Field Trip to Hoian

Every month, Superkids takes a field trip. Today we went to Hoian, about 30 minutes away from Da Nang. It was great! Only the older students are invited to go, so they handle the activities, walking, and heat with a little more maturity... well, kinda.
It was also fun because at this stage of their English learning, they can communicate in simple conversations, not just vocab and simple sentences. This makes it really fun for me, to get to know them better and see them excited to show off what they know. I met a lot of students today who I do not have in class, so that was fun too.
We walked around Hoian and saw a lot of old sites from when the Chinese were building and starting to do business and life there. Mostly I talked with students and the Superkids staff, and really I had very little idea about what I was seeing and any history behind it...everything was given in Vietnamese! But it was a good experience and I enjoyed it.
After walking around the town we got back on our busses and went across town to the Hoian Orphanage. We got to tour it and meet some of the disabled children that resided there. We then went into a classroom full of children. Our students sang a song in English, then the other kids sang a song in Vietnamese, and back and forth for awhile. It was really fun to watch the kids interact. Then our students handed out gifts they had brought to give to the kids in the orphanage.
After that we headed back to Da Nang and we were back by noon!
It was a seemingly short trip, but with all the activity, sights, and intense heat, it was quite draining. Such a joy though, to see the children in Hoian and from Superkids, to bless each other and enjoy themselves.

Surviving the heat!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post! I really want to get better at blogging...I never really thought that would be a skill to perfect, but it is! Especially after my recent exposure to my dear friend Blaze's blog, I have learned that I need to step up my game!
I've also realized that if I blog more often, the blogs might be shorter.... :)

So here's a recap of my past few weeks!
Teaching has continued to challenge me everyday. My younger classes seem to be the hardest for me, mostly because kids ages 4-6 are difficult in general, but also because of the more prevalent language barrier, as well as the fact that they've been in Kindergarten all day long, then they come to Superkids to come into my classroom. That's why I need to try to think of fun and engaging activities, that are also time efficient in teaching as much English as possible in the one-hour class. If you have any ideas for activities, PLEASE let me know! Comment on this post, or email me at audgeq@gmail.com. I would seriously appreciate it so much, however many you've got, send them my way if you get a chance! :)
Last week was the hottest it has been since I've been here: 98, 99, 102, 101, 97....ugh. It really was a challenge to have energy, and a lot of people were sick from it. It's something about this humidity, it just feels like you hit a wall. Definitely something to get used to. I have faith though, there are a few tricks to help on these days: A decision to leave the house at least once is a good goal. I know it sounds odd, but that's really just how it is! It's a very good thing that there are carts lining the streets selling fresh fruit, squeezing fresh fruit juices, Sinh To (sin-toe), fresh pressed sugarcane juice, Nuoc Mia, and a new smoothie shop around the corner! These are my objects of exodus on the hot days. Very delicious, and nutritious! Many vitamins.
So in the midst of the heat was this past Sunday, my one day off (I teach 6 nights a week). So after Church on Sunday, Dawn and I went home, changed out clothes, put a leash on Max (her dog), and headed to the beach! We rented beach chairs under an umbrella for 15,000 dong (less than $1 usd), and laid by the ocean for a few hours. As I was laying there, I closed my eyes and realized how universal "the beach" is. Once my eyes were closed, I could've been at Seal Beach with Ashleigh, at Santa Monica with Casey, Long Beach with Laura or Marina beach with Andi. But I was in Vietnam, with Dawn and Max! There are so many things that have made me feel like an outsider in this new country, but the beach helped me remember just how small the world is, and that no matter where I am, I am still under the care and protection of God, on the earth (or the beach) that He has created. What a great feeling!

Anyway, though it was 102 that day, the breeze at the beach was constant, so it was quite bearable. I read a little bit of Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell, I drank some iced tea i made at home, I took some pictures, took a nap, and waded in the water a little bit. It was a very great day, and I plan on doing it again this Sunday!
We had a teacher's meeting at school today. It was small, as there are just 6 teachers, and our supervisors. We talked about our challenging moments in teaching, as well as our most rewarding moments. We talked and bounced ideas off of each other, discussed ideas for discipline as well as positive reinforcement. It was very helpful to me, I found a lot of benefit in it! I still have so much to learn about this culture and teaching, and I am very humbled to realize the size of my task. I feel so comforted knowing that I have a strong support system in the teachers and staff here, eager to help me and teach me. I've also been tapping into the resource called Mom. Working with Kindergartners herself, she has given me many great ideas for activities and management. Some things transcend cultures quite flawlessly! One from Mom I especially like, is taking pictures of the kids--we're studying feelings right now in my young classes, so I say things like "Show me sleepy! Show me hungry! Show me excited!" It's just so cute (this is his excited face).

