PartiesClass PartyOwen has an English speaking and listening class with non-English teachers twice a week in the late afternoon/evening. On hearing the next topic was to be cooking, the class suggested it be held at our house and a small party follow. So on the day, after some discussion and vocabulary building around food, cooking styles, cooking terminology and a quiz on utensils and equipment around the kitchen (still scrubbing texta numbers off pots and pans ...

These blog entries are becoming fewer and further apart! Sometimes I find it hard to write as our experiences here are a lot like those in Quang Ngai and I often feel like I'm repeating myself. However one thing that is different is our semi-rural location - it's not like our little built-up, busy laneway in central Quang Ngai, so the feel of the place is quite different.On our return from our month of winter in Perth, we were thrust into the heat and hum...

July is long break time at the university, and the middle of the hot and humid season, so we decided to take the month off and visit family and friends in Australia - even though it's mid-winter there.We stopped over in Singapore for a few days R & R as we hadn't been there for yonks. We had a really enjoyable time there, the weather was bearable, just, and the city is very easy to get around. Managed to vote at the Australian High Commission and they eve...

Remember a few months ago when the temperature was around zero, and I was rugged up watching the tennis on TV and only emerging to get food? Well for the last few weeks the temperature has been in the high thirties and the humidity 50-80%, so now I'm ensconced in the bedroom (the only room in the house with air-conditioning) and only emerge twice a day to go to the market and prepare food. I take in the laptop, phone, books, ironing, etc., and only come out w...

Time PourOne minute I've plenty of time on my hands, then next thing I know I'm helping out pretty much full time in the library. It seems they would like me to catalogue some English language material that's been sitting in the too-hard corner, as well as discuss generally the running of the place. So for the last couple of weeks that's what I've been doing. They have an online catalogue with a database similar to those at home, they even use...