There is a game I like to play with my students at the start of a new class, which kills time and helps them practice their speaking skills, which have only begun to improve under my talented tutelage. I break the class up into teams and then give them some imaginary money, say $10,000 (they especially love it if the money is in USD). I then take turns going from group to group having them ask me a question. I give them three choices (for example if they ask "Where are you from?" I write on the board a. England b. Australia c. USA) and they choose an answer, wagering money on it.
Vietnamese people love them some betting, and as they aren't allowed in casinos in Vietnam, class provides a great opportunity for them to practice their gambling skills. Predictably, at the end of the game, the team with the most money wins, and saying that my students like to win is like saying people regularly eat noodles here. At end of each round there is much screaming going on, particularly in my adult classes.
In one of my adult classes, the winner looked like a shoe in. One team had $42,00, one had $21,000 and one had $2,000. The question was "How did you arrive in Vietnam." A. Plane B. Bus C. Boat. They all answered a. plane. Yet, unbeknownst to them, I came into Vietnam by a bus from Cambodia. When I went up to the board and circled B. Boat the class full of adults ranging from 19-35 erupted in screams, yelling "Teacher, No, No!!! Not possible." Having bet everything they had, they were all laughing and screaming into the hallway.
Recently I played this game with a class and one of their questions was "What do you like best about Vietnam?" I gave the possibilities a. traffic (while sarcasm is most often lost here, the traffic is universally so horrible that they all laughed at this and knew not to guess a.) b. my job c. the people. Again, I thought this was an easy answer, that all my students would know to guess c. the people, but many of the groups said b. my job. While, they were distressed to lose money, they were flattered to think I liked the people the best here.
And it's true. Take New Year's Eve for example. I was at lunch with some friends when I heard the news that I had to register my phone with the cell phone company (this meant register my sim card to my passport number) by midnight or my phone service would be cut off forever. Going to the cell phone store after lunch, it was apparent that either people love to procrastinate here or that everyone in Saigon was unaware until New Year's Eve that they had to do this. Looking back, it would have been much easier just to wait and buy a new sim card, but the thought of not having my cell phone for a couple of days propelled me to go into this chaotic store where people were trying to complete this task during their lunch break. The store was small, there were not enough forms to fill out, there were only two ladies behind a glass barrier who were typing in the information very slowly into the computers while people waved their forms in the air and pushed against others as they tried to move to the front. (Sidenote: lines do not exist in Vietnam. I went to the movie theater and had to check my bag, when I got out of the movie the bag check looked like happy hour at a bar. Why people couldn't calmly wait for their bags I will not know. In my opinion the pushing crowd only creates more confusion and prolongs everything. And people think nothing of cutting you in lines at the supermarket...I could go on, but I will stop. Let's just say it is my new mission to instill lines in all of my classrooms.).
Walking into this store, I was completely overwhelmed to say the least. I didn't know what to do, and no one seemed to speak English. Then a girl approached my friends and me and asked if we needed help. We didn't even have to say yes. She grabbed some forms, translated the instructions, and actually ended up filling mine out. Then we realized that not only did we need a copy of our passport, we also need a copy of our sim card. Did we have to leave the store and find a photocopier? No, her friend went out and paid for the copies himself while we waited. And all because she wanted to seize the opportunity to practice her English. She asked for nothing in return.
And they waited with us while people pushed against us, which meant my head was level to all of their smelly armpits (I may be taller here, but I'm not that tall and there was no AC on in the store) . We were in the store for about two hours, and towards the end of wait, when no end seemed to be in sight and I had had enough of the pushing and the yelling and the shoving, I threw up my hands in the air and exclaimed "Troi Oi." (Troi oi, one of the few Vietnamese expressions I've learned is used from everyone, from my four year old students to adults, and from what I can tell it's roughly translated to oh my gosh.) And I think that my vocalizing the exasperation felt by many really lightened the mood. People started laughing, old men, young men, old women, young women. Some mirrored me by throwing up their hands too. I started making friends. I got invited to go get coffee with some people. And I got my form punched into the computer very quickly after that. And when I left the store everyone started saying "Happy New Year."
And to top it all off, no ones cell phones who did not register, have not been turned off. All of that work for nothing. Yet, I did get to see a wonderful example of hospitality in Vietnam.
I was describing this event to Elizabeth later in the day and we were discussing how incredible this girl had been to me, and how that is part of the beauty of living abroad. There are so many moments when you are completely vulnerable to other people, and they can either be so amazingly wonderful, or can completely ruin your day. Fortunately, in Vietnam, most of my experiences have been people going out of their way to help this young American.
Another person I have met here described the people here as "front porch people." And that is also true. Any given night if you're walking down the street you will see people sitting outside on their little, plastic chairs eating pho, or drinking beer. Doors and windows are wide open to let in the cooler air. Driving to school last night I looked into the variety of restaurants, bars, and homes, getting happier and happier by the minute as I observed the variety of people mingling together, drinking, eating, singing karaoke, watching tennis of soccer on tv. The residences and restaurants may not have the appearance of being five star, but the food is delicious, the service stellar, and the company congenial.
And to end this lengthy blog I will include some pictures and videos of the past few weeks!
This is my fresh squeeze orange juice lady. For 8,000 VND (less than fifty cents) I can get a delicious glass of vitamin c a day hand squeezed by this lovely lady. She even tries to teach me some Vietnamese!
Participating in the front porch life. Some friends and I went and ate dinner at this local diner we call "rum a hoy" due to the bottles of cheap rum they give you. Please notice the woman in the back left corner selling quail eggs and crackers to us.
love that you have a gambling ring in your classroom. i like picturing you with all of them jumping up and down. you are definitely the coolest teacher.
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