11.1.14 Went in search of a tailor shop this morning, unsuccessfully, before heading into the Old Quarter. Paula and I had lunch with Mien from the hotel where my mum and dad stayed, she is so lovely and another Vietnamese friend who has been a huge help. I can't believe she is 6 months pregnant she is tiny!! The weather was gorgeous so we wandered around for a while before heading home to relax before the circus. I am soooo glad we went to the circus it was ama...

The performances continued at the beginning of the week and my boss made me perform the solo dance from last week at every other performance, as if I didn't feel enough of a prat already! We were thrown in at the deep end again with no rehearsal even though we were sat there for 2 hours before. We just had to get on stage and go with the kids including the whole Gangnam style routine. This was after we had taken part in their fashion show where we had to hold han...

Belated entry this week was busy lesson planning (and a little socialising) at the weekend as we got our syllabuses so late! I have finally started teaching now and the first day was much tougher than I had expected. I found myself facing a huge language barrier and a lot of blank Grade 1 faces! I was given a lot of ideas to improve on by my TA like one word instructions and shout. I asked i it went well but they are hard to read and just say 'it's ok'. Although...

Still no sign of timetables so no idea what time I am getting up tomorrow, where I am going or what grade I am teaching!! I know they said go with the flow but this is slightly ridiculous. As the teaching hasn't kicked in, it still feels a lot like a holiday at the moment and making the most of the time to do the tourist thing before exploring further out. I have visited Hoa Lo prison, the women's museum, Hanoi social club, the Hanoi stadium and the water puppe...

Sin chao!! I have survived my first week in Vietnam - which is an achievment with the way the road. are here. It has been such a busy week and we have crammed a lot in but from what I've seen so far I think I am going to like it here. I will admit I did have a moment on the plane where I wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing but everyone here is great and we get along well so there is always someone to talk to and no time to feel lonely. I thought they wou...