Hey all. We made it!
Though we were a little later than planned (just by a couple hours) we arrived in Quy Nhon this afternoon and were picked up at the airport by one of the International Relations staff from the university. We swung by the train station on our way into town from the airport, found all of our worldly belongings waiting there for us in tip-top shape (we had shipped them by train from Hanoi last week), picked them up and scooted on over to Dai Hoc Quy Nhon (Quy Nhon University) which is slated to be our home for at least the next 10 months or so.
Not a whole lot of time to write just now because our on-campus apartment is a bit of a disaster and we need to do some cleaning and arranging before we turn in for the night. Rest assured we'll get a real update out there for you sometime in the near future. Let's just say for now that we took a long walk on the beach (about 100 yards from our front door) this evening after dinner and loved the sound of gentle waves and the cool ocean breeze. We're glad to be here. Thanks to all of you for helping get us here!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Teaching and Moving...
...those are the things which have been consuming most of our time lately. Which is one excuse for why the blog hasn't been updated very regularly. The other excuse is that I (Steven) am just plain lazy sometimes.
This has been "crunch week" in a couple of ways. It's my first week of teaching actual classes of actual students. It's actually been quite fun, for the most part. I taught alone my first day and with a partner today (and tomorrow and Friday as well). Our practicum has been at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, which has been kind of exciting. Today I actually had a class comprised entirely of Lao students, which proved to be interesting. [Note to the geographically challenged: Lao people are from the country of Laos, sandwiched in between Thailand and Vietnam. The entire country of Laos only has about twice as many people as the city of Hanoi.]
The words "Laos" and "laid-back" go together a bit like peas and carrots. A friend who taught a Lao class last year told us once that he was always wondering if there were a gas leak in the room, his students were so mellow. This group, indeed, was mellow. And quiet. And they had really, really long names. Just as I was getting used to Vietnamese names (which usually are a single, one-syllable word like "Thao" or at the most two single-syllable words like "Van Anh") the Lao students had names like Xaisomboun Soukhummalay (which, by the way, is a real name). Fortunately most of them had one-syllable nicknames which were a bit easier to pronounce.
I digress, however. All told, the teaching has been a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to getting to Quy Nhon and really getting to know my students.
While I've been in classrooms trying to pronounce names like Xaisomboun Soukhummalay, Joelle has been packing all of our earthly belongings into big bags that once held rice (weird, but that's what you get if you want big containers around here). It's a far more impressive feat than it might sound, and I'm glad she's the one doing it. She's done an amazing job of handling the logistics of our move to Quy Nhon (coming up in a little more than a week). This is all in preparation for tomorrow afternoon when we head over to the train station with a Vietnamese friend and send most of our stuff south on the rails. Hopefully it will be waiting for us when we get to Quy Nhon.
That's the long and short of it for now. Thanks for checking the blog and being our friend.
P.S. The hat was a goodbye gift from one of our Vietnamese teachers. The hot pink neck strap is a nice touch, don't you think?
This has been "crunch week" in a couple of ways. It's my first week of teaching actual classes of actual students. It's actually been quite fun, for the most part. I taught alone my first day and with a partner today (and tomorrow and Friday as well). Our practicum has been at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, which has been kind of exciting. Today I actually had a class comprised entirely of Lao students, which proved to be interesting. [Note to the geographically challenged: Lao people are from the country of Laos, sandwiched in between Thailand and Vietnam. The entire country of Laos only has about twice as many people as the city of Hanoi.]
The words "Laos" and "laid-back" go together a bit like peas and carrots. A friend who taught a Lao class last year told us once that he was always wondering if there were a gas leak in the room, his students were so mellow. This group, indeed, was mellow. And quiet. And they had really, really long names. Just as I was getting used to Vietnamese names (which usually are a single, one-syllable word like "Thao" or at the most two single-syllable words like "Van Anh") the Lao students had names like Xaisomboun Soukhummalay (which, by the way, is a real name). Fortunately most of them had one-syllable nicknames which were a bit easier to pronounce.
I digress, however. All told, the teaching has been a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to getting to Quy Nhon and really getting to know my students.
