After many strongly worded e-mails we managed to convince TTV that the whole group is unhappy amd mot just being led by a few ringleaders! Their representative arrived and basically said that our company had gone back on almost everything they had agreed and a pay rise was highly possible. The new contract with the pay rise was handed over yet the terms were unclear and sounded like we would work overtime for no extra money as well as be messed around with changi...

A 6am start with a group of very excitable Vietnamese TAs far too early in the morning! Most of the boys rolled up drunk after only a few hours sleep. We were split on to 2 coaches and it wasn't long before the beers and vodka were opened to help pass the time on the long journey. The entertainment kicked in (karaoke) with the Vietnamese teachers leading a version of 1 little duck - the only sentence we managed was quack,quack,quack,quack but we tried much to th...

Another week nearly done and the days at work go quickly although sometimes have very little energy by the time Friday and the prospect of a whole day with grade 1 rolls around. This week even taught the same set of classes twice one day after the other as one of my schools was off. No idea what effect this had for the children as I was not teaching them anything new but I just do as I am told and go with it. We were 5 strong at the school that day with 4 company...

The weeks are beginning to get very tiring I may have to get in on this napping business, especially as the lunches are sooo long. 3 hours on your own when it's pouring with rain are arse numbingly boring. Still today I am updating my blog sat in the sun by a lake (the cover photo) so it's not all bad! I took some demo lessons for one school last week - mental 15-20 minutes to squeeze in a 40 minute session! Wasn't sure how they would work with this school as the...

Had a wander around the Old Quarter on my day off including a trip to the Dong Xuan market which was crazy. The aisles are so narrow and they sell just about everything there. Managed 10 minutes before I felt completely claustrophobic and had to get out. Not the place to go if your not fully relaxed! Then into 2 more days at work and more taxi hassels. On Thursday waited 40 minutes for a taxi with 2 confusing phone calls to BME and one very short txi ride with s...