Many of you have asked for my address. Where I'm living actually does not have an address believe it or not. So if you wish to send me anything, be it cards, letters, chocolate, stickers.... :) it can be sent to the school. Here is the mailing address:

Audrey Quealey

c/o Fisher Superkids

99 Nguyen Van Linh

Da Nang, Vietnam

And that's correct, there is no zip code!

In case you're interested in learning more about Superkids, I will include the website below. Volunteers are also welcome to come help out at the school! 1 month, a few months, whatever you like! :)

(Fisher Superkids http://fishersuperkids.com/).

That must be all for now. I hope you're all doing well, I'd love to hear from you as well!

Blessings and ubuntu to you,

Audrey

To the Beach and at the Market

Yesterday morning I attended a teacher’s conference here in Da Nang, learning about how to use puppets in teaching English. It was pretty interesting, yes basic. It wasn’t too long, and I got some good ideas for some teaching techniques and activities that are effective and fun for young students. Plus there was a great assortment of fresh fruit, and delicious Vietnamese coffee!
I went to the conference with two other teachers from school, Teresa and Keith, and at the conference we met up with some TA’s on staff at school who are also teaching, or studying to teach.

After the conference, I came home and changed out of my skirt, into some shorts, as to prepare for a ride on Keith’s motorbike. We went to eat Pho (fuh) for lunch, and then across the river, to drive to the beach and along the coast. The beach here is along the East Sea, which if you look at a map close up, there is a peninsula jetting out in the north, which is Monkey Mountain. Driving north along the coast, we were heading toward Monkey Mountain and at the base of it there is a very large statue of Buddha facing the water, which was filled with numerous fishing boats at the time we were there. Keith informed me that in a few hours, these fishermen would move to the street we were driving on to sell what they had caught. It smelled very fishy! I hope to go back soon, after the boats are in, to buy some fresh fish.

Today I had a completely different adventure: going to the market. Teresa is the head teacher at the school I work for. She is married to Hai, the director of the school. Hai is the man who I’ve been talking to for the past few months, planning my trip to Vietnam. Hai and Teresa are both very helpful and welcoming, and are doing so much to help me get settled. So today, Teresa took me to the market. This is where Vietnamese life happens. There are booths, carts, tables, mats, and even women just sitting on the floor with their product, hoping to sell. Any type of food you could imagine, as well as anything you might need for cooking, you’ll find at the market (next time I go, I’ll try to take a few pictures—it really is a wonderful sight to see).

So Teresa took me to show me what things were good to buy, helpful to have on hand, where to get one thing over another, and how to ask important questions in Vietnamese, like ‘What is it?’ and ‘How much?’ She also taught me numbers and measurements for quantities and prices. Another important thing Teresa wanted to help me accomplish today, was simply establishing a relationship with the people I bought things from. She said, “Audrey they won’t forget your face, so remember theirs. They will see you and help you. They will remember what you got last time and help you get what you need, and for a good price.” I’m probably one of 3 or 4 white people in my area, and possibly the only one who will be shopping at this market regularly. Teresa explained (in Vietnamese) to each woman we spoke with that I just moved here and that I will be coming by from now on, and also that I don’t know much Vietnamese yet. They were all so welcoming and wonderful! So full of smiles and questions for me. Teresa told me that establishing a relationship with the vendors through these questions and conversations is a very regular part of the market. They want to know you! I love that. The more I learn about this culture, the more I see Ubuntu, and I love it a little bit more.

We left the market with many, many small bags of my purchases (rice, beef, seasoning, lemons, carrots, lettuce, celery, dried mushrooms, garlic, different beans, limes, fish sauce, fruit), and went home on Teresa’s motorbike. It was quite the balancing act. Teresa came home with me, and showed me how to make a meal using a number of things we bought—it was so great! We made soup but putting lettuce into boiling water and adding beef, which we cooked in fish sauce, salt and garlic. It was incredible. We then fried sliced potatoes, garlic, and the rest of the beef, and scrambled a few eggs. We ate the soup, and then put everything else on top of rice. We squeezed about four limes, added sugar, ice cubes and water, and made lemonade. The whole meal was so simple, and SO good! I’m sure I’ll eventually miss some processed and ready-made food; I just can’t imagine when that will be… ☺

More than anything I’ve done in the past few days, I have just appreciated the basic interactions I have had with people. Keith yesterday, Teresa today…amazing. On Sunday I spent the day with three people, just talking, eating lunch, shopping, drinking coffee, cooking & eating dinner and playing Rummikub. People here take time to rest and be together. There is no urgent need to “get things done” and overwork themselves. Family is valued, and time spent together is precious. I truly believe these to be true and it is encouraging to see it cherished in this culture. Hopefully you all are enjoying your lives this week and have the opportunity to appreciate the people in your lives, and can spend time with them for more than a 20 minute meal.
Ubuntu!

