Hip Hop Hanoi

Sorry it has taken me a bit to post, things seem to just disappear in Hanoi (like the internet). On the other hand, things have randomly been appearing as well. Earlier this week I came home from school to find that a door had been installed to my bedroom. Granted, I live alone, so a door is not completely necessary, but I've been sleeping with it closed for the sole reason that I actually have one. Yesterday, after riding 30 minutes in the sun on the back of a motorbike, I came home to discover that an air conditioner was hooked up in my bedroom. This was a wonderful discovery, since the use of the aircon and my door together produce a wonderfully cool room. I had resorted to leaving my windows open for a breeze, but the mosquitoes have begun to be a bit of a problem; waking up to a loud buzzing in my ear is never an enjoyable thing. Another life improvement- a bath pouf! I have moved on up from the bar of soap and, oh my, such luxury. Next step, mosquito net.... and maybe another pillow....
So this past Sunday I made my way over to Vincom Towers (a Vietnamese version of a shopping mall) and managed to get tickets to see Alice in Wonderland 3D. Although the movie was incredibly fantastic, the biggest thrill of it all was the crowd at the theater. Fighting my way through a "line" of Vietnamese families was quite the challenge, but after ten minutes of pushing and shoving I managed to get into the theatre. Little Vietnamese kids have a rather peculiar reaction to violence, as they were laughing and cheering when heads were cut off, or blood went flying. In an American movie theatre, kids would be crying as mothers quickly ushered them from the theatre. I wonder what makes the difference?
There is a strange concert going on down the street from me right now. I'm not sure if concert is the right word, because that would mean that the person singing has some sort of talent. Right now, from what I gather, a rather old man is chanting on a microphone to a techno beat. After listening to children scream and shout all day, then hearing hundreds of motorbikes honking on my commute, getting back home to the quiet of my apartment is the best feeling... but that is obviously not happening this evening. Rather disappointed, but it's almost Friday, and one of my best friends is arriving Saturday, so even listening to this absurd "music" can't get me down.
Speaking of concerts, I went to a hip hop concert a week ago featuring a rather well-known artist from the group Jurassic 5. The show was absolutely stellar, as the 5 ft tall black guy got into the crowd and was dancing with people while free-styling. I was in the front and basically had my nose against his shins, but was loving every second of it. It cost me a whopping 10 dollars to see Akil and three other DJs. This weekend is a 3 day long outdoor music event that costs 5 dollars, and I will definitely be going. Saturday night is "experimental DJ" night, should prove to be very interesting. Surprisingly, a lot of considerably well-known artists have recently been frequenting Hanoi. Girl Talk was here last year (for those of you who don't know, Girl Talk is a very popular "mash-up" artist in the college scene).
Next weekend the staff of Singapore International is having a Vietnamese cooking class. This includes being taken into the market, identifying ingredients (this being one of the most difficult tasks of cooking in Vietnam) and then learning how to make 6 different dishes. Although it is at 8am on a Saturday (my mother will know that waking up this early on a Saturday is a BIG deal for me) I really want to learn to cook some traditional Hanoian food, so I shall be up and at it very early.
It's a little after 5pm and I think I'm going down the street to get some seafood noodles (discovered an AMAZING seafood spot around the corner that is, shocker, incredibly inexpensive).

The daily grind

I've been getting into the thick of things over here, starting week 2 of being an official teacher. Just received the contract offer today, turns out the company wants to pay me WAY less than I expected. This will not do, and I guess I have to negotiate. I was hoping it would be super easy, with my ideal salary, vacation days, and contract length, but alas, tis not the case. I'm going to seek out advice before I start negotiating, so if anyone has any tips, PLEASE feel free to send 'em this way!
Since talking about school just makes me tired, I will take this opportunity to describe my morning commute, which is definitely a daily adventure:
I hop on my bicycle in the morning and take a right to cross 3 lanes of insane traffic (this being the most difficult part of the commute, so once I'm crossed, all is well). Immediately to the right of my house is a park, which abuts the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.
This whole area consists of magnificent French mansions, all of which have been converted to government buildings. This fact makes my alley incredibly safe, since there are armed guards all around the vicinity. The French houses have been beautifully cared for, with lovely gardens and fresh paint, making it an absolute joy to cycle past them every day. After passing through the Government district, I hit Kim Ma, which I consider a Vietnamese version of Route 22. Each side of the street is one way, and the variety and number of shops is unmatched anywhere else in Hanoi. Now if you picture Route 22 with some trees and thousands upon thousands of motorbikes, you might have a better idea of what I'm dealing with. I stay on this street pretty much until I take a right and end up at the front gate of Singapore International. This street has 3 primary schools and one university, so traffic at 4 pm is absolutely atrocious... although, having a bicycle is a great advantage. I can pop up onto the sidewalk if it gets too bad (that is, if people haven't set up stools and grills). Despite the fact that I cannot take my eyes off the road for even a second, I really do have a great time riding my bicycle to and from work. I actually feel like I'm part of the daily grind, taking part in the Vietnamese work force in all its glory.
Speaking of the work force, people put some pretty ridiculous things on motorbikes. I often see men holding giant plates of glass, and I make sure to steer clear of these bikes, since an accident with them could get pretty messy. A lot of dogs stand at the front of the bikes, with their paws over the handlebars... I would give anything to see Petie and Penny do the same. Parents tie toddlers to their wastes with scarves, in order to keep them on the back of the bike. An American child care advocate would have a heart attack seeing the way children are draped all over motorbikes. The motorbike culture in itself so far has proven to be the most interesting/entertaining part of Vietnam. The things people carry, the way they carry them, and the absurd vehicular maneuvers never make for a dull moment on the streets of Hanoi. I am going to make an attempt to get a video recording of my morning commute... when the mist lets up (don't want to ruin my camera just yet). I think it will prove to be a very enjoyable video.

