Vietnamese Hospitality: Hue Style

Before I go to sleep, I wanted to share an example of how ridiculously nice Hue people are.

Last night, the rim of my bike tire bent like a gummy bear (I can't quite think of any other comparison right now... maybe because I'm craving gummy bears), and I wasn't able to take it home. Luckily, one friend from our group had a motorcycle and he offered to take it up to the dorm for me, and I was ever so grateful. However, by the time we reached the dorm, the front gate was locked. Before we realized we had to go to the other side of the building, we had already dismounted and unravelled the rope from around the bike. I decided I was too tired to put the bicycle back on the motorbike, or to even throw the bike over the gate, so I locked it to a tree outside the building and called it a night.

In the morning, I wondered if my bike had gotten impounded or stolen. I came outside and saw a heavy chain around the front tire. I walked over the man who watches over the bicycles, waiting for a long lecture about how I should come back to the dorm before the gate closes, how I should never park the bike outside, etc. I put on my sweetest voice and started with a "Bac oi..." ("hey Uncle...") --

A little background on my relationship with Bac -- he saw that I didn't have a ride to the airport to catch my flight to Sai Gon, and instead of letting me take an expensive taxi, he offered to drive me on his motorbike. I honestly thought he didn't like me because I would always smile and say hi to him, and I wouldn't really get anything back. But over the bike ride to the airport, he warmed up to me and talked to me about his family and all his travels. He's really an awesome guy.

Back to the story -- I approached him very calmly and told him about the situation. He told me that he didn't impound it. He just wanted to put a chain around the front tire to make sure it wouldn't get stolen. I would've hugged him right then and there if it were appropriate. (Vietnamese people don't really hug.)

After he unchained it, the womyn who sell me banh mi (sandwiches) waved me over to have breakfast.  (Once you have loyalties to one banh mi stand -- there are about 3 at my school -- you can't go anywhere else. Not that I would want to. They're like my aunties.) I told them I had to walk my bike over to the bike shop for it to get fixed. They said that it was too far for me to walk and carry it. They turned to a random motorcyclist and told me that he would drive me and the bike over the shop, no problem. Only 10,000 dong (50 cents). I lifted the back wheel, thought about walking that way for about half a mile, and decided that I could pay up the 50 cents. Another man helped us get the bike on the back of his motorbike, and we rolled off.

Once we got to the bike shop, the driver had a young boy help him carry the bike off his. I reached into my wallet to hand him the money, and he asked in Vietnamese, "Are you trying to pay me?"

I confirmed yes, but he waved me off. "It's okay," he responded in Vietnamese, and he took off.

I dropped off my bike, and came back two hours later (uploading pictures on the blog and the heavy rain kept me from coming over sooner). I couldn't believe my eyes -- the mechanic had fixed the frame so that it looked completely new. I was so convinced that I would have to buy a new one, but he found a way to straighten out the wheel within the past two hours. I had my hand on a big bill in case he was going to charge me an arm and a leg, but then he finished and said, "35,0000." ($1.75) I handed the bills to him in disbelief -- no way would Americans ever be this efficient in fixing a bike frame, nor would they do it at such a cheap price. I thanked him, trying not to seem like it was too much in shock, and was able to continue the rest of my day now that my bike was fixed.

Whenever I see my friends and family outside of Hue, I always talk to them about how super friendly and nice Hue folks are. I was told this prior to coming to Hue, but I had no idea it would be to this extent. Maybe it's me comparing the people here to people in America, where folks are mostly individualistic and untrusting (and sometimes, rightfully so). Hue is truly the epitome of what it means to be a collective society -- where people look out for one another because they value each other as a whole, and that's how their community works.

America definitely has a thing or two to learn from this city.

Mot Tram Phan Tram

The English translation of "mot tram phan tram" is "100% percent." That's pretty much how I can describe my participation in any event in Vietnam... from teaching, to travelling with friends, to hanging out with my family. The fact that I no longer have a smart phone attached to my palm keeps me from getting distracted. The choice to not have a data plan has made it easier for me to fully enjoy the moments around me, and I've been updating through social networks a lot less. (Sorry!)

Modeling after my first lesson with Vanlam and Jess, I'm going to update about the past two weeks  through pictures and captions:

Welcoming dinner for the International Studies Department. I'm part of the English department, but indirectly also through International Studies because I teach an American Cultures course.

My lovely co-teacher, Ai Nhi. Here, we're eating Com Nieu, a claypot rice dish to be consumed with various dishes.

Julie and Jared singing to "Summer Nights" at our first karaoke night in Hue. 

My other lovely co-teacher, Dang Thu, invited me and Amy to have seafood hotpot at her family's house. Absolutely delicious.

