Back in Canada!

I arrived yesterday morning in Toronto after nearly 24 hours of travel.  It was a long day, but I'm happy to say that I'm back in Canada!  Right now I'm staying at Vanessa's place in Mississauga.

The plane ride from HCMC to Seoul was bumpy and I didn't sleep much (only half an hour maybe at the end).  The good news was that at the Seoul airport there were rooms where you could have free showers and use hair dryers.  Cool!  Seoul to Toronto was lonnggg.  Maybe 14 hours or so?  I don't really know and was confused about the time zones.  The ride was mostly smooth and I was able to sleep for a while on the plane.  It was my first long haul flight on Korean Air.  I think Cathay Pacific has better food (Haagen Dazs?!  YES!) but Korean Air served up some so-so meals and one great one (bibimguksu aka noodles and vegetables with chili paste).  Cathay Pacific also had better entertainment (more TV options!) ... but I think Korean Air had slightly better seats.  Anyway, when you're on a flight that long it's going to be sort of uncomfortable unless you're sitting in the exit rows or in first class!

After arriving at the airport, I took a cab to Vanessa's place which was about 15 minutes (maybe less) and cost $40.  The same cab ride in Vietnam would probably cost $10 or less.

I felt good after arriving, but then started to get sleepy in the afternoon.  I set my alarm for a one-hour nap that ended up being 4 hours (the alarm went off but I didn't hear it and Vanessa shut it off!) ... when I woke up it was 6:49pm.  I couldn't believe it!  I went to bed at around 11 but woke up at 3:45am... oops!

Today Vanessa had to do some assignments for her course and Adam was at work, so I walked to the mall nearby.  I felt a bit overwhelmed walking into the mall... I'd forgotten how much stuff costs here.  I saw Bubble Tea which cost $5... it costs 50 cents in Vietnam.  Did not buy.  I did buy some clothes for work which weren't too expensive by Canadian standards, but the amount I spent could have bought me tons of clothing in Vietnam at the market.  Oh well!  I did pay a visit to Tim Hortons and got a bagel with cream cheese and hot chocolate... my fave!  It was weird waiting in line for so long and seeing people of so many ethnic backgrounds.  Vietnam is pretty Vietnamese and people don't wait in lines.  They basically push their way to the front, whenever possible.

Also, I must note that it's pretty cold here. 21 degrees!!!  I'm used to it being over 30 degrees every day.  Crazyyy.

Anyway, that was my first full day back.  It's good to be back!!!!

Last day of school

Today was the last day of school.  It was only half a day.  At the end of the day, all the teachers waved goodbye to the students leaving on buses.  It was funny because some teachers started singing the "Na Na Na Na... Goodbye" song hahaha!

It was a decent first full year of teaching.  It did not come without its challenges.  Some of these challenges were just from being inexperienced and others were definitely due to the particular circumstances of the class.  It's not easy teaching the Ontario curriculum to a class full of ESL students, some having entered the year with almost zero English skills.  I know that I can build on this experience and make things better for next year.

After work, we went to the most popular pub with teachers on staff called "The Tavern."  Goodbyes were said... it was hard to say goodbye to a few teachers who will not be returning next year.  I'll also be missing our friends that we won't be seeing over the summer.  We'll meet again in August!

For now, I have to do more laundry, clean, pack, and then get on a plane tomorrow evening bound for Seoul, and then connect to fly to TORONTO, CANADA!!!!!

Hen gap lai... see you soon!!!!!!!!!!!

Travel

Found this on a few friends' Facebook pages... well-written!

Moving on up!

So... we decided to move!  The new place is definitely an upgrade, but in an older apartment complex.  The interior of the unit is amazing.  I was actually blown away with how clean and beautiful it was, considering the fact that we've seen other units within the same complex that were not so great.  We're moving into a "penthouse" (3 floors!) with our friends Greg and Tanya.  Since we're splitting the cost of rent and utilities, everyone will be saving some money.  The place has 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, kitchen, living room, 3 balconies, several random desk/sitting areas, and beautiful furniture!  There are some aspects of the place that are modern, but there are a lot of unique antique-looking Chinese furniture pieces that give the place an interesting character.  Also, there is some beautiful artwork and lighting all around the apartment.  It's the nicest place I've seen in Vietnam, and we're lucky that we were able to get it since many others viewed the place too!

