Tasty Treats

I don't think you can travel without making food one of your top priorities. Vietnam was a nice change to Korean food with all of its variety. Because Vietnam has influences from France, America, as well as all the other Southeast Asian countries, the options are endless. We began our trip with some pho, the classic Vietnamese noodle dish.



One of our next meals out was recommended by the owner of the guest house we stayed in. The restaurant was outdoors, and was really lovely. The food was delicious as well.







The banana cake came with a frothy coconut milk to dip in...mouth-watering. The atmosphere was great and the food was even better, all for a whopping $8. Can you handle it?

After watching Anthony Bourdain's many travels to Vietnam, we decided we needed to heed his advice and go to a restaurant called Com Nieu Saigon. The highlight dish was Com Nieu which is rice baked in a clay pot so that it hardens on the outside, creating a shell-like exterior. The waiters put on a little show by throwing the clay pot to each and breaking it into pieces before serving the dish. We also ordered filet, crab, and shrimp wrapped in pork. My favorite dish was the filet, cooked and seasoned perfectly, although everything was scrumptious!





We went a little wild on this one...spending around $40 I think. We were ballin. I think the prices probably went up after all of the publicity Bourdain had given the restaurant. I say this as if the prices were outrageous...even though I'm pretty sure the last time I went to Chili's in the states, dinner for two was pushing $40, and well, it was Chili's.

The best part of Vietnamese food culture is not even the restaurants, but the street food, specifically Banh Mi, otherwise known as the Vietnamese sandwich. This sandwich combines the best of its influences, with its use of the baguette from the French, and adding Asian flair like soy and chili peppers. It also has some type of meat, usually pork, and various vegetables. Banh mi on the street typically costs 10,000 dong, which is 50 cents.



Fresh fruit and vegetable stands cover the streets. Vendors selling water also sell fresh coconuts, slice of the top in front of you, and hand you a straw. Fresh squeezed fruit juice abounds, in any fruit imaginable; passionfruit, papaya, mango, avocado, pineapple, etc. I honestly wouldn't even know where to go about getting these types of fruits in Korea, or America, for that matter. They definitely would not cost 50 cents, that's for sure.

Cu Chi Cu Chi

On Monday we went to the infamous Cu Chi Tunnels used in the Vietnam War. I was surprised to find out that many of the tunnels and the proverbial death traps were actually built by locals who feared destruction of their homes. The tour started with a demonstration:




wait for it....




TADA! what a trick eh?

We walked as the tour guide showed us some of those death traps that I described:





I sure as hell wouldn't want to fall into one of those...yikes. Next up: shootin' guns. I opted for the AK47 because I wanted to impress my students. They have some hang up with those guns. I once threatened a class that I had one, and I was going to shoot them with it if they misbehaved. Don't worry, their humor is extremely morbid here, that's like standard protocol in the classroom.



Finally, we moved on to go into one of the tunnels. Our tour guide assured us that the tunnels had been widened for tourists. He also mentioned there was an exit every 5 meters or so. Psh, why would I need to exit? these tunnels were even widened! Well through this experience I have learned just how much smaller Asian people are than myself. If you had even an ounce of claustrophobia, you would indeed have a panic attack immediately. I came out dripping with sweat and exhausted from having gone through the distance of maybe a block.




These pictures were taken extremely hastily and do not show the size of the tunnels. And the Vietnamese obviously did not have optional exits, or scarce lighting. Oh right, and they would stay months at a time, hiding from men with guns and bombs. Why do I keep returning to war talk? Sorry for all the somewhat depressing notes. Next will be something that cheers even debby downers like me up: FOOD.

Vietnam

Where do I begin? I really didn't want to post on this vacation because there is way too much to show and say, but my readers (Mom and Dad) requested I do so. I'm going to go in chronological order, not order of importance.

We landed in Saigon on Saturday at around 1:00. Walking out of the airplane, we were hit with a wall of heat and humidity. I glanced at my reflection and watched the hairs on my head stand up and my pores open to grease my entire face. It was a lovely sight, but I actually thoroughly enjoyed the heat. Driving through the city, the only thing I noticed were the motorbikes...literally everywhere. Old, young, men, women, even babies. The women would hold their babies on the bikes, sometimes masking them in a net as an attempt to keep the dust, and whatever else flies through the air, out of their face--as if THAT is the main concern in having an infant on a motorbike. Apparently 80% of motor accidents in Vietnam are due to these little Vespas. Honestly, I am surprised it is not 99% considering cars are few and far between.



