Settling in

It certainly has been an interesting few weeks here in Ho Cho Minh – but all is good. I am making some very good friends and it does feel like home.

To take you back a couple of weeks, the search for an apartment had a few challenges, due to changes in tax laws, misinformation from the school and a landlord pulling out of a contract the night before I was due to move in! Not an ideal way to spend the first weeks in a country (and I have aired my concerns in several forums) but I am now happily settled and pleased with my choice.

A neighbour!

My block!

My apartment block is in a wealthy area and it caters for a large proportion for the expat community, so there are gyms, yoga and Pilates studios, western supermarkets, cafes, bars and restaurants, so it is comfortable living. There are big wide streets, often with very few vehicles of any description and it is very quiet as opposed to ‘town’ or District One.  I have a balcony and look out onto a nice large tree and there is also a roof top plunge pool and terrace area with a nice view over the area. The street has boom gate and 24 hour guard and there is also a 24 hour guard at the based in the entrance to my building, so I do feel very safe. I am currently sitting at my desk with a door open on to the balcony and a nice breeze flowing through – but still about 28 degrees.

I bought a bicycle within a week of being here and it is very handy to have wheels to get used to the way of the roads, before I become a real local and get a motorbike/scooter. I am hesitant to use the word road rules, because there really aren’t any, but it all works. No one is aggressive and you just weave around each other. Being alert is certainly the key, as you never quite know where a bike, motorbike or car will come from or go to, and on quiet back streets I have found myself on the wrong (left) side of the road. So, I have a rack on the back of my bike and I strap my basket on the back and off I peddle to the shops. I do intend to cycle to school when I am little more on the ball there. It will take about 20 minutes – and then another 20 to cool down!!

The view from my classroom

School has proved to be interesting to say the least, but it is in a period of transition, so it can only get better! Seeing my load for the first time was a real shock – 5 English classes: two classes of Year 12, one Year 11, one Year 10 and one Year 9. What happened to that middle school humanities and English job that I applied for and accepted? Communication does not seem to be a strength of the school at present. They just assumed that as I had agreed to be English Coordinator, I was a senior teacher. Wrong – well up until now!

The timetable on the whole has been a shemozzle. We were at school for 5 days before we actually received our timetables and even then there were massive errors and changes. So, those supposed days of planning were not particularly well utilised! Anyway, I managed to get rid of the Year 12 classes and now have Year 11, 10, 9 and 7, which in fact in Australian terms is 10, 9, 8 and 6. Our classes are streamed and to give you an idea of the ability of my Year 10 class, they were scoring 2-5/20 for a section of the Year 9 NAPLAN reading test!! No doubt that it will be another huge learning curve for me.

And, how am I going to learn those names. There are very few western faces in the classes, and I feel so sorry for the kids when I butcher their names.

Thankfully, my colleagues are very nice. Some may be a little slack, but they are good value and have been able to laugh through the frustrations of the first weeks. We all have our own classrooms; which enables us to have our domains as we wish, but our desks are also in our classrooms and as we are so busy during the day it will be a little isolating. At least each subject area is grouped in the same area.

Today, one of the long-standing staff members organised a bus trip for us newies to show us some of the different areas of Saigon and places to buy different things. This was great and when life settles into more of a routine it will be terrific to get out and explore a lot more. My great excitement was buying a toaster today. They are few and far between and trying to explain what a toaster is has been interesting. So, a real treat this afternoon - vegemite on toast!

At the moment, I am catching a cab to school at about 6.45am. This takes about 10 minutes in the morning and costs $5 – it is a little more in the afternoons. Home time is about 5pm and then I am doing a little cooking, but am also enjoying the local restaurants and some street dining. It is not bad when you can get a decent meal for $2. Online ordering from restaurants is generally the go here, but I have not ventured there yet! I do love riding down the street and buying vegetables for the evening from the street-side stalls that pop up.

 

Wish me luck for my first full week at school with students!! At least I am getting paid now!