and they're always willing to help. Phuong and her family have improved my quality of life, although I do spend lots of money at their store. It's worth it.
Actually, many people want English lessons from the White Monkey. Or they want a freebie now and then. I don't mind chatting with the "now and then" crowd if we have a coffee or something, but I don't give formal lessons. With my job, I don't think I can. I don't want to anyway. The job is great and it keeps me pretty busy. Best of all, VMG has been good to me.
I'm glad I found my supermarket, which carries tons of food I recognize. It's a taste of home. I'll be honest: I'm not enamored with the local cuisine. The street food in Peru was much better. But to be fair, I'm still learning my way around here, and I've had a few fantastic local dishes lately -- the neighbors made some great pho and passion fruit juice. My problem: I don't care for rice and I don't like real chewy seafood.
The mix of cars and motorbikes here isn't a good one. People drive cars like they're on a motorbike. They rarely signal, cut you off in a heartbeat, and pull out on you like you're not there. It adds a whole new dimension to defensive driving. No wonder I'm so happy in the classroom.
Booked a flight back to the U.S. and I'll be there over Thanksgiving. Really looking forward to seeing my family, especially my children -- Jessica, Caroline, Jack and Alec. Can't wait to see some old friends as well.
Monday, August 25, 2014
Friday, August 1, 2014
You dirty rat
The White Monkey loves all of God's creatures, but that doesn't mean he will give them a free place to stay and eat. So imagine my surprise when I finally got around to cleaning my house and found a rat living under my couch. My new best friend Huong, 7, was in my house playing with clay and looking in my refrigerator when I saw the rat while I was cleaning. The rat wouldn't come out from under the couch, so I dragged the couch to my front door (with Huong sitting on it laughing), and pushed the rat outside with a broom. The rat acted a little dopey, like maybe it was dying, but I'm glad I spotted it. I always wondered who was watching TV when I was upstairs late at night. My neighbor across the street used two leaves and picked up the rat by its tail and moved it so I could get a better picture. Thoughtful neighbor. Inconsiderate rat. My house is clean again and all (or most) of God's creatures are living outside. By the way, the rat was much quieter than the kids who come visit.
I've had better weeks at work. A boy in a kids class imitated and mimicked everything I said in a Donald Duck voice. I tolerated it at first, but asked him to stop. After the 33rd time he did it, I sent him out of class for a minute to cool off. He was OK but his buddy in class decided to act up. Ugh. Once everybody settled down, class was over. Since these guys have no English, class rules don't mean much. I act the rules out and I think they get it, but they can always claim they didn't understand me. Regardless, no one leaves the room unless they ask. If they just walk out, which they tried to do, the White Monkey turns red and beats his chest. Later, when I was complaining about having to wait nearly 30 minutes for a ride, one girl who I won't identify, tells me I should go back to the U.S. I later explained in a somewhat agitated manner that in the USA, in my culture, it's rude to make someone wait when you tell them a time to be somewhere. The girl, who I still won't identify, tells me: "This isn't your culture. You're in our culture, Vietnamese culture." OK, but why have schedules then? I know the students expect me to be on time. They can be late because they pay, but I can't be late because I'm getting paid. Whatever. The kids are still great, the classes and students are still great, and my neighborhood and neighbors are great. I'm sure locals think I'm a whiner, which I am sometimes (it must be my culture), but I'm a whiner who shows up on time.
My spending spree continues. After I bought the iPod, I purchased an iPad (Apple notebook-type thingy) from my neighbor Phuong. She's been very helpful, assisting me in transferring data from my laptops to the iPad. She's not quite super cool yet, but she's getting there. Phuong's mom made me some wonderful coffee, so mom is close to super cool.
I love the numbers song, and so do my students. Well, most of them. It's the song where they sing all the numbers to 100, then go up to 1 trillion. The reason I mention this is because I'm about to hit a milestone -- 10,000 page views for my blog. I know my blog kinda sucks, but some people like to keep in touch or they're curious about the White Monkey. I've had hits from countless countries, including Sweden, Norway, Peru, Russia, Germany, Egypt, Algeria. Everywhere, really. The Vietnamese are the most loyal readers these days, and the USA has provided the most page views overall. I thank each and every person who has clicked on my blog and read my boring, self-centered, poorly worded, inconsequential drivel. THANK YOU ONE AND ALL!!!
I've had better weeks at work. A boy in a kids class imitated and mimicked everything I said in a Donald Duck voice. I tolerated it at first, but asked him to stop. After the 33rd time he did it, I sent him out of class for a minute to cool off. He was OK but his buddy in class decided to act up. Ugh. Once everybody settled down, class was over. Since these guys have no English, class rules don't mean much. I act the rules out and I think they get it, but they can always claim they didn't understand me. Regardless, no one leaves the room unless they ask. If they just walk out, which they tried to do, the White Monkey turns red and beats his chest. Later, when I was complaining about having to wait nearly 30 minutes for a ride, one girl who I won't identify, tells me I should go back to the U.S. I later explained in a somewhat agitated manner that in the USA, in my culture, it's rude to make someone wait when you tell them a time to be somewhere. The girl, who I still won't identify, tells me: "This isn't your culture. You're in our culture, Vietnamese culture." OK, but why have schedules then? I know the students expect me to be on time. They can be late because they pay, but I can't be late because I'm getting paid. Whatever. The kids are still great, the classes and students are still great, and my neighborhood and neighbors are great. I'm sure locals think I'm a whiner, which I am sometimes (it must be my culture), but I'm a whiner who shows up on time.
My spending spree continues. After I bought the iPod, I purchased an iPad (Apple notebook-type thingy) from my neighbor Phuong. She's been very helpful, assisting me in transferring data from my laptops to the iPad. She's not quite super cool yet, but she's getting there. Phuong's mom made me some wonderful coffee, so mom is close to super cool.
I love the numbers song, and so do my students. Well, most of them. It's the song where they sing all the numbers to 100, then go up to 1 trillion. The reason I mention this is because I'm about to hit a milestone -- 10,000 page views for my blog. I know my blog kinda sucks, but some people like to keep in touch or they're curious about the White Monkey. I've had hits from countless countries, including Sweden, Norway, Peru, Russia, Germany, Egypt, Algeria. Everywhere, really. The Vietnamese are the most loyal readers these days, and the USA has provided the most page views overall. I thank each and every person who has clicked on my blog and read my boring, self-centered, poorly worded, inconsequential drivel. THANK YOU ONE AND ALL!!!
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