While I've been in classrooms trying to pronounce names like Xaisomboun Soukhummalay, Joelle has been packing all of our earthly belongings into big bags that once held rice (weird, but that's what you get if you want big containers around here). It's a far more impressive feat than it might sound, and I'm glad she's the one doing it. She's done an amazing job of handling the logistics of our move to Quy Nhon (coming up in a little more than a week). This is all in preparation for tomorrow afternoon when we head over to the train station with a Vietnamese friend and send most of our stuff south on the rails. Hopefully it will be waiting for us when we get to Quy Nhon.
That's the long and short of it for now. Thanks for checking the blog and being our friend.
P.S. The hat was a goodbye gift from one of our Vietnamese teachers. The hot pink neck strap is a nice touch, don't you think?
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Tropical Storm update
The storm ended up moving well to the north of us, and I think it lost its "tropical stormness" (i.e. the winds died considerably) even before it moved onshore. But it did bring with it a whole lot of rain. Hanoi hasn't been affected, but the rain has wreaked havoc in the far north of the country. Over 70 people have died up near the Chinese border due to flooding and landslides. This all hits a little closer to home for us since we were up in that part of the country just a couple of weeks ago. Some of the roads we traveled on were frighteningly unstable--we could see evidence of landslides and washouts everywhere--so I imagine they're in much worse shape now.
A family from our fellowship was traveling this week in that part of the country when their train became stranded between two landslides. They had to wade through waist-deep water to get to a nearby town where they've been stuck for the last couple of days--no way in or out by road or rail. Scary times.
For us, life continues as normal but for many people outside the capital this is a difficult time. Keep them in your thoughts!
A family from our fellowship was traveling this week in that part of the country when their train became stranded between two landslides. They had to wade through waist-deep water to get to a nearby town where they've been stuck for the last couple of days--no way in or out by road or rail. Scary times.
For us, life continues as normal but for many people outside the capital this is a difficult time. Keep them in your thoughts!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Tropical Storm Kammuri Bears Down on Hanoi!!!
(Cue the dramatic music and show the sweet graphic with the palm tree bent in half by the wind.)
This just in: Tropical Storm Kammuri is lashing the southern Chinese coastline with ferocious winds in excess of 30 miles per hour! Currently, the monster storm is working its way westward toward landfall in Vietnam some time Saturday. Fearing the worst, Hanoi's terrified foreign residents have begun stockpiling essentials like ChocoPies, peanut butter and ice cream. Local stores are nearly sold out of flimsy ponchos and cheapo umbrellas.
Said frightened U.S. citizen Steven Shetterly, "It rained today. I had to ride my bike and my feet and legs got all muddy. So that was kind of gross." As Kammuri prepares to pummel northern Vietnam, only time will tell whether Mother Nature will spare Shetterly from having to get his feet muddy again.
Okay, in case you couldn't tell, the above was a bit tongue-in-cheek, overdramatic CNN/Fox News style reporting. Yes, there is a tropical storm moving toward landfall northeast of Hanoi. No, we're not particularly concerned. As of now, the maximum windspeed here is forecast to be in the 20-25 mph range. Which sounds like a breezy May day in Washington. It has actually been raining a lot today, which could prove to be much more of a concern than the wind. We live on the 2nd floor, though, so I think we'll be good to go. We'll keep you posted in case anything exciting happens.
This just in: Tropical Storm Kammuri is lashing the southern Chinese coastline with ferocious winds in excess of 30 miles per hour! Currently, the monster storm is working its way westward toward landfall in Vietnam some time Saturday. Fearing the worst, Hanoi's terrified foreign residents have begun stockpiling essentials like ChocoPies, peanut butter and ice cream. Local stores are nearly sold out of flimsy ponchos and cheapo umbrellas.
Said frightened U.S. citizen Steven Shetterly, "It rained today. I had to ride my bike and my feet and legs got all muddy. So that was kind of gross." As Kammuri prepares to pummel northern Vietnam, only time will tell whether Mother Nature will spare Shetterly from having to get his feet muddy again.
