Educational Differences: Summer Vacation

This summer I noticed a huge difference in the Vietnamese educational system and the American educational system. All of my private students spent the summer reading and studying the textbooks for their upcoming academic year. The kids were basically teaching themselves Math, Physics and Chemistry from the moment one grade ended to the beginning of the first day of the new school year. My students told me that they have to teach themselves the material first before the teachers teach it in class. They said that the teachers basically review the material and check for understanding from the students. To be honest though, I'm not sure if this is true for all Vietnamese students or just my private students who happen to attend some of the best public schools in Vietnam.

This is vastly different than in the states where generally our summers are spent goofing around with only the occasional required schoolwork to be done (i.e. read "The Agony And The Ecstasy" for AP European History).

Happy 2nd Birthday, Lilah!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday to my super cute niece Lilah!!!!

(PICTURE: Lilah wears sunglasses at night too.)

Recently Huyen and I have been skyping with Lilah. It's pretty cool to see her on skype especially since she knows my name. However, to be honest, Lilah is never as excited to see Huyen and me as we are to see her; Lilah is most excited to see a stuffed animal monkey that we have at our apartment. One of the first times we skyped with her, Huyen brought the monkey into the conversation and since then Lilah has requested "monkey" every time we talk. The cool thing is that I know what to give her for her 3rd birthday when I come home next year!


(PICTURE: My big brother and his special ladies.)

Vietnamese Ingenuity

I'm constantly amazed at Vietnamese ingenuity. The saying, "If there is a will, there is a way" applies here more than any place I've ever been.

When we went to Huyen's grandfather's village, someone brought a bottle of Da Lat wine. The problem with Da Lat wine is that it is sealed with a cork. All of the wine that is usually drunk in Huyen's Grandfather's village is from twist off bottles so hence nobody had a wine opener. The lack of a tool though didn't dissuade the crew of wine-thirsty men who quickly proceeded to figure out another way to open the bottle. The quickest and most logical way they came up with was to use a screw:

The Real Mr. Miagi

(PICTURE: On the left, Huyen's Grandfather. On the right, his brother.)

I have written in the past about Huyen's Grandfather's unbelievable strength. The last time I commented about it he was lifting himself up to a third level bunk bed on a train to Hue. Well, last weekend he proved to me that he is not only incredibly strong but he also has amazing hand-eye coordination.

On Sunday, Huyen and I went to her Grandfather's village for lunch. While eating outside, a lot of flies started to swarm around the food. Most of the men in my circle just waved their hands near the flies so that they would fly away. Not Huyen's Grandfather though. I personally saw her Grandfather eye at least four different flies and then catch them in his hands. I was dumbfounded at her Grandfather's skill and tried to imitate him -- I was totally unsuccessful. In fact, I tried so many times that all the old men around me started to laugh. One finally commented, "Ben doesn't like flying black beans."

Wedding Update: The Photographer II

(PICTURE: The first picture that shows up when you google wedding photographers.)

One thing I forgot to mention yesterday is that most wedding photographers DO NOT TAKE PICTURES AT THE WEDDING! This is a huge difference between American weddings and Vietnamese weddings. I have been to some wedding here that have a photographer/videographer but that is not part of the usual package that most wedding shops offer.

It is definitely possible to get someone to take pictures at the wedding and we're looking into this. My mom also suggested having everyone take pictures and then I can put together an album on Snapfish or some other website and print out a few copies for our family and Huyen's. Personally I think this is a great idea since a lot of my friends (especially from LA) are fantastic photographers. I'm hoping that one or two of them will come to the wedding and can take pictures. So if you're reading this LA people (Sam, Tom, Sebastian), you better be coming out to 'Nam!

Wedding Update: The Photographer

(PICTURE: Huyen in front of the photo shop we'll be using!)

Last weekend Huyen and I went to a few photographers and frankly didn't like any. I've made fun of wedding photographers/books in the past on my blog because:

1. Wedding books are taken weeks or months before the actual wedding. The books aren't so much about the wedding but are more about looking like models in often over-the-top actions shots.

2. The books often have English in them. The English is generally spelled wrong and often nonsensical. Even worse, I had one student show me her book and she had some rap lyrics on a page which she probably thought were romantic...but were basically about "tapping that..."

3. The pictures are completely photo-shopped. Half the albums we saw were either in sepia tone or drastically over colored.

The positive part about getting a photographer is that their services include:
1. Hair and make-up for the wedding and rehearsal dinner.
2. Ao Dais for all the girls at the rehearsal dinner.
3. A wedding dress for Huyen (if she doesn't want to make one)
4. A giant picture of the two of us that will be put at the entrance of the wedding.
5. A bunch of other small stuff...

After feeling like it was impossible to get a good photographer, we got a recommendation from one of Huyen's coworker. We went to the shop and were immediately won over. The pictures the photographer took were beautiful and didn't have a trace of photoshop. On top of that, there was only a little English in the albums...which still had spelling mistakes.

We immediately booked the photographer and will be taking pictures in three weeks. We'll have a half day shoot at a few different locations in Hanoi. Regardless of how it turns out, it should be a fun day!

Wedding Update: My Fat Fingers II

(PICTURE: They had these circle things which sized my fat fingers.)

We found a place that can make us wedding bands! Check one of forty things off the list...

Actually scratch that. We now we have to add something more to the list: Thinking up a good inscription in Vietnamese. Huyen and I have thought up some sayings we like but unfortunately their Vietnamese translations are a little too long for an inscription. Anyway, we've got 15 days to think of something good because that is when our rings will be done...