study, study, study...TEACH!!!

After last week's final classes and a weekend of lesson planning, the time came Monday morning to teach my very first class as part of my practicum here in Vietnam. Like many of you may have read in my newsletter, I tend to approach the things I fear the same way I did when I went skydiving: I jump and leave the end up to the Father :) Monday morning came with a whole lot of fluttering butterflies in my stomach, but it wasn't long after I walked into the classroom that I remembered how much I love teaching. I really love it. It's hard, though. Man, it's hard. I have so much to learn.

My favorite parts about teaching in Southeast Asia so far:

- classes are long enough to teach something new (2 1/2 hrs)

- students are eager, passionate, and interesting

- each class has a student class monitor

- fellow teachers are experienced and willing to share ideas

- classes stand when you enter a room and clap when you finish the lesson

Bekah took some pictures of me teaching for the third and final time here in Vietnam (to be posted later). A few students stayed after class and we talked about cultural differences and how to improve their English skills. Earlier, during the break, a couple students engaged me in a conversation about fate. Fate! My experience so far here is that students are not afraid to go very deep in conversations very quickly. I told them I believed in providence and it was a new word for them. They'll probably look it up...

A little excursion last weekend took us to a local ethnography museum. It is a fantastic way to gain knowledge of Vietnamese culture. A highlight from the visit was a chance to watch a water puppet show. Check out the pictures and videos (trouble loading) below. The music and the voices were live! And the puppeteers were actually in the water behind the screen! Very cool!

Other pictures include some sights on our walk to the museum and a young girl who asked to take a picture of me with her camera, so I returned the gesture by taking one with mine.