P.S. A weird, yellow, jumping worm/grub looking thing just jumped at me…I’m sitting at the kitchen table, so I’m guessing it came from a plate of fruit sitting by me. It just now jumped again, onto my computer screen!

….squish…

I made it

Ciao from Vietnam!

It's been a long journey this past month, but I made it. I am thankful for the time I got to spend at home with my parents and grandparents, my brother, my cousins, aunts and uncles, and my amazing friends. I also got to spend a few days with my brother and his friends in Vegas, Arizona (Dodgers vs. Mariners!), and LA, just relaxing and having a good time. I couldn't have asked for a better last month in the US. My friends and roommates are amazing, and sent me off with a great farewell party full of love and encouragement :) My parents flew down for my last day and took me to the airport. It was a tearful goodbye, followed by a few tearful final phone conversations with my brother and roommate...but good tears! It's all a part of change and growth and love.

So I arrived here almost a week ago, after about 30 hours of traveling from Los Angeles. The flight was pretty uneventful. I watched a few good movies (including High School Musical 3), listened to some great airplane CDs (including the Across the Universe soundtrack and Britney Spears, Circus) and took multiple awkward naps! Jealous? :)

Once I stepped off the plane into the accordian tunnel thing, I was struck with the hot, thick, moist air of Vietnam. It was shocking. I never imagined air could feel so....heavy. Pretty gross. It really hasn't changed much either--I might be getting used to it a tiny bit, but that doesn't make it any more comfortable! :) It isn't ruining anything though, Vietnam is absolutely incredible. When I arrived, I was taken to the school I will be teaching. I got to meet the super nice staff and have a tour of the school. At this point I was pretty much in a daze from all the traveling and then taking in a new country, but it was all still very exciting! They took me to get a Vietnamese SIM card for my phone so we could be in contact with one another, and then they took me home, where I met my housemate, Dawn, and two of her friends. I literally set down my bags and left with them to eat dinner down the road. I met a lot of people and saw a lot of places and things my first day in Vietnam, and by the time I got into bed at 10pm that evening, I was ready for sleep. I have been sleeping 8-9 uninterrupted hours a night ever since, and I thank exhaustion for that.

My second day here, my boss hosted a welcome dinner for me at his home. A girl from work picked me up on her motorbike to take me to the dinner. EVERYONE drives a motorbike here. Cars are few and far between...motorbikes and bicycles occupy the majority of the streets. So it was quite a thill riding on the back of a motorbike! In the hot weather, the breeze feels very good on a motorbike.

The welcome dinner was really great--I got to meet most of the teachers and some of the staff I'll be working with, as well as some of the children of the teachers and staff. We had a great game of darts after dinner--to my surprise, I was the top scorer!

Monday and Tuesday of this week I learned about my classes, the curriculum, and the school, and I also got to observe a few classes. For each class, I have a TA. The TA has been with the class since it started, so since I am coming in the middle of the courses, my TAs (all four of them, one for each class) met with me to tell me about the class and each individual student. That was so helpful and definitely helped me prepare for my first day of teaching. Wednesday I taught my first two classes, and Thursday I taught my second two; each class alternates every-other-day. M,W,F, and T, Th, Sat...6 days a week! It's nice though, because classes are in the evening, so I have the days to explore and hang out, though right now I mostly spend them lesson planning. Soon, I will get the hang of it and it won't take me so long...I hope!

The Father has been teaching me a lot about relying on Him and communicating with Him. I feel the need to be in communication with Him and reading about Him multiple times a day and it has been so enriching to have that be my number one priority all day every day. Every day that my relationship with Him grows, I am in awe of how deep His love is and how intense His longing to be a part of my life is. He is an amazing comfort and source of hope and provision. He teaches me more and more everyday!

I am learning a lot about being intentional, in all that I say and think and do. I am also learning about using my body language and facial expressions positively, as those do not need translation and is the only thing being communicated to people with whom I cannot verbally communicate. It is amazing how aware I have become of the way I look at and respond to my students--I want to make sure they understand I am proud of them and affirming them, even if they don't understand my words. I am trying to show love in every way I can!

I am also gaining awareness of the impact my actions and words have on others-not because I am great, awesome and important, but because I have the opportunity to help and bless others through serving and edifying them. Living together in community is what we were created to do. I can't imagine living each day for myself and my own forward movement--it would be lonely and unfulfilling. I need others, and I need to be a part of something greater than myself.

.ubuntu.

"One of the sayings in our country is Ubuntu - the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can't exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can't be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality - Ubuntu - you are known for your generosity.

We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole world. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity."
-Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 2008