Hard at work in Hanoi

My four lovely flatmates (soon to be 2 more of us!)

 

Met a few Hanoi University students while trying chè on the street 

I arrived to Hanoi on Monday, March 18th after taking the train through the night from Danang. Quynh from CVTD was there waiting for me with my name on a sign (only the second time this has ever happened to me; it always feels like the movies!). She and I were on our way very quickly, and struggled through a bit of language barriers as well as terrifying traffic. We literally walked in the street trundling my giant suitcase behind us. I was very stressed, and we also had to take two buses for one hour to arrive at the CVTD apartment. Luckily the bus here is only about $0.30, like in Bangkok.

Despite a little grumpiness on my part (and thoroughly admirable good will on Quynh's), we arrived and I was able to relax. I met some of the staff and, as luck would have it, all I had to do that first afternoon was await the evening birthday party of a fellow volunteer. We had delicious cake and food, and I was able to join the little community here on a strong note.

Kim Chung primary school at pick-up time

My duties here include teaching one class of children per week, two weekly classes for adults, and offering my experience with blended learning as a sort of consultant. I'm apparently leading a presentation about blended learning for 900 people on Monday morning!!! More to come on that. I've also been tasked with the creation of an intensive beginning English curriculum for unemployed students. I'm working much more than I expected, but I actually enjoy it; I feel much better when I put my entire efforts into productive work. I'm so glad I chose to volunteer as part of my travels — I was getting tired of relaxing, to be honest.

Rice fields and hypermarket complex right next door 

Every few days, I make the hour-long, 25 km bus trek into Hanoi city to explore a bit. So far, I've seen the Hoan Kiem lake, enjoyed a concert at the French Institute, watched short films by young Vietnamese directors at the Goethe Institute, and met up with Couchsurfing locals. One night, I even ran into some recent CELTA veterans with my Spanish flatmate Ana! I toasted their success and we had an interesting night... at times completely forgetting to "grade" our English to Ana's level. But everybody kept spirits up, and I was really glad to meet them. I'm very glad I did my CELTA at Chiang Mai, though, because these guys said they had to commute by motorbike (?!) every day to their course premises. And you know what that means: putting your life in the hands of Hanoi's most nefarious daredevils at least two times a day!

I used my face mask to keep pollution away
and distract from my mosquito-bit eyes.