2008 Blogs

Campus returns to life

02/02/2009

Students are returning to campus this week.  You hear the constant roar of motorbikes as xe om taxis arrive bearing scholars, their suitcases and backpacks.Dorm rooms are thrown open to let in fresh air and students linger on balconies and mill about outside.  Many walk to the nearby fruit vendors and shops that reopened in anticipation of selling them bread, toothbrushes, paste, soap, and pens. As I understand it, students who are here now are re-taking exams, but in their free time they play basketball or soccer and go to the beach. I was thrilled to see Mai Luyen’s shop, directly across the street, open again since this is where I buy bottled water in 5-liter containers. Unfortunately, the university has not yet unlocked the gate that connects us to the street.I’ve seen students climbing over the fence, but it has pointy metal spears and I think I’m a little too old and clumsy for that. So I walk through campus, out the main gate, and back down to the store.  It's interesting to see how the price for the same thing fluctuates.Today I paid 13,000 dong (about 76 cents) for the 5 liters and I also bought 4 oranges for 6000 dong (about 35 cents). It’s amazing how significant such minor transactions feel.  

Vietnam is a veritable feast for the senses.  Once back in my room I realize that for the first time I am being bitten by mosquitoes.  Perhaps it hasn’t been the right season for them until now?Outside I hear the roar of motorcycles, the honk and beep of horns, young voices chattering in a language I don’t understand, the clanging of coat hangers on my neighbor’s clothes line, birds twittering in the tree outside my room, and the bounce-bounce-bounce of a new basketball on concrete. nside there is the chop-chop-chopping in the room next door as someone prepares food, a fretful baby crying, the hum of my mini-bar, water swishing through pipes, children chattering in the hallway, the swish-swish-swish of a broom, a flute playing, and the slam of the heavy metal and glass door on the entrance to the dorm.I smell oil being heated for cooking, the overripe bananas that I vow to eat tomorrow, and smoke in the distance, probably from trash being incinerated. It reminds me of when my mom used to singe a freshly plucked chicken, how she rolled up a newspaper, lit one end, and held it close to the chicken to singe those pesky pinfeathers. I feel the warmth of the sun on my left arm as it shines through my window, and the cool of the floor tiles under my bare feet.

Last night one of the faculty members and a friend took me out for coffee at a place that featured live music.  My impression was that many of the pieces  were tragic love songs, but a few were more upbeat., and then there was Frank Sinatra's "My Way."  Imagine me trying to explain the meaning of those lyrics to my companions.  When the waiter brought my pineapple juice he also brought a dish of betel nuts, which you crack with your front teeth.  I tried a couple before deciding that the tiny meat inside wasn't worth the effort AND I want to avoid needing dental work while I'm away from home.

Yesterday I also met a sophomore, and when I asked what her major was she explained that her mother had chosen it for her before she was admitted to college (and that she would prefer something else).  It is much more difficult, if not impossible, for students here to chance majors once they begin university.  Her case is probably not atypical since Vietnam is still a culture where children defer to parents' wishes.  Of course, I couldn't help thinking about the many times students in the states change majors as they discover their passions.

I'm look forward to meeting and talking with more students once classes begin on February 9.  I will be co-teaching a course called "Listening," which is for third year English majors.  Part of my responsibility will be to play the role of a newscaster reporting news from back home and then quizzing students to test their comprehension.  I've also brought some DVDs of movies, which I will show in the language laboratory.  I tested "Little Women" and "Spellbound" today to make sure their format is compatible with this university's equipment, and was quite pleased with the results. Tomorrow I meet with the instructor for the third course I'll be co-teaching.  Otherwise, I continue preparing materials for a series of workshops about many topics, including how to develop a learning-centered classroom, assessment, and developing course objectives.  The most challenging workshop is on the credit-based system, which Vietnam is to adopt by 2010. And now, for the personal note.  Just when I thought I had established a peaceful co-existence with the geckos who share my room, I reached into my closet (where I keep my food) and out jumped a little one.  It landed on my inner arm, which made me shriek, then it scurried first to my shirt and then to my pant leg, clinging for life.  Now really, I thought they preferred walls!  Another reason for sleeping under the mosquito netting!