A rainy Tuesday
04/28/2009
According to my Lonely Planet Guidebook, "from April or May to October, the summer monsoon brings hot, humid weather to the whole country." I wonder if that explains the rain we've been getting every day? Before coming here I invested in a heavy duty, but portable, poncho and I'm really glad to have it now. This is one time that riding a motorbike doesn't seem like much fun, but if it's your main form of transportation, that's the way you get around.
I thought I'd be writing an entry about going to a tailor's shop, but we've postponed it because of the rain. As a parting gift, one of the teachers is having her tailor make a blouse for me, and we were going for a fitting this afternoon. Oh well, that will be a story for another day! For now, I'm enjoying listening to the rain and must confess that it is making me feel a little sleepy.
As you know, I've been doing workshops on active learning, and when I returned to my Reading classroom yesterday I was delighted to observe a wonderful example of active learning in action. As you can see by this picture, the students were so engaged in yesterday's class on "Endangered Species" that nearly everyone wanted to participate. It doesn't get much more satisfying than this. The picture was NOT posed!
This week, as I've mentioned previously, is a holiday--the observance of the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, and the end of American presence in Vietnam. Students are going home to visit their families since for some it will be a 4-day weekend. Many have asked how I'm going to spend the holiday, and some have invited me to share it with them. I must say that as an American, I feel just a bit uncomfortable when this topic arises. It makes me wonder how the British in America felt once we started observing Independence Day on the 4th of July.
Instead of staying in Nha Trang, I'll be going with seven other expats on a trip to the Central Highlands. Early Thursday morning we'll drive to Lak Lake, which is located in the mountains between Dalat and Buon Ma Thuot. I've marked it on the map here, and if you look closely you can spot Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City. I'm really looking forward to learning more about the M'nong people, who live and work there. The plan is to spend one night in a traditional stilt house and the second in a "villa" that is supposed to have indoor plumbing (the stilt house does not). Believe me, I'm taking plenty of mosquito repellant!
I'm not expecting to have to have Internet access there, so my next blog entry probably will be on Sunday May 3. With luck, there might be a picture of me riding an elephant!
