Cultural adaptation

This may as well have been a scene straight out of a movie about an ex-pat living in Vietnam and all of the ridiculous, quintessential and stereotypical frustrations that they encounter on a daily basis.

[Open scene, Teacher Allison is walking to her 9:05 class.]

Mr. Duc [approaching from 50 yards away]: Oh, Allison! I forgot to tell you, but your schedule has been changed! Your class will not start for another 35 minutes!

Teacher Allison:  What does that mean?

Mr. Duc: We change the times when classes meet to coordinate with the winter schedule. Now all of your morning classes will be 30 minutes later, and your afternoon classes will be 30 minutes earlier. Is that okay?

Teacher Allison [smiling and nodding her head]: Yes, that is fine. So [pulling out her iPhone and consulting her class schedule], this means that every morning I do not start until 9:35 now?

Mr. Duc: Yes, that is right. I should have told you earlier but I forgot!

Teacher Allison: So that means I lose an hour of rest time in between my morning and afternoon class, which will now begin at 1 instead of 1:30.

Mr. Duc: Ah, yes. Ok, so why don’t we move your class to 8:40 then, starting next week, then you can have more time to rest in between classes. I can’t believe I didn’t tell you sooner!

Teacher Allison: No, that is okay. Next time if anything changes, will you call me to let me know?

Mr. Duc [laughing]: Oh, of course! See you later!

If nothing else, I will walk away from Vietnam being more patient, tolerant, and open to just about anything happening that is contrary to my expectations. The funny part about this conversation is that I was not even fazed, and I didn’t lose my cool in the slightest. I walked back to my room, grabbed 10,000VND (50 cents) and took myself to the café on campus where I bought a cup of coffee and sat to wait for my class to begin at its new time.

Am I surprised by any of these changes? Well, a little. Am I surprised at the manner in which they were conveyed to me? Not at all. Will there be a million more head-shaking incidents where I am told some important news at the very last minute? Most certainly. Will it become more and more funny and ridiculous each time? Yes, probably.