Am gradually finding my feet in my new life in Thu Dau Mot.

We had the official opening of the University for this academic year which went on for several hours. Started with some great performances from students but then moved into lots of speeches from many of the numerous sponsors of programs within the University.They constructed a huge tent in which to hold the ceremony decked out in a mountain of fresh flowers which was fortunate given that it decided to rain!! Following the ceremony all faculty staff were taken to a local restaurant for a huge lunch with plenty of free-flowing wine and beer. Needless to say little if any work got done that afternoon!!

A few of us were invited by our hotel manager (Kenny) to his home for a fantastic Vietnamese feast. It was in honour of his dead mother so it seemed a little weird to be celebrating but we were made to feel most welcome and despite the language barriers we all ended up having a great night. I loved the food especially the hot pot!!

Work is starting to settle into a routine and I am getting used to teaching FOUR hour classes. Seemed like a marathon to begin with and I still question just how much the students can actually retain but that is the way it is done so we will just have to work with it. Am getting to know my students names even if I come up with some unusual pronunciations which sends them into fits of giggles but I use it as a learning tool to remind them that it is more important to have a go than remain silent.

The social events here seem to cover just about everything. We went out to a 5 star golf resort for wine tasting and several of us bought a few bottles to bring home. We have quiz nights at one of the pubs and there are also table tennis, football (soccer) and billiard nights organised.

I am eating a lot more western food than I would have thought possible in an Asian country but that is mainly because I cant read the menus and my allergy to eggs. I have just managed to get someone to write out for me "I am allergic to eggs" and "eggs can kill me" to show to the restaurant staff so now I am more confident in going out to try different restaurants. The 2 main restaurants that we frequent are Billy's and Harry's both run by expats which serve a variety of western and Vietnamese foods but I am really wanting to get into some of the smaller family run cafes etc. Mind you I have already made an embarrassment of myself as anyone who has read my Facebook posts will know. I ordered a pawpaw smoothie at the Uni canteen but unfortunately my pronunciation of pawpaw came out as f**k f**k and I ended up with many students and the canteen staff laughing hysterically!!!!

Weekends have been spent looking around the town. It is quite a pretty town with lots of trees around. We seem to be living in a fairly new part of town so will have to take some photos of he houses soon to give you an idea of my actual surroundings.So far we have managed to find a place to get our manicures and pedicures done. Have tried a few massage places but am yet to find one that can do a proper remedial massage which I desperately need. OH how I miss my TCM doctor in China!!! Had a look around the local markets where it seems you can buy just about anything. I cant recognize some of the fruits and vegs but am willing to give them a try. We tend to avoid the meat section as I really can do without seeing them actually kill my dinner!!!

Friday night a group of us went out for dinner and then headed to a club for cocktails to celebrate getting through our first 3 weeks of teaching.......well at least that gave us a good enough reason to celebrate.....not that we needed much encouragement!!! Only let down for the night was when I paid the bill and gave them 200,000 dong instead of 20,000 dong....so bloody hard to see in the darkness and the staff certainly scurried off in a big hurry before I realised. Kind of disappointing as usually the Vietnamese people are open, honest and friendly with us when they know we are living in the town but I'll just put it down to bad luck

Went out to a Vietnamese restaurant with a few teachers last night - one of whom is married to a Vietnamese lady who ordered a variety of wonderful dishes. We had actually gone there specifically for the duck but were told it would be over an hour before it would be cooked. Upon further questioning we found out they would have to kill the duck first....at least we know our meat is fresh!! Needless to say we intend to return again and will pre-order the duck.

We will be getting our first pay this week.......6 weeks with living on our savings has been taking its toll on us.....none of us enjoying having to watch how much we spend all the time. A few of us are thinking of heading into Saigon for the weekend so we will see what eventuates.

That is about all my news for now. I feeling well, gradually settling in and keeping an optimistic attitude.

Bye for now. xxx