SIS, Viet Nam

Today I experienced some not so subtle reminders that I am indeed working at a school in Viet Nam. It all started this morning with a gigantic spider hanging out on the wall above the stairwell. This thing was HUGE, and while I was trembling being in the same vicinity as this hairy monster, the students were walking by it and didn't seem to care. I am positive that if this creature made its way into an American primary school, the entire place would be in an uproar. I returned an hour later and all that was left was some spider juice and a long, hairy leg. Apparently the janitor took care of it. As if this brush with tropical insect life wasn't enough, I had yet another encounter with a large Vietnamese bug on the way to swimming lessons this morning. I boarded our SIS van with the boys from my class, and shortly afterward the maniacal screaming began. Turns out there were not one, but two rather large cockroaches crawling around on the seats. The fact that there were cockroaches in the bus was rather alarming to me, but even more so that we couldn't escape and my students started squishing them with their hands. Ech. So if all this couldn't get any more intense, the power goes out during lunch, and remains off for the entire afternoon. If this were January in Ha Noi, it would not be a serious issue. But it just so happens to be July, it was over 95 degrees, with the sun shining directly into my classroom... and no air-con. Spending 5 hours in a hot room is bad enough, but add 20 kids, and it's miserable. So, sorry for all the complaining, but it is hot as heck and a cold shower is the only thing that will help.