Hittin' the streets (part 2)

I got a new bicycle today! It cost me a whopping 50 dollars for a mint condition road bike with a basket (alas, no bell). I drove home from the shop today happy as a clam, eliciting a good amount of stares from Hanoians, but no matter, because I was on the move! I had to go to Singapore International to fill out some paper work, so I decided to ride my bike to work, which is an incredibly easy route (pretty much one street the entire way). I left relatively early, thinking it would take me some time, but it actually took less than 15 minutes to get to the school, awesome!
I met one of my classes in the cafeteria as they were having snack. Apparently they have had a lot of teacher changes and have become quite "hairy" as the principal put it. I think this means I really have my work cut out for me. I'm starting tomorrow just observing until the end of the week, then start substituting next week, then am apparently full time by the week after. I got hold of some schedules and student information; memorizing names is going to be a real pain, since pretty much all Vietnamese names sound the same to me at the moment. I met with a couple teachers today who made me feel really comfortable, and all the children are so eager to meet new people that as they passed me in a line every single one waved or greeted me with a very enthusiastic "good afternoon!". My Vietnamese aids are absolutely adorable girls who are the same age as me, and are very excited to work with a "real American" (I am under the impression that there is only one other working at the school). The teacher that has been substituting for my future class told me that getting into the groove of things is the hard part, but it's all downhill once you get used to it. So, basically, my next couple weeks are destined to be rough, but I'll make it through.
I got a bit lost on my way home (the one way streets really threw me for a loop, pun intended) but I saw some landmarks and managed to get back to my apartment before rush hour traffic hit full force... thank god.
It gets insanely hot and sweaty riding that bike, I showed up at the school red-faced with hair sticking to my forehead, and arrived home in the same state. Good thing I left my aircon on, what a wonderful feeling walking into a cold room! Although, this was an accident; the batteries in the remote for the aircon are dead, so I have to take them out of my remote for the TV, turn it on/off, then return the batteries back to the other remote. Now, I'm sure you're thinking that I could just get batteries myself, but I haven't had time! But, that is on my to-do list for this evening.
So, I officially meet both classes tomorrow, I'm a ball of anxious excitement, not sure which feeling will reign supreme. Either way, it's going to be a big day!