When I went to Da Nang to celebrate mine, Khoai's and Cau Tung's birthday, I visited Co Minh and had her famous Mi Quang. It was so delicious! It actually put me out of commission for the whole weekend. And of course, the obligatory Bia Larue to help put me to sleep (as my uncle recommended).

In Co Minh's house, I caught this throwback picture of my second visit to Viet Nam. Here, my father, mother and I are paying respects to my Ong Noi (grandfather on my dad's side) on his birthday. RIP Ong Noi. 

On Khoai's birthday, we hung with with his friends, then head to Hoi An to meet with Cau Son and his friends, where they drank and criticized and empathized with my weak Vietnamese skills. 

Di Ngoc serenading Cau Tung on his birthday. How wonderful it is to have love like this after 21+ years.  =)

Amelia's students invited her on their senior trip, where she got to explore Central Viet Nam FO FREE! I had to take her to my fav place to get morning glory sauteed with garlic, and tofu sauteed with tomato sauce. Can't forget the banh mi.

As a gym member of the Indochine, a baller hotel in Hue, I became acquainted with Chi Hong, who works with the spa. One day, she took me out to eat Banh Cuon and have coffee with her friend, Tuan Anh. Even though she wanted to practice her English, we spent most of our time talking in Vietnamese and learning different vocabulary words in both languages. It's great to make new friends out here!

Last weekend, I went to Sai Gon to visit relatives and friends. My nephew (cousin's son who's one year older than me) welcomed me by taking me to get Hu Tieu, which are Phnom Penh noodles. The meats in it were a bit questionable, but when in Viet Nam... 

For lunch, the ETAers and I met up with Tin Mai, my friend from San Jose who's been teaching in Viet Nam for almost two years. The dishes were absolutely delicious! I definitely didn't mind shelling out $5 (when I'm typically used to paying $1 or less a meal).

Tin Mai told me about a Zombie-like chase around the touristy part of Sai Gon, where there are designated runners and chasers, and if a runner gets caught, they get turned into a chaser. I had to do it. I also convinced Jefferson to go with me, who beasted through seven out of ten bases of the chase. I only got a little past first base. Note to self -- during the real zombie apocalypse, do not separate from friends, and do not help people you don't know. 

I met up with my relatives on my father's side, and they took me to their new business, which is a karaoke place for locals. This is Trang, Sang's sister, who's 8+ months pregnant. She's due this week!!! =)

This past Sunday, I went to Vung Tau because I heard so much about it through my dad. Jess, Jefferson, and I rented motorbikes (sorry Mom!) and took them around the city. It was absolutely beautiful, and a wonderful break from Sai Gon, which is super busy. We visited Mountain of Jesus Christ, which was almost cut out of trip to enjoy more time at the beach. We climbed to the top where his arms are, and the view was absolutely worth it.

Jefferson, Jess's student Thao, and me at the top. Excuse us blocking the view, but there wasn't much we could do to move around on Jesus's arm.

To help students understand that America's heterogeneous culture can be represented as a mosaic, I had them create a mosaic representing who they are individually and as a class. They seemed to really enjoy their finished product. =) 

Some students from Group 6 posing proudly in front of their work.

Vay and Armael, my friends from the Bay Area, are currently in Hue, and they came by to one of my speaking classes yesterday to help out. Here, they are preparing them for "Anatomy Clumps," where students come together based on a number and a body part that they will join by. (Ex: Three feet = three students put their feet together) It was a great way to get the students up and moving, and to share their answers for class. 

Five knees!

Last night, we went to Duc Ha, and some kids were practicing their lion dance throughout the restaurant. Tet Trung Thu (Autumn Festival) is this Sunday! =)

Thoroughly enjoying the show 

For some reason, I wasn't able to take Jenelle on my bike, so I asked Armael to take over as I took his bike to our next spot, Monaco. Apparently, this happens when two people shift their body weight in different directions. I'm just glad they were okay!

I ran into my students from American Cultures Group 8 outside class after Vay and Armael taught and invited them to karaoke. They were happy to come and sing all English songs! =)

I hope to have more detailed updates soon, but the internet at my dorm is on the fritz. Until next time!

(Miss you and wish you were here, me, ba, Chi Thao!)

Quarter Century Y.O.

