3 weeks in Vietnam!
Time has flown since first arriving in the airport and feeling the beautiful, yet humid weather of East Asia. I was surprised at how tropical and beautiful this country is when I first drove to my apartment, and the beauty of this country still surprises me daily. I know it might sound overrated and overly talked about, but the coconut coffee here is no joke! The Vietnamese people take their coffee very seriously here, and I have appreciated it to the fullest.
These past few weeks have been full of many new experiences for me. The nightlife is buzzing, and people here are extremely friendly and talkative (if you’re able to stumble through a conversation with the language barrier). I live about 5 minutes away from the beach and ocean, which has been amazing for early-morning swims and late-night walks. And when I tell you early morning swims, I mean that when I get to the ocean at 5am, the beach and water are already packed with people! I have so many beautiful photos of the sunrise and videos of travelling experiences since I got here on the 25th of August.
Some of these photos include my trip to the Dragon Bridge on the first night I was here. After getting to my apartment, I met up with some other TAB members here in Vietnam and we took a Grab ride to the Dragon Bridge on Sunday night. Grab is the main way I commute out here, It is very simple and cheap to take either a car or a motorbike. The Dragon Bridge will have a fire and water show at 9pm on Saturday and Sunday nights, filling the streets with locals and tourists alike. If you stand too close to the dragon head, you may end up walking home completely soaked from the water part of the show, (that’s a different story…) After settling into the apartment I am staying and spending the night, our entire TAB cohort made our way to the school that we have been working in. Meeting the principal of the school was a cool experience where we sat in her office with fellow English teachers of the school and had a drink as we sorted through the details of the coming months. After partnering with our English teachers we made a schedule to come to the school on Tuesday and Wednesday for the day, and Thursday in the mornings. When the logistics of our TAB school experience were all banged out and the tour of the school was finished, we went for a coffee before parting. This meant it was time for me to explore with the rest of the week to myself.
I have made a trip to Lady Buddah, which is a massive cement statue of Lady Buddah on a hill facing Da Nang from across the water. The temples are elaborately decorated and filled with locals praying and making offerings. The courtyard is filled with different statues and plants, which of course come with the monkeys, which was to be expected, being on Monkey Mountain. Taking a bus, I also got the chance to explore The beautiful Marble Mountains. From exploring Son Tra Night Market to snorkelling on 3 different Cham Islands or visiting Hoi An old town, I have made sure I am always busy and seeing as much as possible. And this is just the beginning, there is so much more travelling to do. But of course, I can’t leave out the school experiences.
The first few days working in the school involved mainly introducing myself and giving 10,000 high fives a day. I have observed many classes from 1-5, and I will begin teaching Grade 5 in the coming week for Mrs. Lem. The opening ceremony of the school was such a different experience in terms of culture and entertainment. There was music, dancing and even a cultural dance of lions. I have been enjoying all the many connections with students and teachers I have made, and look forward to my attempts at teaching the Vietnamese students. I am very thankful to be here and have this opportunity, and let me tell ya, it has been a process and lots of work to make this happen.
That’s all from me for now.
Cheers,
Blaine Breukelman