Christmas in November?

November 20th is Teacher's Day in Vietnam, and every year it's like Christmas for teachers!  I love the generosity of the families here.  They definitely take Teacher's Day seriously and the kids always seem so proud to give us gifts.  Sometimes they're so excited they will blurt out what the gift is before I even unwrap it... "Happy Teacher's Day - it's chocolate!" hahaha...

This year we had a ceremony for teachers in the theatre and we all received a booklet of letters from our students.  It was really nice!  My desk was covered in gifts.  It's nice to be appreciated here.

I made a list of what I received, along with a bunch of cards...
- ceramic coffee tumbler
- bracelet with my name on it
- body set with gel, deodorant, cleanser, shampoo
- 3 boxes of chocolates
- 1 dark chocolate bar
- key chain
- 2 scarves
- decorate Vietnamese lacquer souvenirs:  2 vases, wall hanging, plate, and art piece with stand
- Face Shop set of 3 cleansing foams
- "Oriental Essence" aromatherapy shower gel
- 1 necklace
- Body Shop "Chocomania" soap and gel
- 2 boxes of Vietnamese coffee
- 3 shirts
- 1 Nine West purse
- $25 gift certificate for Tokyo Deli
- 1 box of butter cookies
- 1 tray of dessert squares
- 2 cupcakes
- flowers

"Angela Lisa" - me as the Mona Lisa?

Card from a student I taught last year - very cute!

So nice!  I'm going to miss Teacher's Day whenever we leave Vietnam.