One month has gone and it flashed by so fast I hardly know where it went. In that time I've visited several classes to listen in and answer questions, been to meals and coffees umpteen times, obtained a few Facebook friends, been taken to a Buddhist temple, and been to two weddings.We've also seen Independence Day and the Hungry Ghost and Mid-Autumn festivals go by. Independence Day (from the French 2nd September) was just as we arrived and flags were han...

You begin with the implements. Take a tissue (or more often than not a small square of cut paper) and carefully wipe the chopsticks and spoon. We felt a bit uncomfortable doing this at first, thinking it smacked of Western arrogance - but it has to be done. Then the cup or glass. Pour a dash of tea, swirl it round and tip it on the floor/footpath/nearest pot plant or into the bin which is sometimes under the table. Tea comes with everything, even coffee and the m...

A banquet at a restaurant with all the teachers from the Foreign Languages Department! What better way to finish the first week here? No it wasn't in our honor. It was the usual (it seems) way to end the departmental all-day planning day. We were invited and of course were thrilled to go. The evening involved lots of delicious food and many toasts of "chuc suu khoe!" (good health) and "bottoms up" (The locals here are keen on English colloquialisms). Many toa...

Well, here we go again – another assignment with AVI. Arrived in Hanoi 13th August for two and a half weeks of in country orientation and a crash language course before heading to our destination at Quang Ngai on the central coast. There we'll be doing much the same thing as in Lanzhou with me looking after the domestic front and trying to find something useful to do.The language is scary but interesting. Vietnamese has 11 vowels (not to mention another...