The owners are super nice.  They're Vietnamese but lived in France for 50 years.  They gave us the keys to the place yesterday.  Last night we went there to move some things in, but the good thing about moving in Vietnam is that all the apartments are furnished.  The only things that we really need to move are clothing and other personal items.  We don't even need movers... just pack up some bags and walk down the road 5 minutes!

Here are some pics... click for bigger view.

View from one of the balconies

1st floor

2nd floor

3rd floor

There it is!  This might be the only place where we can afford to live in a penthouse so it's time to live it up... :)

Visit from Switzerland!

On our trip to Laos in April/May, we met a lovely Swiss couple during our stay at the Gibbon Experience.  Our group shared a treehouse with Sacha and Simone for several days.  They are travelling around Asia for several months, and are just coming to the end of their travels.  They stopped in HCMC for a few days to see the sights and stayed at our friends' apartment.  They even made a visit to our school!

Here we all are at dinner, eating Vietnamese food.  The waiter seemed to have no idea how to use a camera so that's why the photo is blurry... haha!

Anyway, it was nice to see them again.  I love meeting people on our travels.  Looking forward to visiting them in Switzerland some day... :)

Smoothies... Start Today!!!

About every other day I pay a visit to a fruit shop in the apartment complex to buy some fruit or a smoothie.  The place is called "Start Today."  It's a great name... makes you want to be healthy and START TODAY, doesn't it?  Ha ha...

Anyway, if I feel hungry, I usually get a mango-avocado smoothie.  Sounds weird, but it's really good.  Some teachers from last year recommended it to me.  It's not your average smoothie... it's thicker and more rich.  It's almost like a meal replacement!  It tastes like mango but not as strong because the avocado makes it milder/creamier.  The great part about these smoothies (besides the taste) is the price.  Only 30,000 VND ($1.50!) ...

Mango-avocado smoothie

Start Today!

My other favourite smoothies here are:  mango-strawberry, mango-watermelon, and just plain mango!  Can you tell I like mango?  The fruit is also good here... this is where I purchased the mangosteen, passion fruit, dragon fruit, etc.  The fruit here is always so fresh!

Beautiful Sunday!

Happy Sunday!

This is a song that a kid in our class sang, karaoke-style, for show and tell a few months ago.  The students really liked it so we decided to sing it for the year-end grade 1 celebration.  Here's a video I made to go along with the song performance... click here.

Art for Action

This week we just had the 3rd annual Art for Action evening at our school.  On this special event, the school is open for families to come view some amazing displays of art - visual, drama, and music.  There was art for sale, with proceeds going to local charities.

The quality of the art was very impressive.  It was awesome to attend such a wonderful event!

The theme for all the grade 1 classes' art was cooperation.  They created the art together!

The building was transformed into such a vibrant, colourful place.  It was truly a sight to see!

End of the year partayyy

Last weekend was our staff party to celebrate the end of the year.  It was filled with many emotions... excitement, happiness, sorrow, and hope!  We were all pretty excited and happy to be so close to finishing up a year of teaching, but emotions were high, as a grade 10 student at our school suddenly died in an accident just days before the party.  We had a tribute to him, as well as some farewell speeches to teachers that are leaving Vietnam this year.  The end of the year has been a tough one for the staff, as a maintenance worker also passed away in recent weeks.  I think many of us are hopeful that next year will be even better than this one.  It's hard to believe that one year has already come and gone, and that we'll be heading back to Canada for the summer!

This year we made some great friends, and I'm sure next year we'll make some new friendships as well.  I'm looking forward to the new school year, but I'm REALLY looking forward to coming home.  Only 16 more days!!!

Field trip!

This week we went on a field trip.  The kids visited a mini "city" and got to pretend they had jobs like pilot, fire fighter, artist, etc.  They could dress up in uniforms and go to work!

They really enjoyed it.  The good thing about this trip was that the place was enclosed and the kids could roam free.  The guides helped them to experience the different jobs and the teachers could just relax, haha!  Actually, we tried to go inside some of the "buildings" to take photos but were told that it was for kids only!

Luckily, the day went without any major issues.  We did have a student at one point call home on her cell phone that she brought on the trip, telling her mom that she couldn't find her friends.  Then the mom called the school secretary, who then called the teacher to inform her that the student was "lost."  HAHA!

Life