Okay, in case you couldn't tell, the above was a bit tongue-in-cheek, overdramatic CNN/Fox News style reporting. Yes, there is a tropical storm moving toward landfall northeast of Hanoi. No, we're not particularly concerned. As of now, the maximum windspeed here is forecast to be in the 20-25 mph range. Which sounds like a breezy May day in Washington. It has actually been raining a lot today, which could prove to be much more of a concern than the wind. We live on the 2nd floor, though, so I think we'll be good to go. We'll keep you posted in case anything exciting happens.
Friday, August 1, 2008
No we haven't disappeared yet
...we've just been pretty dang busy. It's a lame excuse, I know, but it's true.
Here's the uber-condensed version of what we've been up to. I'm hoping there will be time to give a bit more detailed description of everything in the not-so-distant future.
The middle of July marked the end of formal language lessons for us. We haven't quite mastered the entire language yet, but we're close. (That's your cue to laugh uproariously). Joelle will be continuing with occasional classes through the rest of August, but Steven will be taking his TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) classes during that time.
After lessons ended we had a couple of weeks of freedom. Since we'll be moving to southern/central Vietnam in the near future we decided to see the north while we still have the chance. We spent a week traveling to the cities of Dien Bien Phu and Sapa in the northwest corner of the country (check out the pictures here). When we returned to Hanoi, Joelle's good friend Cheryl was in town (she has taught in China for the past eight years, so she's in the neighborhood anyway) and we spent a week traveling in and around Hanoi before the new teachers arrived.
Last Sunday we began classes with the new teachers who will be placed in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. We're learning some basics about Southeast Asian culture and communication styles as well as doing some intensive classes on teaching English. It's been a busy time of learning as well as hanging out with both new and old friends. This is the first day we've had free since last Sunday so we're taking some time to breathe and regroup.
Our time in Hanoi is winding down and we're finding that the place has actually grown on us in the five months since we arrived. Noisy, dirty, crowded and aggravating as it can sometimes be, it's been home to us and we've seen glimpses of charm, grace, joy and goodness beneath the exterior.
At the same time, we're growing more and more excited about getting to Quy Nhon, getting to know our teammates, and settling in there.
We'll leave you with a shot taken just the other day of the crew of crew of new Vietnam teachers outside Hanoi's Temple of Literature. We're a fairly good-looking bunch if I do say so myself. And I do.
Here's the uber-condensed version of what we've been up to. I'm hoping there will be time to give a bit more detailed description of everything in the not-so-distant future.
The middle of July marked the end of formal language lessons for us. We haven't quite mastered the entire language yet, but we're close. (That's your cue to laugh uproariously). Joelle will be continuing with occasional classes through the rest of August, but Steven will be taking his TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) classes during that time.
After lessons ended we had a couple of weeks of freedom. Since we'll be moving to southern/central Vietnam in the near future we decided to see the north while we still have the chance. We spent a week traveling to the cities of Dien Bien Phu and Sapa in the northwest corner of the country (check out the pictures here). When we returned to Hanoi, Joelle's good friend Cheryl was in town (she has taught in China for the past eight years, so she's in the neighborhood anyway) and we spent a week traveling in and around Hanoi before the new teachers arrived.
Last Sunday we began classes with the new teachers who will be placed in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. We're learning some basics about Southeast Asian culture and communication styles as well as doing some intensive classes on teaching English. It's been a busy time of learning as well as hanging out with both new and old friends. This is the first day we've had free since last Sunday so we're taking some time to breathe and regroup.
Our time in Hanoi is winding down and we're finding that the place has actually grown on us in the five months since we arrived. Noisy, dirty, crowded and aggravating as it can sometimes be, it's been home to us and we've seen glimpses of charm, grace, joy and goodness beneath the exterior.
At the same time, we're growing more and more excited about getting to Quy Nhon, getting to know our teammates, and settling in there.
We'll leave you with a shot taken just the other day of the crew of crew of new Vietnam teachers outside Hanoi's Temple of Literature. We're a fairly good-looking bunch if I do say so myself. And I do.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
