27/09/2011 by Russell.

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22/09/2011 by Russell.

What a difference a day makes

All my fault of course for not letting Tam use our money to pay a bribe to the Police. It  is customary to pay a bribe when stopped by the Police here.  We have been stopeed 5 times now.  Ridiculous, all because the number plate is from a  region- no speeding , pulled in because we didn’t indicate between changing lanes etc., crazy.  It’s all beer money for the cops.

As a consequence they took her licence, and now she has to travel 110 Km to another city to get it back and a $30 (600,000 VND) fine to get it back.  Stupid really.  So I was in the doghouse for the sake of a 10 dollar bribe.

We have found a  4 bed house, with limited furniture for $250 a month, we have to pay 8 months in advance! That is 40m VND.

Kida and teaching can be variable - but what can you do with over 50 in a class?

Oh and my two colleagues had their moto’s stolen from the front of the hotel.  Both were on rental, worth almost nothin, but the owners want 3 times as much in money to the value of thes moto’s.  $750, we bought replacements for much less than 250 dollars.

So its my birthday on Sunday…wonder what the day will bring….

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18/09/2011 by Russell.

Well been here a coupla weeks and many things to report.

Am staying in a hotel with some living accomodation for 450 USD a month, expensive.  I am working with Alan from Dublin and an American Tom.

We all seem to get on fine and we are looking for somewhere to live, Tam is a godsend with the language etc.  We found one place for 850 USD a month - a huge place, enough floor space to have a snooker table on each of the 3 floors, plus a bedroom each.  Instead it looks like we are settling on a 4 bed des res for only 350 USD a month. Split between 3 is quite nice.  It is a new house not too far from a supermarket, cinema and 10 pin bowling (modern society for VN)

We teach at 2 schools - 1 in the morning with a 7am start, yes 7am in class, which is like a comprehensive school.  Classrooms are like empty concrete shells.  There is a few rooms with Projectors, but its all chalk really.

The afternoon school is for gifted children, they have to do an entrance exam to get in  - like a grammar school, in all but name.  The children here are notieably brighter and more dedicated.

Homework is not really completed.  I teach from a boook and from my skills to make people smile and get them enthused by the topic.  The key thing is they can all speak good english. (Generally)

Also, the writing at the gifted school puts WHC undergrads to shame.  The words they use and in context is excellent.  They know Harry Potter but not 9/11- anything beyond Vietnam’s boundaries is not news.  Tam reads more about crime and killings here in VN.  Only yesterday, Police found 2 dismembered bodies in the city lake (akin to our Serpentine) in HA Noi - Hoan Kiem Lake is really historic and central to everyone’s morning exercise in Hanoi.

So I teach 16 and 17 yr olds, some are fine and others - like undergrads at WHC unmotivated and doing last nights maths homework  in class.

The key is to get them to talk, but I hav 45 -56 pupils in a class, and I have a 45 minute lesson with them at the morning school.  Very tough indeed to get kids to talk and practice their English.

My TV has arrived, its in Hanoi somewhere,  all for 240 quid, I just hope it works.  As for other possessions, not delivered like DHL in UK promised.  I hope they will be delivered next week.  I packed some glasses for a beer or two, but my email translation when quizzed by the authorities here about contents said ’spectacles for drinking’ all lost in translation, so customs in Saigon have held on to my package.

SO just been on a pointless journey to HAnoi to get Tam’s moto and my tv, achieved nothing except some cross words which I have no idea about, I only asked what the cops said because Tam returned to the car in tears after the Police stopped us (This is the 4 th time and we have not contravened any traffic law) - so far we have paid $25 in bribes.

I no longer know if I am with Tam or not -she has gone to bed and refuses to talk…ho hum…classes start at 2 tomorrow

POSTSCRIPT

Tam still not talking to me, only 2 hrs before she completes 24 of not talking. I am in such shit street, a tv in Hanoi, possessions in Chu Lai, a trunk being delivered by DHL…what’ll I do? all smooth until yesterday, now I am looking for a conversation with her for a sensible parting of the ways…if that’s what it is to be

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