arrival and settling in

(An intersection near our house)

These days I'm feeling like a happy sheep—well-fed, well accommodated, and safe in the care of a good shepherd. Hai, the school director, has been incredibly attentive to our needs, giving us structure and guidance in our first few days here. With Hai, walking around the city, going to restaurants, and shopping have been full of adventure without fear.

We arrived in Danang last Thursday afternoon after smooth and comfortable travel, and a few hours' layover in the Hanoi airport that had made us suddenly aware of our foreignness. (That feeling continues.) The hot-wet air of Danang was full of smells that reminded me of Romania—exhaust, masonry, and oft-worn clothing. Hai and his right-hand man Simon greeted us with a colorful welcome sign. We loaded into a car for the short drive to our house, and I buckled my seatbelt as we merged in with the motorbikes and bicycles. Hai looked over, smiling, “Oh, those are illegal in Vietnam.”

Before our team arrived Hai was working to make our stay comfortable. We are blessed with a house that far exceeded our expectations. It's a 3-story townhouse on the corner of a block (starting one level up from the street) with four bathrooms, air conditioning, and a bedroom for each of us. The stairs are polished black stone, and off the second floor hallway is a little fountain and goldfish pond. A friend of Hai's who owns a successful car-renting business built the house six months ago and recently moved with his family to the US. The family's maid, Le (lay), comes every morning to clean and do laundry, and soon she will start on a schedule of shopping and cooking lunches for us. What a provision.

Our official orientation to Fisher's Superkids English Center (FSEC) began Monday at a coffee shop across the street, hearing from Hai about the school's vision and the teaching philosophy. Hai met his wife Teresa studying TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) in the US. They opened Fisher's this year. Private English centers like it are common, and a big business in Vietnam. FSEC's goal is to hire only native English Speakers and provide a Western-style learning atmosphere. Apart from us, the school has 2 part-time and 2 full-time teachers, all foreigners. Classes are in the evenings only now that regular school has started. I
will begin teaching this Friday evening and for the first several weeks have a light class load. Most of my students will be in the 7-12 age range. I've observed classes the last two nights, and I have to say I'm intimidated by the kids' energy! Learning classroom management will be a necessity.

Fisher's Superkids English Center is on a main business road, and like all the buildings around, is tall and narrow like one domino in the row. The first floor is a reception area and office, and the next 3 floors are classroom spaces. Three young Vietnamese women staff the office, dressed in matching blue skirts and blouses. Today we are beginning to meet with them a few minutes a day to help us learn the language. I'm looking forward to the relationships that will develop among the staff
and teachers.

On Saturday Hai took us to a famous city nearby called Hoi An. I'll let a few pictures do the describing:

(first two are Bryan's photos)

That's the main news for these days. I am filled with an overall excitement for what is to come, and grateful to have been given this opportunity. The wonderful care we have been under from Hai has reminded me of the real Shepherd who I can trust with my life. Perhaps as the stress level increases and inevitable difficulties come, I'll learn that more and more.

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Culture notes

Now that the important news is over, I can't resist adding some more observations. No obligations to read.

I've already discovered that Vietnam is a service-oriented society. At restaurants a small crowd of wait staff hovers around the table, reaching in to refill your tea glass or replace your dirty plate. Every store seems to have its own set of gatekeepers and security guards. When we rode an elevator, a sharply dressed lady ushered us in and pressed the button. At the school the office staff seem eager to do whatever they can to save our time.

Naptime. In the early afternoons, the heat and the mid-day lull make it no shame to take a short nap. I've seen a motorbike driver in the front of our house laying down balanced on his seat, hat over his face. At the market in Hoi An a woman dozed balancing across a small plank and a plastic chair, while the boat drivers rested on their canopied decks. Today after lunch we entered a clothing shop with the blue-uniformed guard passed out at the desk, and as Bryan and I looked through a rack of shirts we saw the heads of the two dozing clerks poking out from under the skirt rack. After a few minutes they emerged, looking tired and obligated to assist us.

The Vietnamese language is lovely to hear, a blend of subtle vowel combinations and soft consonants. It has six tones, which affect a word's meaning as much as the letters. Students of English have difficulty with word endings like “s” “d” and “t”. In school they learn plenty of English grammar and have dazzling penmanship, but since they rarely learn from native speakers, their speaking is very limited, and even long-time English students often have heavy accents. At Superkids it is a goal to focus mostly on pronunciation and fluency.

Proportions. Trash cans are few, small, and in hard to get to places. Plus they're well-decorated. One of ours is a pink kitty; another shows a picture of "Mr. Aligator" who says "happiness to everybody!" Today in the store we saw one shaped like a penguin that had written in red italics: "Garbage, please come in!"
Since the Vietnamese people are smaller than Americans, doorknobs and countertops are lower, and the rise of steps is a few inches shorter. It will take some getting used to.


I think I'm having a double cultural adjustment--not only to the Vietnamese culture, but to the the professional world. In rural VT the idea of well-dressed is a clean pair of Khakis and a button-down shirt. Danang is cosmopolitan comparitavely, and I've learned that I'll be wearing a tie and dress shoes to work every day. So I've been doing some shopping, and luckily, things are cheap. Yesterday I bought a nice new outfit for just under ten dollars.