first 2 motorbike taxi rides in Vietnam, clutching the shoulders of 2 nice people taking me to the police station.

The image of my purse strap flying ripped away from me keeps replaying, the sudden sense of loss when I realized what had happened and immediately had no hope for getting any of my belongings back. A girl from my hostel went to the police station with me this morning to translate into Vietnamese - everyone at my guesthouse has been really kind. The police tried to blow us off and tell us to come back when they weren't so busy, but we finally managed to write a report and translate the story. It's a common one. Dumb tourist girl walking late at night with a loose hanging purse that I knew was a bad idea. If it weren't that I'll need evidence that I was robbed in order to obtain a new Korean Alien Registration Card, I might not have even bothered to go. They had me write a fairly detailed description of my belongings as a matter of course, but I've not the slightest illusion of ever getting them back. Chase cards cancelled and new ones on the way in the mail, and almost the only thing I'm still stressed out about is my Korean debit card, which for some reason has no emergency phone number to call. I won't even be able to report it stolen until Monday. I'm trying to be optimistic and think it won't work on the machines here, or that they'll assume I've reported the card and won't try to use it, but if I call my bank on Monday and find that my entire salary for January is gone, I won't have much reason to be surprised. After my initial shock, panic, and distress, I feel pretty calm about the whole thing. I've reconciled myself to the loss of $400 and my ARC, and have partially prepared myself for the possible loss of about $1500. To me, it's been a lesson in how well-off I really am, to realize that all of that loss is just an inconvenience to me, that it doesn't change the trajectory of my life or even my travel plans in any major way. If I can bear with the loss of it so easily, then why did I ever have it or deserve it in the first place? There are many, many people around me who needed that money more than I did, and one of them took it. I don't feel as angry as I might have expected to. I travel too much to be able to reasonably expect that I'd never be targeted for robbery as a tourist - yet until 1 AM last night I had still maintained the idiotic "It won't happen to me, I'm being careful" mentality. Clearly I was too confident. Next time I'll be more careful. Not leave all my valuables in one place. Make a copy of my ARC. Not keep so much cash on me (I'd withdrawn a lot just a few minutes earlier to prepare for the long New Year holiday). Etc.

At least I still have my passport and phone. At least my bag snapped cleanly and didn't drag me along the street. At least I have friends to help me here. There are things to be thankful for.

my hair is dry before the shower is over

In 2 hours I'll be 3 minutes into my 4th teaching practice, this time with elementary level students. I've done fine on all my teaching practice evaluations, but I can't help feeling terrified before each lesson. Though perhaps the level of terror has gone down somewhat since the first day.

Soon I'll be halfway through this course, but I can't think about that yet. I have 100 things to finish before noon today before I can even start thinking about Thursday, much less the weekend.

they changed my sheets to pretty rose ones today

vanity, twin bed #1, cute lamp, unremarkable wall art

big windows, cute lace curtains, desk space, complimentary red wine. There are a fair few things about this place that are nicer than my room in Seoul (though it's lacking a kitchen), and it costs half as much ($300/mo.) as my school is paying for my apartment in Korea.

There's an ongoing squabble in my class about the right/wrongness of either American or British pronunciation, which all 3 of the instructors (2 British, 1 American) actively participate in. It's the dumbest thing ever. True that if you teach your students the "International" (British) Phonetic Alphabet when your accent is actually not standard British, the gap between what they read in the dictionary pronunciation and what they hear from you could be confusing. But come on, name 1 single language in which accents or even dialects don't vary by region. Your students will speak a native language(s) which they know other people speak differently. Surely you can tell them that they can imitate either your accent or the one in the dictionary and be perfectly correct, and be done with it. We had the "teach your own accent" conversation on the first day, and I was really hoping that would be the end of it. It's to the credit of the Australian, Canadian, South African, and Polish people on the course that they haven't felt the need to jump in.