Yes, Cassell students, today's the day you find out my age... as long as you can figure out what a quarter of a century is. =)

Before I talk about how my day was, let me start first by sharing some lovely e-mails form my students I woke up to the day after:

"Dear Anna Nguyen ( i like Minh-Giang Nguyen name more^^). thanks you! i was a member of group 8! this is the first time i am taught by you, i am really love you, you are so humorous and lovely! In fact , i don't have favorite about American Culture because i don't know anything about American Culture. I really want to know all of thing about American Culture, so i hope that, after this American Culture course with you, I can understand many things about American Culture and i will have my favorite about American Culture ^^. I will try my best to learn anything that you will teach me. Thanks for your teaching and wishing you will have funny time in Vietnam - our country ^^.
Take care of yourself!"

"Dear Ms.Anna

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

This day is your birthday, I do hope that you will have great time with your beloved friends.

Also, I want to send an email to you just to say hello.

I don't know how to express my feelings but I really like the way you talk and make friend with us this morning.I like your voice,you're friendly and humorous. that is the reason why I felt more self-confident when I and my classmates talked with you. I think I can learn a lot from you to improve my English skills because in fact i'm not good student. I hope that you will help us know about American culture more and more and have good time together.

P/S: Can you "ignore" my grammar mistakes?

Once again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!Have good time in Vietnam"

Quite possibly some of my favorite birthday greetings ever... along with some that I received from family and friends. =)

Maybe the reason why I received such nice e-mails was because I had such a good time with my class the morning of my birthday. The night before class, I took in my co-teacher's advice about making the slides simpler and focusing on certain vocabulary words throughout the lesson. I also went straight into introductions rather than doing the name game. The result? More participation, understanding, interaction, smiles and laughs. Some of the students were really confident when they presented to class. For example, I asked them: What do you know about American culture? One female student responded that Americans are more open with their feelings and she started talking about PDA in comparison to how Vietnamese couples interact with one another. One male student talked about how American culture, students often raise their hand to participate, unlike Vietnamese students. (He actually sounded spiteful to the rest of the class. Haha.) I made sure to affirm their answers, while responding that while those things are true, they aren't always true. Oh, the difficulties of explaining such a heterogeneous culture.

During lecture, I made sure to compare everything I was talking about to Vietnamese culture, especially since their goal is to be able to understand American culture in comparison and in contrast to what they know about their own culture. Again, I used Vietnamese words to entertain them, and as with the rest of my students, they enjoyed my example about eating dog meat to talk about how we shouldn't generalize that just because one person does thing, that everyone else does it as well. By the way, not all Vietnamese people eat dog meat, ya'll. In fact, no one in my class admitted to trying it before, even after I put on the board, "Thit cho -- ngon qua!" ("Dog meat -- so delicious!")

At the end of lecture, I played music to share with them my favorite part of American Culture (also something for them to look into for homework). Then my co-teacher Thu approached me with a birthday gift -- a bronze ring formed into eagle feathers! It was so nice of her. The rest of the day, I caught up with friends, blogged at a nearby cafe that had faster internet, and indulged in some White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies with some milk, and napped. (People nap a lot in Hue -- especially between 11AM-1PM, the hottest time of the day.)

My pre-nap / birthday treat. I like to dissolve crispy cookies in milk so I can drink it like a milkshake. I'm odd -- I know.

By the time I woke up from my nap, it was already dinner time! I got ready to meet with my friends, and we headed to a quan nhau, which is a place that is designated to drinking beer and snacking on delicious food. Huda is the main brand of beer in Hue, so we ordered several to share. Some new friends we made at the next table also ordered us a round, and one bought me a bouquet of roses upon finding out that it was my birthday and got the whole restaurant singing the birthday song to me. It was a definitely a great way to spend the evening.

Amy, Jenelle, our new friend Truong, Jared, me, and Steven enjoying our dinner and company.

After that, we went to Backpacker's Hostel to hang out in a more quiet setting. Amy surprised me with a delicious chocolate cake -- chocolate cake layered with chocolate mousse and topped with chocolate shavings. I was in chocolate heaven! I satiated all cravings for chocolate upon scarfing down a piece within two minutes. We also ran into a couple ex-pat and Vietnamese friends, and also joined with the friends we made at the quan nhau place. Overall, it was a wonderful birthday experience, and I have my new friends as well as my friends and family from home to thank. =)

My birthdate (day/month)

The crew!

Hue, How You Livin'?

I realized that I haven't posted about Hue yet, so I'll post a little about my first day here.

I left Ha Noi to go to Da Nang. I spent the night there with family and got ready to leave for Hue the next morning. My uncle, Cau Dai, and my cousin, Em No, drove me across the countryside to arrive in a quaint part of Hue. The school is about 2 miles away from the city center, which is quite nice since I won't be too distracted by city life, yet will have a getaway if I need one.

My school!