A day in pictures

Today was Sports Day at Singapore International. It started out hysterically, all the kids were so pumped to compete. By the end, I had about 6 children crying due to their loss (and having to watch another class receive medals). I finally managed to bring out my camera today, and since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll just post about Sports Day with images... enjoy!
Here is one of my classes, before the tears...
This is my other class, posing with their spirit posters right before the activities started.


Students lining up to head to the "fields"...
Tug of war... ended up pretty messy


Soccer dribbling relay, after this loss the tears started flowing

So we did a bit of a density science experiment today. The kids had a blast, as did the teacher aide. Apparently, science experiments are not too common place in Vietnam; my students are in year 3 and it was the first time they set foot in the science lab since being at the school. Here's yet another thing that made me realize how lucky I am to be teaching at such a readily-equipped school. Every class room has its own computer, printer, and projector (still working on figuring that one out...). But enough about the school, I thought I'd take a moment to describe my street and immediate neighborhood, since it is where I spent a lot of my time. (Below, is a picture of my alley from my doorway)

First let me begin with the fact that all streets sell mainly one product; there are usually at least 10 identical stores in one area, and my street is no exception. To my right is a park with a giant statue of Lenin, underneath which is always an abundance of children breakdancing, skateboarding, rollerblading, etc. To my left are clothing shops that continue about 3 blocks down. Once you cross the train tracks, you hit all the shops selling strange lights. This street is always entertaining to walk down during the evenings, since there are thousands of odd things hanging and glowing within the stores. There are 3 major karaoke joints sharing one block, but they are seriously local and I haven't had enough courage to enter any yet. Take a left 2 blocks down the eccentric lighting street, and there is a market. The things that are sold range from tea-cups to puppies, and make a very handy place to pick up fresh produce (not referring to the dogs here). Trying to buy vegetables always makes me think about how much easier it would be if I just studied the Vietnamese terms for various vegetables. Try using the world "celery"... not very successful.
I bike up and down these streets every day, but they have yet to be familiar.
When I find some free time again I'll go into detail about the street(s) I commute on every day. Very intense, but a whole 'nother story...

International Women's Day

Along with it being International Women's Day, it was also my first day of official teaching. It was so much easier not to have to share the class with anyone, and I had a considerably easier time keeping all the kids in check. Tomorrow we are doing a little bit of a Science project, the kids are pretty excited about it. I'm pretty excited about it, I'm teaching Science? Okay!
A couple students gave me gifts for women's day, and they were all pretty hysterical. In addition to a very strange-shaped scarf that I cannot figure out how to wear, and a giant bouquet of lilies, I received two pair of underwear, and a leapord-print watch covered in pink "diamonds". So incredibly nice of the families, but, so far from what I expected upon opening.
I've been riding my bicycle to and from work. Today is the first day I made the trip in the rain, and tomorrow will be the second. Let's just say it's pretty terrible getting soaking wet on a bike, but when the weather is nice... so enjoyable! It is definitely incredibly dangerous, there are absolutely no rules governing traffic. Other than helmet cops (thank goodness they at least have those) people can pretty much just do whatever they want. Driving home in rush hour traffic has been incredibly intense at first, but I'm slowly getting used to it. My friend Flip bought a motorbike yesterday, and he claimed it was life-changing. At this point, I really have to work my way up to it, I figure I'll get comfortable on a bicycle, since I don't have to go too far to work; about 15 minutes on my bike and I'm there.
Well, speaking of an entirely pleasant morning commute to look forward to (NOT), I should really hit the hay.

Gettin' there...

Working at Singapore International has been absolutely wonderful so far. I have two classes of 9 year olds, about 23 students per class. The morning class is far better behaved and, not trying to toot my own horn here or anything, are completely obsessed with me. I warrant this reaction to the fact that their current teacher, Alex, is considered the head disciplinarian of the school. So I come in with this "good cop, bad cop" routine and the students are so incredibly eager to do whatever I say, while Alex has to scream and shout and punish the students who neglect to behave so nicely for him. I've found that positivity works a whole lot better than the other side of the spectrum... then again... doesn't it always? As for my afternoon class, they are quite the handful. With about 14 boys and very few girls, keeping the boys in line is probably my biggest hurdle of the workday. I've been doing my best to stay nice, but make it apparent that I'm no pushover (taking away friday free-play time works very well without having to resort to yelling).
I am also in charge of teaching Art to the students; the Vietnamese teacher aides usually help with this part by coming in with prepared ideas and materials, but of course our teacher aide was sick today. It is Women's Day on Monday (which is really a sight to see, streets are lined with men buying flowers and women walk around holding huge bouquets) so I thought it would be good to make cards for mothers, grandmothers, or any other special women in the students' lives. I added a twist by showing them how to make pop-up cards, something they have never seen, and were all very eager to try. I actually ended up receiving 4 cards from the girls in the class, which are all incredibly adorable. When I locate some tape I will hang them up in my apartment.

I know the week has been short (a whole 2 days...) but I am really looking forward to Friday. These kids wear me out! But I know that I'm doing a good job, and after having seen some other teachers in action, feel totally confident that I can do an incredible job teaching here. Woohoo! When Monday rolls around, I will be teaching actual classes without having to be second to one of the men that have been substituting for the class ever since the original teacher pretty much left "on holiday" and never came back. The school was in a bad place after the teacher completely ditched 50 students, and I definitely applied at the perfect time. Timing is everything!!!

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!