The International Phonetic Alphabet is not perfect, duh. If you don't like it, don't use it in your classes. I hate people.

drink-drank sink-sank shrink-shrank wink-

I've completed all my assessments for week 1, and all I have to do is show up tomorrow (Friday) and take some notes, and I'll be 1/4 of the way finished with the CELTA, or something. Granted, next week will probably be a lot harder than this week. Granted, if I don't want next week to be hell, I have TONS of work to do this weekend. Still, besides the panic attack I had before my first observed lesson, it hasn't been as bad as I expected.

I got an "above standard" overall grade (which are a little uncommon) on my 40-minute observed teaching this morning, and promptly felt elated and capable for the remainder of the day. (Yes, I'm still obsessed with grades.) I don't think I've taken it to mean I'm going to breeze through the rest of my lesson plans, but rather as a confirmation that I do know something about teaching and that (once I know what my evaluators are looking for) I am perfectly capable of achieving what's expected from me on this course. In a way, I needed it. If I'm not sure I can do something, my lessons fall apart (not in the planning, but in the carrying out), which is the reason for my panic attack and subsequent hesitance in the classroom during my first lesson (today was my second lesson). I hope my confidence holds through next week; my lessons will be a lot better if it does.

The students I'm teaching are absolutely wonderful. They're so cheerful, and kind, and energetic, and eager to learn, that I hardly have to do anything to get them working and practicing. It's a complete change from my students in Seoul, where I sometimes have to provide 90% of the energy in the classroom and feel completely drained after the class. Their English is really high - right now I'm teaching intermediates, whereas next week we'll switch to elementary level, which will probably be closer to what I'm used to teaching. It's nice teaching people you feel like you could be friends with. One of my students offered to show me how to (illegally) circumvent the restrictions on Facebook in Vietnam.

We'll see how I'm doing next week, but for now I've found my footing. The pollution and heat are still making me a little short of breath sometimes, but my knee seems fine and I'm keeping myself hydrated.

I haven't taken any pictures of Vietnam yet, probably because I haven't really seen much that's not on my way to school, and also because taking pictures marks me (even more clearly than I'm already marked) as a naive tourist and an easy pickpocketing target. But I'll try to take some pictures of things this weekend. For now, <3.

Supernova - Super Star MV [english subs + romanization + hangul]

say what you like of the camouflage pants and the spy theme, but the chorus of this song is pure genius. SUPERSTAR PARTY STARTS SEXY STAR HOT TIME

Korean wave is huge in Saigon, and believe me, as soon as I'm given any freedom with my lesson plans, I'm exploiting that so hard. #TEACHWHATYOUKNOW

I've long been accustomed to the idea that asking "do you understand?" to students usually accomplishes nothing and is sometimes counterproductive (since the question itself pressures the students to say "yes", since even if a student honestly says "no" the teacher still doesn't know what or why the student doesn't understand, since if everybody simply nods or does nothing the lesson sometimes proceeds assuming everyone has understood when in fact this is not the case...), but today I learned that Vietnamese students will say "Yes, teacher, I understand" for a totally different reason. I do feel uncomfortable with my school's dress code insofar as it sets me apart from the general population (see yesterday's post), but the fact remains that teachers are highly respected in Vietnam - and that no student would admit to not understanding the teacher because it would cause the teacher - not the student! - to lose face. Not that I think that anyone should lose face when a misunderstanding occurs, but isn't that interesting? In Korea, students are afraid of acknowledging lack of understanding because they don't want to look stupid; in Vietnam, students are unwilling to acknowledge lack of understanding because they don't want their teacher to look stupid.

I'm not the only one who finds this fascinating, right?

day 1

I've gotten through what is likely to be the easiest day of the whole course. I'm headache-y, tired, and slightly out of breath, probably the results of a long day and worse air quality than I've ever been accustomed to before. Any other time I'd call it a day and give myself a hot bath before crashing, but there is neither hot water nor a bathtub available, and I have a good deal of reading to do, information to gather, and lesson planning to complete before I can even think about going to bed.

