First Semester Postmortem (a.k.a. “Ramblings about My First Semester”)

I survived the first semester! All praise!!!! And thank you all very much to those who have helped made it possible through your support either financially and/or through your thoughts and prayers.

It was tough. I didn’t think teaching was that difficult! It made engineering work look like a piece of cake. There were times during this semester when I asked myself why I was putting myself through this, working at a much harder job and making a lot less (more like losing money). The answer always came back the same.

Not only was teaching hard, but living in a new environment was also not easy. So, it was amazing that we survived, and we’re very grateful for those moments when we really felt lifted up by friends and family who thought of us. We got to learn what it was like to live one day at a time and to rely on strength external to us.

Getting to know the students, however, was very rewarding. We got to see where and how some of them lived, meet their families, and just learn more about them. Being able to help them with their English skills and introduce them to another culture and its values was also a valuable experience. Although each day was long, we knew that it was filled with a purpose and there was a reason for our being here.

Last semester, I taught a total of 150 hours of Speaking and 60 hours of Listening to 108 students. I received a lot of help from our teammates and learned a lot from them. The students were all very nice, and attentive too for the most part. I’d like to think that most of them learned something from the classes and their skills improved, at least a little if not more. Some of them told me that they had understood only 10% of what I said in class at the beginning of the term, but now, at the end of the term, they can understand 80% to 90%. A few say they can understand 100%! I think part of this was just their getting used to my voice and my English. As for speaking skill, some of them (especially those who had a chance and took time to practice) have shown a little improvement in fluency, intonation, and pronunciation. The biggest thing was that most of them got a chance to actually open their mouth and speak some real English to a foreigner for the very first time in their life.

The students were also exposed to some Hawaiian culture and music, perhaps even more than an average American first year college student would. They got to see live Hawaiian music and dance performance! Last but not least, they all learned about Christmas, the biggest holiday in America. Most of them heard it for the very first time, and also got to listen to more carols than just their one and only favorite Jingle Bells.

As for me, I was exposed to more of the North Vietnamese culture, language, and people and learned a lot. I can understand the northern accent more now, and even tried to pronounce some words in that accent as well. Most of all, I was exposed to student life here in the north and saw how they tried their best to learn in an environment less than ideal and not so conducive to good learning. I could see the strong drive and motivation to learn in these students in spite of their adverse condition, mostly stemming from the strong value in education inherent in the Vietnamese culture. One student, for example, was not very stellar in her class but still kept on trying to learn because she was actually the heroine of the little rural town from which she came. She was the only person in her entire hometown who made it to college!

In short, life here in North Vietnam is quite different from what I’ve been used to. Seeing all these things can make you ask why you shouldn’t stay longer. But those nights when you burned the midnight oil and then had to teach five hours straight early the next morning or those times when you just wished you had at least a little peace and quiet or time away from all the endless noisy activities right outside your room can make you ask otherwise. How do you weigh the mangoes and pomelos against all the inconveniences of life and your constant innate strive and thought that you somehow at least “deserve” to live a more comfortable life?