 When I arrived, I had my boss's assistant, Chi Nhi, help me get settled in. I have to say, given that I'm a city person and had just arrived from Ha Noi, it took me awhile to absorb my setting and get comfortable. Also, upon coming into my room, there was a lot of dust and insects (dead and alive) crawling around. However, with a positive attitude, bug spray, a broom, and careful eating around the room, my room has grown into a nice home for me after coming back from class.

Here's some views from and of my room:

View directly in front of my room. I park my bicycle to the right, and I walk across the road and to the right to get to school. (White building to the very righthand side)

View to the right of my room

View to the left of the room

View coming into the room. (Don't be fooled by the TV -- there are no English-speaking or subtitled channels.)

Room with furnishings (desk to the left hand side). The shower, toilet, sink and clothesline are in the back, with a door separating it

Separate shower with water heater

Separate toilet

After getting a tour of the room, I realized I had a lot to clean and set up. My uncle must've read my reaction well, and he offered to take me to Big C after lunch, which is like the Target of Viet Nam. 

First lunch in Hue this year! (That's pork, not dog meat. Mama Nguyen said I'm not allowed to eat dog meat anymore due to sanitation reasons. Haha.)

After we ate a delicious meal, we went to Big C. Em No took me around and gave me advice on what to get while Cau Dai waited outside. Poor guy thought we were just going to get clothes hangers -- we ended up getting everything we thought was necessary -- from that, to emergency Western goods in case I get homesick. (I anticipate diving into some Pepperidge Farms Sausalito cookies today to celebrate my birthday!)

Em No with our shopping cart, hiding from the camera.

We came back to my dorm, dropped off the items, and from there, Cau Dai and Em No bid "see you later" -- literally, since I planned to take the bus back to see them for the weekend.

For the rest of the day, I caught up on e-mails, set up my room, then went searching for some Bun Bo Hue (Hue beef noodle soup), which is one of my favorite Vietnamese dishes (Mi Quang is my ultimate favorite). I walked into the city a little past sundown, and I ended up walking along the streets to avoid the fire and ashes since Vietnamese people tend to burn offerings for their ancestors outside their house on the sidewalk. I let my eyes and stomach guide me as I walked around searching for "Bun Bo Hue." A lot of "Bun Bo, Bun Gio, Bun Ga," but no Bun Bo Hue.

I reached a point where I got to a Jesus statue outside of a church and realized that I was hungrier than I thought. As if He helped me reached a revelation, I turned around, saw the sign "Bun Bo," and realized that I was in Hue... so it would be a bit redundant to advertise "Bun Bo Hue" if I'm already in Hue. Duh, Anna.

I plopped down in a chair, ordered Bun Bo, added the necessary amount of chili, and got down with the delicious bowl of soup. My hunger may have amplified my tastebuds, but it was that point that I decided that I love Hue food -- and that I better find a way to work out to fully enjoy everything I eat here while maintaining my shape. Oh, and did I mention that it was only about $1 per bowl? (Probably less in other places, too.)

I continued my journey through the night by walking towards the downtown area (probably 2-3 miles away from my college). I found the Westerner area and plopped into a spot where I played pool with the local servers and some other Westerners. When 10:15PM rolled around, I called a taxi to made sure that I made it by my 11PM curfew, because the gates of our dorm lock by that time. No exceptions.

Since then, I've been able to meet with other teachers (local and foreign), people working with non-governmental organizations that I look forward to volunteer with, and I have been getting better acquainted with the city. Since Amy's been here for a year already, she's been taking us to a new place for dinner every night and has been really helpful with her advice about going about town and working with university students. I also have a bicycle now, so I look forward to riding it about town as well.

I'll be sure to update on my birthday activities (with more pictures!) this weekend! =)

First Day of Teaching ... (and then some)

I’m always nervous about the first day of teaching. I choose to err on the side of over-preparing rather than under-preparing. Therefore, on Monday night (Sept. 3), I spent hours revamping some Powerpoints that my co-teacher, Thu, and my colleague, Amy, handed over to me from their previous courses. I revised, edited, and added many visuals to make sure my EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students were able to match pictures to the words on the screen and my lecture. By the time 1AM rolled around, I realized that I wouldn’t get a full-night’s sleep before my 7AM class. (Okay, when do I ever get a full-night’s sleep?) I wanted to wake up at 5:45AM so I could get ready, eat breakfast, and get to my class early enough to set up my computer and the seats.

            A restless night of sleep later (I had woken up on several occasions to me scratching my mosquito bites), I woke up at 6:10 and rushed to get ready. I left my room by 6:51AM to get to my classroom by 6:55 (the benefits of leaving across the road from school) to see my students trickling in. They had already crowded toward the center of class and left no walking room in between them, and since I had to tend to setting up my presentation, I let them continue. “Morning class!” I greeted them, “Since I have to set up, we’ll get started in 10 minutes.”

