Ok, sorry for not updating for a long time. I got lazy, then I traveled to Ho Chi Minh City and then I got sick for a week, so those are my excuses. Other than being sick all this week, everything has been really good. I am getting more settled in to life in Vietnam and Tra Vinh. Class is still going well, I like teaching, and my student's try hard (most the time). About two weeks ago, Anh-Thu (other volunteer) and I had lunch with our friend Giang (pronounced li...

Hello from Tra Vinh. I have finished my second week of teaching, and all has gone well so far. The students are all very nice. They all walk in, bow their head slightly and say, "good morning teacher." Teachers in Vietnam are very highly respected. There is even a teacher's day that is a very important holiday. I am told I may have to sing or dance (I hope not for everyone's sake). There is also supposed to be a teacher's vs. students soccer game that d...

Hello from Tra Vinh, in the Mekong Delta (my new home). I arrived here about a week ago, and all is well so far. After Sapa, I spent one night in Hanoi and then flew to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). My friend Tam was waiting at the airport to greet me, and it was really nice to see her after 1.5 years. She was going to give me a ride, but could not find her motorbike keys, so we ended up just taking a taxi from the airport (she later found the keys in the bag we bot...

I am back in Hanoi today after a week in beautiful Sapa. My last few days of language classes went well, and I feel I have a good start to really learning Vietnamese, but it is really hard. One of my last days in Hanoi, a few of us went to Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum. Ho Chi Minh wanted to be cremated upon his death, and have his ashes spread across Vietnam. To honor his wishes, the Vietnamese embalmed his body and built a massive mausoleum for public viewing. It w...

Hello from Hanoi. I have been here over a week now, sweating like crazy in this heat and humidity. Last time I was here was in January when it was actually cold…no such luck now. A few days ago the heat index was 104 at midnight. Ok, enough whining about that. We arrived last Saturday with minimal issues. Another volunteer did cut his visa and they almost didn't let him board the plane. After an hour of trying to decide what to do in the Bangkok airport, the ...