This is not a good picture to illustrate the madness. There were swarms of motorbikes at times. I was not ready with my camera at those times, unfortunately. Also on the weekends, that is what Vietnamese people do for fun: ride on their bikes. Hot date? take her for a spin around the block on your sweet Vespa that everyone else in the city owns as well.

Our hostel was down the street from a famous Vietnamese market, Ben Thanh, so we walked through there for a bit.







Some interesting selections. Tequila with a worm: eat your heart out!

Sunday we walked around and first went to the Reunification Palace. Not the most attractive palace, it was clearly built in the 70's. Note the tacky decor; not usually what I picture when I think of a palace, but hey, to each his own.




We walked around the rooms inside. There was some interesting flair, like the elephant feet.




Onto the War Memorial Museum. Outside was typical war stuff, ya know, like big guns and tanks and what not.




But inside was a different story. This particular museum focused on war of aggression, so the emphasis was on who else but the United States and its atrocities toward the country. I was, however, surprised to see that the museum had completely left out France as its violent colonizer for years. Anyway, the first display as we walked in was this



In the words of Thomas Jefferson, the American declaration of inalienable rights contrasted with various pictures of war crimes, injured soldiers, dead women, babies, and elders. Of course everyone is aware of how great a contradiction this is, but seeing the images while having the claims of freedom still ringing in my ears gave me chills up my spine. Most of the imagery in the museum were--not surprisingly--those that I had never seen before. It was awful, really. One of the aspects that was spotlighted in the museum was the lasting effects the war has had on their country. The use of chemicals like napalm, and worse, agent orange, has created an entire society of disabled Vietnamese. Those exposed to agent orange were almost incapable of reproducing a normal child. A French politician at the time called the American use of such chemicals "an attempt to curb the evolution of an entire people."

Upstairs showed the destruction of land, homes, development, etc. Then, the rebuilding of the Vietnamese cities was proudly on display. Not far from these images, were pictures of people partaking in various tourist activities. Underneath, the caption read American tourists at Nha Trang, 1990, American tourists riding bikes, 2003, and so on. No comments underneath were present, but I got the message: "Look at what you Americans did. We rebuilt this beautiful country despite you, and now you have the audacity to use our country as a tourist attraction!" OK, maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration, but I shrewdly decided to refrain from speaking at a volume higher than ear-to-ear whisper anyway. I mean, I could be any nationality...

I have only put a dent in my first 2 days...more to come.

Update

It has been a while, I know. I have been getting very lazy about updating on this blog. A lot has happened since I posted last, one of which being my trip to Vietnam. I am so bummed it is over, but have tons of pictures and stories to come. My sister also came to visit recently, which was so amazing. It made me really miss home for the first time. I was so happy to be able to show someone the life I have been living for the past...whoa....8 months (exactly today).

Speaking of my sister, she went home to raise money for the 60 mile Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Walk. This will be her second year doing it, and I know it is really special to her. Anyway, I thought I would share her site with anyone who still actually reads this blog to offer her a little bit of help:

http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/2010/ChicagoEvent2010?px=3142957&pg=personal&fr_id=1463&et=VOUmp92nwW8X-TQlLkdJrg..&s_tafId=237604

60 miles is a really long walk...yikes. Any support is much appreciated!

I will post about Vietnam within the next few days. Tạm biệt!

Quick clarification

To clarify something about some of the students' comments:
The reference to me saying "F" constantly in class is actually a threat that I will give the kids an "F" as in, the letter grade. No, I have not been dropping f-bombs in class, as my mom had thought. "I couldn't believe you were swearing at the kids," she said in horror.
I mean, I'm crazy and may even have the mouth of a truck driver, but I do have a little bit of discretion at work.

They say it's your birthday

This weekend, I went to a famous show in Korea called Nanta. It is kind of like a Korean version of Stomp, in the sense that the performers use everyday objects to make music. The focus in Nanta, though, was cooking utensils and food. There was a loose storyline set up as 3 cooks who had to cook a massive amount of food for a wedding in just under an hour and a half. To add to their problem, they were stuck entertaining their boss's annoying nephew.



