On Monday I wore these pants:
(PICTURE A PAIR OF NORMAL GREY SUIT PANTS. MY CAMERA ISN'T WORKING AGAIN)
I had these pants made for me in Hoi An about seven months ago. However, the only time I ever actually wore the pants was on May 17th. How do I know that? Well, because it was my first day of work. While at school that first day I realized I was by far the best dressed and decided to scale my wardrobe down to dockers versus dress pants.
On Sunday night, while eating at the chicken speakeasy, I sloppily dropped about an eighth of a chicken on my legs. I was prepared to wear my pants again the next day but Huyen persuaded me to wash them. This was significant because my other pair of slacks was also in the wash. This left me with two options:
Option 1: Wear jeans. This is againt school rules. In fact, a teacher who wore jeans got fired on Sunday. Yeah pretty strict, right? (Actually he was fired because he showed up late like four Sundays in a row...while wearing jeans).
Option 2: Wear my dress slacks.
I went with Option 2. I know what you're thinking, "Is this really blog worthy?" Well, yes it is. I hadn't worn the pants in six months. Exactly six months. I wore them on May 17th and then again on November 17th -- the last day of my contract. That's right, I've officially completed my contract at Language Link. Six months passed in a blink of an eye. Some rough figures off the top of my head:
- I have taught over 400 different students.
- I have failed two students.
- I have skipped one student ahead a level. i.e "Skipped a grade."
- I have told eight parents their child is "naughty."
- I have told countless parents their child is bright and a pleasure to teach.
- I have received six gifts...but many more words and emails of thanks.
Although my contract has finished, I told Language Link I would continue to teach my Monday through Friday classes until the end of the month. After that...well, you'll have to wait for some upcoming blogs. But don't get too excited, I'm not leaving Vietnam yet.
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4 comments:
Time flies when you're having fun! I'm sure that Language Link will miss you. On to the next adventure when your kid sister meets you to backpack - please watch over her and have a great time too.
Ben, Hope you can backpack in Kentucky, in our beautiful, panoramic, beloved mountains. One of the oldest mountain ranges on earth. The Appalachian people are a mixed bag of immigrants from Europe, much like many other parts of this great nation of immigrants. Much aligned, misunderstood, and stereotyped. Poverty abounds, being obese is becoming the norm, hillbilly heroin and marijuana are the biggest cash crops,(having taken the place of another deadly drug, tobacco). Having said all that, hope is still eternal. Mountain people are loyal, honest, and hard working. Bill Bryson and his Appalachian Trail hike book was fun reading. But there's so much more to see and learn from this region of the US. A good book to read, written by one of our favorite sons is Night Comes To The Cumberlands by Harry Caudill. He's brutaly honest about life in Appalachia. He also wrote a very funny book about the court system and "justice" in Appalachia titled, Slender Is The Thread. Enough for now. Lh
Thanks for all the book suggestions, LH. As you can imagine, the literature out here is a little bit slim. I've been reading hand-me-down books from other expats and books that guests have brought for me. I'll add your suggestions to the list! I have read Bryson's book and my sister and I are planning on doing the AT in the not too distant future. The next time I'm in Kentucky I'll buy you a beer for your loyal reading!
Sounds good! About the beer, Kentucky has a great Bourbon Barrel Ale I'll introduce you to that will make your feet light. LH
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