My first day was not so bad, actually. There are at least 3 people (among the 18 in the class) with whom I feel I could become friendly, and one of them even in my tutor group. I've learned that the keys to crossing the streets (without waiting indefinitely by the onslaught of motorcycles for an opening which is never going to come) is a steady pace, clear directional intent, no sudden movements, and confidence.

I've never been that fond of "professional" dress, but it makes me uncomfortable here for a reason entirely separate from my dislike of bras - which is to say that it must surely seem like flaunting my social class to the Vietnamese people I pass on my way to work, none of whom I have seen wearing clothes even close to the expensive "professional" outfits I am told are a requirement to attend this course. (Shirtless men are not surprising, many clothes are clearly old or slightly dirty, anything fancier than jeans and cotton is a little weird.) Before I came, I was told teaching was a "respected" profession and as such (to maintain this respect) I would have to dress in a respectable manner. Two days after arrival, this rule seems almost designed to highlight and enforce the social distance between me and the locals in my neighborhood. I hate it.

There's more to say, but I've already surpassed the time I allotted myself for relaxation and dinner. There's nothing for it but to try my best to get rid of my headache and sleepiness and start my preparation for tomorrow. <3

it wasn't thunderstorming when i arrived,

as promised. I started to feel delusional by the 7th hour in Guangzhou Airport, and though I've been going all this time feeling unconcerned by flying, feeling even excited at the takeoffs and landings, I had panic attacks in spurts all through the last flight from Guangzhou to Ho Chi Minh City, could have sworn that I could see the right wing of the plane trembling, was convinced we were going to crash when we landed and slammed on the brakes. Watched an episode of SVU to comfort myself, but it was one where Mariska Hargitay was absent/undercover and it didn't help. Felt weepy. Just over HCMC the lights were beautiful, not the rainbow of lights you expect over a city, just two colors - yellow and bluish-white - in lines weaving in and out of each other.

I'm here now, there's internet (though Facebook is blocked in Vietnam), and they gave me a free plate of fresh fruits and a crispy loaf of bread with cream cheese and the most wonderful black coffee for breakfast, which is enough to make me forgive anything. A sparrow came in through the ceiling in my room at 6 this morning and woke me up - I covered the mirror with a blanket so it wouldn't kill itself, opened the windows, took a shower, and eventually the bird found its way out. A sickly looking dog peed and pooped on the patio while I was looking for someone to give money to. A rooster crowed somewhere nearby at around 7. This is not Korea. I can't see any mountains.

I arrived really late last night, and it was too late to get into the hostel where I made my reservation, but the owner had reserved a room for me with her friend across the alley for the first night. It was good enough but a little dirty, with some quantity of ants, and I'm happy to move to the other place this morning, which so far seems much nicer.

In other news, it's hot, mid-80s hot, and I don't seem to be feeling as stifled by it as I might have expected, having come from -12 degrees C in Seoul, but then again, I've only experienced late night and early morning so far, and not the heat of the day.

To-do list for today: withdraw some dong (I've been okay so far because everywhere accepts dollars), find a cell phone, locate directions to my school, where orientation starts at 8:45 Monday. Get settled in my room. Buy groceries. Blog.

something is falling

tomorrow I leave for Vietnam, and Wednesday U Young-Hee 샘 leaves for India, and when we both come back we won't work at the same school anymore. Did I tell you how the Korean school system rotates teachers every four years? Her term at our school is up, and so is Choi Yena's. ㅠ.ㅠ Meditation club will be no more. Biffle co-teacher will be no more. I hope I'm able to stay in touch with both of them.

LADY BURGER

dear Korea: DON'T CALL ME A LADY

Secret - Shy Boy

straight from the nerdy-macho collective imagination (@bird_esque)

TETRAPHOBIA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetraphobia

I totes live on the fourth floor. My room number is totes F06.