Getting eaten and making it count

"Thank yov for dinner tonight. I want to be eaten with you a lot of time"

Tonight was one of my first end-of-year dinner dates with students. As part of my new resolution to "make the days count" instead of counting the days, I've decided to start asking some of my favorite, more active students out for meals.

Tonight was Meal Number One with Trang from K3A (the author of the above text message - totally incorrect and totally adorable!). 

Trang took me for chao canh, which is a noodle soup that I've had a few times and, each time, always realize that I should be eating more often! It's much more hearty than pho, which is very light and watery with very light rice noodles. Chao canh, on the other hand, has more of a porridge-y consistency in the broth, and the noodles are made of wheat flour, so they feel a bit more filling.

Also, in keeping with Vietnamese students' tendency to NEVER interact to a teacher without a wing-man (shyness? confidence boost?), Trang bought her friend, Quynh, who is in 11th grade in Ha Tinh City. Like most Vietnamese students learning English in high school, Quynh was almost totally silent. Several times during the meal, she would whisper to Trang, in English, "How old is she?" or "Is she married?" I kept reminding her that she could ask me directly, but alas, Trang remained our English-to-English translator. 

After dinner, we went on a short walk to the famous cu do shop in Ha Tinh and sat and had some tea and cu do cakes. It was a lovely dinner date, and I am really excited to spend these next few weeks in more intimate settings with some of my more eager students.

Tomorrow I have a lunch date with Hien and Anh from K2A, and apparently the English department is holding a departmental soccer game tomorrow morning (glad I didn't find out about this until just now, but hey) which I will try to attend. 

I may not love it here, but at least I can make the best of it - and make some students very happy in the process! - over the remaining few weeks.

Today reached around 90 degrees, and the humidity *must* be around 99%. Going outside even for a few minutes is a major chore that leaves me exhausted and sweaty, so I've been hibernating in my semi-airconditioned room (the air conditioner has been working over-time and can't seem to keep up with the major heat outside, so my room is only *sort of* cool). Today was NOT a day for cooking, but it WAS a day for cool, fresh vegetables transformed into a cucumber-and-tomato salad with balsamic vinegar!

Hoping tomorrow cools off a bit. My schedule has been changed (yet again), and tomorrow I teach 6 periods, back-to-back, from 1 PM to 6 PM. Considering that, over the course of this year, I rarely go more than a few hours without laying down for a quick nap or at least some quiet, relaxing time with a book or a DVD, I'm nervous to be standing in front of a classroom for 5 hours straight, especially if it remains this hot. Wish me luck that I can survive my busy Tuesday, please!!