The show was, interestingly, not language discriminant. There was no language involved in the show. When they "spoke" the cast used a funny gibberish, and the audience was left to figure out the plot for themselves, which was not difficult by any means. The performers seemed to be drummers originally, who developed their talent into using a variety of items, including knives. They were extremely talented and entertaining. The humor was a bit cheesy, but I laughed at it anyway. Two thumbs up, I say.

The show was a great way to spend my birthday, and the next night I went to get Shabu Shabu with friends. My real birthday was on a Monday, so I obviously had to go into work. BLAH. I wore the happy birthday glasses given to me by the Korean staff in my classes so that everyone would know it was my special day. Then one of my students from last term brought me a cake. I have no idea how she knew/remembered it was my birthday, but it really made my day. She really made up for all those mean student criticisms on the reports. "See? some of the kids like me," I told myself.

Purple with Rage

Friday meant the end of my second term. 6 months of teaching, done. I really can't believe I have been here that long. So Monday means new kids, new schedule, new classes. I'm looking forward to the next term because I will be teaching more upper-level classes. I am told these are a lot more fun and of course, have a little bit more mental stimulation. It will be nice to use my brain in class and stop reacting only to misbehaving children. Anyway, the end of the term also meant receiving student evaluations. The kids were surveyed, asked a series of standard questions. Most of the questions I ranked about average or a little above, compared with the rest of the staff. Then comes the Student Opinions. In this section, the students have the option to write our merits and demerits. Some examples:

Merits:
-You're kind and funny. And your voice is loud.
-You teach class so carefully and make us understand well.
-You say to me exactly so I can know the correct meaning.
-You're kind and nice so I like you. You're bright and laugh readily.
-When Critical Thinking Project finish, you give us some clap.

Overall, the merits focused on how I teach meticulously to help the kids truly understand what they were learning. I patted myself on the back...this is what I am here for, is it not? Turn the page, demerits...

Demerits:
-When I sit some seat in front of the classroom, my ears have pain sometimes.
-You nag a lot.
-You're cold-hearted.
-You act irritated everyday and say "F" continuously...I'm annoyed (this is a quote, the kid actually said, I'm annoyed)
-Other students say some Korean but you point out only me.
-When you shout, your face turns purple with rage. Please don't shout.
-You make me that I never say anything during class. Your class is so boring everyday. You get angry too much over trifles.

This last one was the one that got me the most. Clearly I am a raging bitch, but boring?! No, but really, the idea that my particular class caused a kid to stop participating really hit me at my core. My reactions to the reports were mixed. Anyone that knows me well is aware of how poorly I take criticism. I can dish it out, but I definitely cannot take it. So yes, my feelings were hurt and I felt very defensive in my head. I also knew exactly who was writing what. I have one class that continuously gives me trouble. They are a low level middle school class. Not only are they lazy, and understand maybe 5% of my words, but they are punks. They have no respect and constantly mock me and disrupt class. I have gone off on them so many times, and yes, I am sure that my face turned purple with rage. See? I'm even getting defensive on this blog right now. After a little while, I realized I have to do exactly what the reports were meant to do: take them in and adjust accordingly. Apparently I am TOO loud, that shouldn't be that hard to fix. But the irritability thing is going to be a tough one. I cannot help it; the kids drive me absolutely crazy. And the whole disrespect aspect is a whole other issue. There is nothing that will infuriate me more than an outright disrespectful student. I guess I just have to pop a chill pill before I go to work.

The other complaints were things like "bring us pizza and snacks," "you make me come back from break too early" (CORRECTION, sir, I always give you at least 1-2 extra minutes, so shut your trap). "Class goes until the end" "you take too much time on the activities." These comments I just disregarded, obviously. You think you're getting pizza after that? hell no!

My co-workers received similar criticisms, and some were more hilarious than others. One of my co-worker's demerits was "your height is small and you can't kill the mosquito," whereas one of his merits was "your height is short and that makes me feel good because I don't have to look up when I talk to you."

Lovely Lisa

In Korea, they celebrate teachers' day. So, many of the students will give their teachers cards or gifts. One of my students gave me this note, addressed, To: My good teacher; From: Lovely Lisa.




