Dress Rehearsal... in 100 Degree Weather....

Sadly enough, my 4th of July was incredibly uneventful. The American Club in Ha Noi was hosting a 4th of July party but upon arrival, I found the admittance fee to be completely exorbitant and unreasonable. This was obviously due to the fact that they were trying to attract Americans who tend to have a lot of money in comparison to your Vietnamese average Joe (or, average Nguyen I should say). I ended up getting some pizza with friends (which was the most easily accessible "American" food I could locate on short notice). Afterwards, we went to watch the final tennis match, then straight home to bed. Now, I am sitting in a hot classroom while many friends currently in the USA are probably quite intoxicated and watching fireworks somewhere. Definitely felt my July 4th to be lacking in Independence day spirit, so I did miss home quite a lot.

Today, we had our dress rehearsal for the school concert. This involved getting every single student into costume and then proceeding to sit them outside in 100 degree weather until it was their turn to perform. Since Year 3 also has to play two different recorder songs, all of my students require two costumes. This means that I have to painstakingly button-up 40 Ao Dais (the traditional Vietnamese long dress for both girls and boys), take them off to get them into hip-hop clothes, then change them back into their long dresses for a final recorder performance. Here I've included a picture so you get the idea of how ridiculous it is to take these things on and off and on and off again is incredibly hot weather (and yes, the head pieces are an integral part of the whole ensemble). Dressing fussy kids is hard enough, but add heat and sweat to the mixture, and changing clothes becomes a nearly impossible task. All the long pieces of silk were sticking to the students so I could barely get it around their chests to button-up along the side. Needless to say, it's 30 minutes past noon and I am dead tired. Once this Year End Concert is over, I am going to be living a whole lot easier. And I wouldn't mind never having to fasten Ao Dai buttons again...