            Some of the students nodded slightly, while others just stared at me. I repeated myself in Vietnamese this time, and I saw their mouths curve to smiles – whether they pitied my mediocre Vietnamese or genuinely appreciated the translation (or both), I don’t know.

I walked to the end of the hall to see that the room that had the key to the projector was locked. Oh, Vietnamese time. (Quick explanation: typically in Vietnam, people tend to be late for their engagements. Why? I don’t know, but it’s a culturally accepted phenomenon – something we call “rubber time” as well.) Normally, in situations like these in the U.S., I would panic, get upset, etc., but I instead brainstormed things to do with the class until the room opened. Luckily, my other co-teacher, Nhi, had arrived and helped me with the whole situation.

Long story short, 20 minutes later, we were ready to begin. About 30 students were present – all third-year college students, and all young womyn. Apparently, the heavy rain, the return from the holiday, and the complications with registration kept the other 40 students I was supposed to have present from attending the class. However, I worked with it. Nhi started us with the “Name Pantomime,” where students came up with actions that matched their name (ex: mine was “Dancing Giang” while I did the cabbage-patch). The students interacted, but were too shy to do the action. After that and a quick logistical overview of the course, we talked in pairs about their names, ages, families, hometown, hobbies, and things they liked about American Culture. That went over very well, and they enjoyed standing and seeing what their classmates also identified with.

However, the harder part of each lecture I’ve had so far (three) was the part about introducing American Culture. I had tried to cover too much ground about what America was and wasn’t. I tried to explain that America was a heterogeneous culture, but I used too many different vocabulary words, and I went on too many tangents. I had idealized that I would be teaching a college course, which meant  -- under American standards – that I would lecture, and the students would occasionally participate. This is not the case in Viet Nam – at least not in Hue University: College of Foreign Languages. The students have minimal exposure to English outside of the school, so their fluency is still relatively low. I instead need to teach my students about concepts the way I would my fifth graders – points simplified and constantly repeated, with many visuals, and much engagement and participation. This, I will be sure to change for my last intro lecture on Friday.

Overall though, it was a good first day. I made sure to bust out my Vietnamese vocabulary every now and then to grab their attention (much like I would with Spanish with my students back at Cassell), and the students genuinely liked it.

After my first class was over (8:50AM), I came back to my room and wrote in my teacher journal to reflect on what went well and what I needed to improve for my 1PM class, which would be the same lecture, just different students. Then, I went to get lunch with Amy and her student-friends that we made last year. Steven, Jenelle (other new English teachers) and I were invited over to their room, where they cooked (I kid you not) a five-course meal with rice using just one burner in their room. We had rau hen (spinach fried with garlic with Hue mussels), canh ca chua (sour soup with fish), thit heo (pork), nem ran (fried spring rolls), and tofu. As I hear it, students who live in the dorms typically make their own meals everyday. Amazing! I wish I could cook like them! The students were so friendly, and we all enjoyed the food over English-Vietnamese conversations.

I left lunch a bit early to get ready for my 1PM class, and that went a little bit better than my first class because I corrected the mistakes that I made from the first class. For example, I told my first class that I would e-mail them, and I forgot to take down their e-mails. (I thought it would be provided by the registrar, but apparently not.) I also forgot to show them the last slide that had their homework assignment. I also moved through the lecture more smoothly the second time around because I knew what points I wanted to get across. Nhi and I were definitely more confident this time around, and it made me realize that it would be nice to teach in an environment in America where I can be able to use the same lesson plan for multiple classes so I work more toward improvement each time I use them. Maybe I can follow my Cassell students to middle or high school…

The rest of the day moved by quickly: got dinner at a vegetarian restaurant (two friends in our group are vegetarian), went to a going-away party for an ex-pat (Westerner), ran into a fellow Vietnamese-American organizer who is also going to be in Hue for a year (yay Minhchau and Friends of Hue Foundation!), accidently got my fortune told when I was walking down the street (I’m too scared to do that kind of stuff), got locked out of my housing (gate locked 10 minutes before it was actually supposed to), and knocked out once I got in.

Probably one thing that stands out the most to me of that night was the fortune teller told me, after getting two facts right about me, that she saw me relaxing at a beach, and that a child with me would have be in the water and have trouble breathing. I think that she meant that she saw someone close to me drowning. I got so scared that I rushed away from her as fast as I could. I have a lot of younger cousins, so I imagine I’ll be keeping an eye out for them every time I go to the beach with them…