Here is what the letter says:

To: My teacher
Hello? I'm Lisa. In Korea May 15th is teacher's day. So I writted a letter for you. You helped me in a thousand ways but I paid your kindness in test fail. Oh! No!!! I'm Sorry. When I did homework, sometimes is very easy, and sometimes is very hard to do it. I can't give you present. Sorry I don't have money. But I can write letter. I want you happy to see letter. Um...I don't know this word. I read book 3 days ago. Book says when we study very well, we can success. I want trust that book. I want to success. Teacher, please study hard with me. Thank you I like you and I thank you. I want you healthy. Goodbye. Teacher~

2010 years May 15th

From Lisa that like and thank for teacher

(Then there is a big thank you and what seems to be a self-portrait at the bottom)

The best part of this is where she says, "You helped me in a thousand ways..." Quick explanation: we are reading Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In it, Mr. Hyde writes a letter to Dr. Jekyll (this is obviously before we find out they are one in the same) saying you have helped me in a thousand ways and I have repaid your kindness with nothing but trouble. First of all, I am proud that she remembered this line, and second, how hilarious is that? Second favorite part: "Um...I don't know this word."

Lisa is quite young (3rd or 4th grade I think) and is extremely smart. I obviously laughed at the letter, but it's really quite impressive, to be honest. I wish all my students wrote me letters, but I am often told that I am mean...

By the way she chose her name from her love of Lisa Simpson, which really makes her that much cooler.

All-You-Can-Eat

I recently went to Namdaemun market, a street market in Seoul. It is similar to Dongdaemun, a place which I have previously written about. Similarly, it had a lot of crap, but also had lots of goodies like jewelry and shoes.




It wouldn't be a true Korean experience without sporting some fake glasses. Although these particular ones were sitting out for so long they were filthy. I could barely see out of them and they left a dust stain on my nose...lovely.



We came across a toothpaste holder whose sample toothpaste had piled up for what looked like years.



As we walked, we heard someone yelling something over a loudspeaker. We soon found out it was just a recording, as the loudspeaker was actually strapped on to the giant poster contraption that this man wore. I didn't get a good picture because despite the extra weight on his back, he was moving quite fast. And also some idiots kept walking in front of him (probably to protect his message). If you cannot read what the back says, It's "Lord Jesus Heaven; No Jesus Hell." There is NO grey areas for this dude.




We were about to head out to eat when we saw a long line. Curious, we investigated and soon found out the line was for dumplings. We looked at the menu; 10 for 4,000 won. Yeah, thats a no-brainer. So I get in some make-shift line and wait what seemed like would be quite a while. However, one of the workers took my order in a backhanded way before I even got to the front of the line. Why? No idea. She was probably thinking, "alright I gotta get these foreigners out of our hair as soon as possible." I asked for ten, and accidentally got 20. I peaked into the factory-like shop where they were made. The uniforms, along with the speed with which they cranked these dumplings out reminded me of the "I Love Lucy" which Lucy and Ethel get a job working at the chocolate factory.



It had just started to rain, so, in true homeless fashion, we crouched under a bridge to eat the 20 doughy, delicious dumplings we had just gotten. Wow. There were two kinds: kimchi, and just regular pork. The box weighed about 5 pounds, so these little snacks probably filled my caloric intake for the day. There was only four of us, and we ate all but 2 out of the 20 that we had bought. I am upset that this picture does no where near the justice these dumplings deserve.



Later, we moved on to an all-you-can-eat beef barbeque. Yes, all-you-can-eat: some of the deadliest words to have ever been put together. They continuously bring out plates of different cuts of beef. I don't think they anticipated foreigners when the place was created. We can really put a serious dent in their food supply. Anyway I obviously ate my life away and had garlic and onion breath for the next 3 days....there is not much more to say about that.

Strangism

Long time no post, I know. I have gotten lazy about writing and in all honesty, there is not much to report. I've been gathering pictures of some odd/funny art (this is a very broad term) and decor that I have come across while being here. Here are just a few that I actually had my camera on hand for:




Starbucks decked out with a 3-D deer whose antlers are garnished with some lovely flowers.




A pimply teen, not yet grown into his ears. Talk about the awkward years.



Yoshi, Mario's dinosaur companion



Crash-test dummy, grieving the loss of a fellow CTD.




These seal-human hybrids really freaked me out...gave me the chills a little bit.



I'm so mature.