I am going to put one awesome thing that happened each month this year. check back, I'll be adding every month.
January- Freda came from Canada and we went to Cambodia
February- Said Hello to a new housemate from Canada
March- Said goodbye to two housemates from The USA
April- I'm sure something wonderful happened, I just have to remember it!
May- Was informed that my requested transfer to Vung Tau had been approved
June- Was honoured with a goodbye party by families of four of my students
July- Moved to Vung Tau
August- Started my new teaching assignment in Vung Tau
Monday, August 13, 2012
funerals
Let me make a disclaimer right here at the beginning. I have never been to a funeral in this country. I have never been to a church in this country. I am only giving you my impressions as an outsider.
Most of the people here seem to be Buddhist, and they also worship deceased ancestors and family members. I don't know if that's an aspect of Buddhism or not, but homes and business have shrines, and sometimes have pictures of family members who have passed on.
I have seen many funeral processions pass by me. The deceased is carried an an elaborately decorated vehicle, and there are usually people all dressed in white in the vehicle too. The family wears white, I am not sure if all the mourners do, but I think so. I have most often seen these processions in the morning, and this morning I heard one before it was quite daylight. Sometimes there are more vehicles carrying more mourners, and the vehicles also have drums that the mourners are beating. There is loud music that is not at all what I think of as funeral music, with brass instruments and drums, and sometimes singing too. Some people are buried in cemeteries, others on land near the family home. Sometimes people are not buried, but put into a stone coffin? mausoleum? that sits above ground. Remember that this are is at or below sea level, and this is probably to keep the grave safe from flooding.
On the anniversary of a death, the family comes together to celebrate the life that has gone before. I'm sure there are many other rituals, but as I say, I am an outside observer. Perhaps someday I'll have an opportunity to give you my first hand experience.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Right Place, Right Time
We often hear , and use , the phrase "...in the right place at the right time." I've always thought that things happen the way they are supposed to, whether or not we understand why it's just the way it should be. As I was getting ready to move from Binh Duong to Vung Tau a few weeks ago it struck me that this had happened in my life again.
If I back up a couple of years, we can take a look at what was happening in my life. I had just lost my job and been dumped my the fellow I had been seeing for a few months. Life was spiraling down, to the point that I lost my home. I heard about a young woman, daughter of a very dear friend, who was going to Korea to teach. I asked her mom how she found out about the job, and she gave me info on a website. I got busy and to make a long story short, came to Vietnam to teach.
The community I lived in was about 25 kilometres outside of Ho Chi Minh City, the largest city in Vietnam, but it might as well have been 2500 kilometres away. No hustle and bustle there! I fell into a routine, and was quite happy living and working in the area. I could walk to work in 10 minutes, there were a few good restaurants nearby, and I could take the bus into the city on the weekends for very little money.
Life rolled along pretty quietly until last January, when my friend Freda from Alberta came to visit. We spent a couple of days in Vung Tau, and my life was changed. I felt as though I'd come home to a place I'd never been before, to take a line from John Denver. I loved the place! The fact that it is a city built on the water was the biggest draw. The (mostly) clean appearance, wide streets and sidewalks, and low traffic flow didn't hurt either. As soon as I returned home I started working on being transferred to the school that my company operates in Vung Tau. The transfer came through, and here I am!
When I think about it, I believe that I spent two years in Binh Duong in order to acclimatize myself to the ways of the people around me, and to get back into the swing of teaching again. I had been out of the classroom for ten years, and didn't think I would ever be back! In that school I developed many close friendships, and I worked with the best principal I've ever had. I think that once I had experienced living and working in a quiet community for a time, I am now ready to live and work where the pace is a little faster.
This year I will take my motorbike or bicycle to work, as it is about two kilometres from home. Sure I could walk it, but it would be terribly hot by the time I got home. It would be hot in the mornings too, and who wants to come to work all sweaty and smelly? I think I am ready to take on this new challenge. I'll let you know as things develop!
If I back up a couple of years, we can take a look at what was happening in my life. I had just lost my job and been dumped my the fellow I had been seeing for a few months. Life was spiraling down, to the point that I lost my home. I heard about a young woman, daughter of a very dear friend, who was going to Korea to teach. I asked her mom how she found out about the job, and she gave me info on a website. I got busy and to make a long story short, came to Vietnam to teach.
The community I lived in was about 25 kilometres outside of Ho Chi Minh City, the largest city in Vietnam, but it might as well have been 2500 kilometres away. No hustle and bustle there! I fell into a routine, and was quite happy living and working in the area. I could walk to work in 10 minutes, there were a few good restaurants nearby, and I could take the bus into the city on the weekends for very little money.
Life rolled along pretty quietly until last January, when my friend Freda from Alberta came to visit. We spent a couple of days in Vung Tau, and my life was changed. I felt as though I'd come home to a place I'd never been before, to take a line from John Denver. I loved the place! The fact that it is a city built on the water was the biggest draw. The (mostly) clean appearance, wide streets and sidewalks, and low traffic flow didn't hurt either. As soon as I returned home I started working on being transferred to the school that my company operates in Vung Tau. The transfer came through, and here I am!
When I think about it, I believe that I spent two years in Binh Duong in order to acclimatize myself to the ways of the people around me, and to get back into the swing of teaching again. I had been out of the classroom for ten years, and didn't think I would ever be back! In that school I developed many close friendships, and I worked with the best principal I've ever had. I think that once I had experienced living and working in a quiet community for a time, I am now ready to live and work where the pace is a little faster.
This year I will take my motorbike or bicycle to work, as it is about two kilometres from home. Sure I could walk it, but it would be terribly hot by the time I got home. It would be hot in the mornings too, and who wants to come to work all sweaty and smelly? I think I am ready to take on this new challenge. I'll let you know as things develop!
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