School says no more; 'tough guys'; holiday cheer

My wife made arrangements with a local school a couple of weeks ago to have our daughter attend afternoon sessions only. The school is part of a farm and has some caged animals and fish ponds for the kids to see. The afternoon sessions consisted of the kids basically hanging around and since they had already seen the two caged iguanas, caged turtle, hamsters, and rabbit, not much happened after 2 p.m. Joanna, however, was fascinated by the animals, especially the fish in the ponds. Joanna, being who she is, tested the limits, trying to touch the caged animals, and grab fish. She's watched a few too many Blippi and wildlife videos on YouTube. I talked to her about the danger of handling iguanas, and she seemed to get it. But apparently, Joanna got on someone's nerves, either the teacher's or director's, and she was told not to come back to the school. The teacher and director blamed each other for the decision, and we were told there wasn't enough staff to ensure her safety. Could be the case.  Joanna is very high energy and the other kids seem a little more passive. My wife Phuong was quite surprised and a little upset at the decision, and the way it was delivered. I shrugged it off. I've worked with Joanna five days a week for the past seven weeks and I've seen her reading and comprehension dramatically improve.  Her listening skills also have improved, and she follows direction much better. I remind myself that she's had to deal with a foreign language spoken in sharp tones, and she's been taught in a system of education that seems to focus on  uniformity, conformity, discipline and repetition. Not her style. She's bright and will figure things out over time. In defense of anyone trying to supervise Joanna, however, she's remarkably strong-willed, stubborn and focused, and can be quite the handful. These days she insists on walking to Lido coffee shop. The whole trip is at least a couple of miles, and it's hot, dirty, and mildly dangerous, of course. At Lido, Joanna discovered a fern that folds up and "wilts" when you touch it -- the Mimosa pudica or touch-me-not plant or shame plant. She loves the fish they keep there, and she spotted tadpoles in a planter bowl and a grasshopper on the grass and another one in the mimosa pudica. It's a long day when we have school in the morning and walk to Lido in the afternoon. It's almost becoming a routine.
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Poor Joanna can't get a break sometimes, especially with other kids. We were walking to the little market near our house when a boy about 6 or 7 years old approached her in the street and stuck his middle finger in her face. Joanna was skipping in new shoes and the boy stopped her progress with his finger. He said something to her and walked away laughing. I asked the boy to stop and tell me what's up, and he laughed at me and walked away. I grabbed his hand and asked what finger he used and he started crying. His mother, or maybe she was  someone in his tribe, came running up and pulled him away. And guess what ... she was laughing, too. Another woman in the tribe sitting in front of their house apologized, and I told her in Vietnamese that Joanna is my little girl and that's not acceptable. The finger boy has said hello to us in the past as we walked up the street, but he was getting a little chestier and sillier each time. Apparently, something like this was bound to happen. Earlier in the week, Joanna and I were crossing a small side street when a "Grab" guy (Grab is a driver service here) on a motorbike came ripping around the corner. I put up my staff and pulled Joanna aside expecting to get hit. The guy stopped in time, then did the stare and glare routine as he rode by real slow. Then he stopped about 15 feet away to look back and stare and glare some more. I asked him why he was stopping to stare and glare if he was in such a hurry in the first place. He turned his bike around like he wanted a real confrontation. The last time this happened to me, a guy threw something at me and rode away like a rocket. The second guy just eventually rode away, looking back as if to say I was lucky this time. The real deal is that most of the people here are bright, nice and gentle. But the minority of morons really stands out sometimes. Folks in the U.S. know what I'm talking about.
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Christmas remains wonderfully low-keyed here. Even though COVID is almost a non-factor in Vietnam, no one discusses presents and sales and all the other things associated with the Christmas holiday season in the U.S.  Some of that comes with Tet Holiday here, but not as much as in the U.S. with any holiday, really. Chalk it up to media and capitalism, I guess. Regardless, I wanted to sincerely wish all a wonderful holiday. It's been a tough year on many levels and everybody needs a shot in the arm, so to be speak. Now is the time to look back and learn from the past, but not dwell on it. The present and future offer hope and promise. That's worth celebrating.