Happy New Year

Happy New Year - ABBA

No more champagne

And the fireworks are through

Here we are, me and you

Feeling lost and feeling blue

It�s the end of the party

And the morning seems so grey

So unlike yesterday

Now�s the time for us to say...

Happy new year

Happy new year

May we all have a vision now and then

Of a world where every neighbour is a friend

Happy new year

Happy new year

May we all have our hopes, our will to try

If we don�t we might as well lay down and die

You and I

Sometimes I see

How the brave new world arrives

And I see how it thrives

In the ashes of our lives

Oh yes, man is a fool

And he thinks he�ll be okay

Dragging on, feet of clay

Never knowing he�s astray

Keeps on going anyway...

Happy new year

Happy new year

May we all have a vision now and then

Of a world where every neighbour is a friend

Happy new year

Happy new year

May we all have our hopes, our will to try

If we don�t we might as well lay down and die

You and I

Seems to me now

That the dreams we had before

Are all dead, nothing more

Than confetti on the floor

It�s the end of a decade

In another ten years time

Who can say what we�ll find

What lies waiting down the line

In the end of eighty-nine...

Happy new year

Happy new year

May we all have a vision now and then

Of a world where every neighbour is a friend

Happy new year

Happy new year

May we all have our hopes, our will to try

If we don�t we might as well lay down and die

You and I

This is an extremely popular song over here..... Shows the era that they are still in too..... I think the number of times I've heard it here is far more than the total number of times I've heard it in Singapore. Everyone knows how to sing it.... Yes, everyone! Even my little kids in the primary school..... They may not be able to pronounce all the words, but when they come to the chorus, they really shout it out. Happy New Year!!!

Dung In Hawaii

Other than being a Benjamin-look-alike, Dung is one of my best students and he's also the one who showed me more about Vietnam.... However, he's leaving to further his studies in Hawaii on Saturday. Compared to going to Singapore on a 80% scholarship for a three-year diploma course and having to serve a bond for three years after that, I would say he made a wise decision to take up the offer of a full university scholarship for four years. He only needs to work three hours a day to pay for his scholarship! All the best to him!

Dung introduced me to his friends Hanh and An. Hanh is a really pretty girl and An is a very funny boy! The initial reason why he introduced them to me was because they wanted to speak more with a foreigner to improve their english. But now, we just enjoy each other's company and go out for meals, arcade games and shopping! They brought me to eat many local food! The guys insist on paying each time.... They say that it is only right that Vietnamese boys always pay when they go out with girls. But we have since come to an agreement to split the bill the next time.....

The Happiest Person

The office had a christmas gift exchange and I got a clock cum photo frame from Son. Together with the gift was a card that read:

Nguoi nao nhan duoc mon qua va tam thiep nay la nguoi hanh phuc nhat ngay hom nay! Ban hay doc hang ngay, moi ngay se la hanh phuc nhat cua ban!

Of course I could not read it and Son would not translate it for me. He said I should use the dictionary just like him. When I use words that he does not understand, he always has to go back to the office to check the dictionary. It's tedious...... But the Vietnamese language is not the same.... It's impossible to check word for word because some words have no meaning on their own! I played cheat by asking Dung to translate the words for me.... When translated, it means

The person who receives this card is the happiest one today! If you read this everyday, you'll be happy everyday!

Haha! The card came at an appropriate time..... I need the happiness......

Food Food Food

I have been having so many kinds of strange food lately that I am starting to find it hard to keep track of their names..... Here, Tuan Anh brought me to eat the Vietnamese rice cake which he describes as shaped like a grid.... Well..... All I could say is that it looked every bit like a rice cake roll but nothing liike a grid. The name of this food is Banh Hoi. In the past, when a guy visits a girl's parents to ask for her hand, he would have to bring banh hoi along. The meaning of hoi is to ask. I think the history behind this dish is so interesting! Somehow the banh hoi is more tasty after I got to learn the story behind it!

As usual, this dish is eaten with loads of fresh vegetables (which the locals call salad), pork and fish sauce. They eat everything here with fish sauce.... Fish sauce looks like tea and there was one time Tuan Anh took the wrong bowl and actually drank the fish sauce! I can still remember the look on his face!

On the left is banh hoi, and the second dish tastes like some kind of dim sum.

Another time, we went to this very nice garden restaurant and I had rice noodle with pork kebabs. The pork was so well made that there was actually a layer of fats neatly wrapped inside! I pulled the fats out (naturally!) and passed it over to Tuan Anh....

One other afternoon, we had lunch at this popular restaurant where we actually had to wait for a table. I have not had to wait for a table ever since I came over here.... So that means the food here is really good! I ordered the broken rice with pork (again!) but it wasn't that special.... Just that the rice has been broken into smaller pieces that's all..... But I'm not toothless, so I can easily chew through my rice.... Will not order that next time..... But the dessert or sweet soup (che) that we had after that was good! Just like chendol! Slurp!!!

Family Stories

Tuan Anh's oldest brother's name is Fu, second brother is Lu, so by right, he should be named Shou..... But his father objected to that name and so he ended up with something different from them. He says he does not like his name because being Anh, he was always the first on the class register! He was always the first to read, first to answer questions, first in a row for examinations, the first for everything! So he could not be a lazy student and had to always be prepared to answer any questions from his teachers. He added later that it had it's advantages too because it made him more studious. He said that if he ever has a son in future, he would give him a name to put him in the middle of the class register so that he would not have to go through the same trauma that his father did!

Tuan Anh asked me to see if he looks like anyone in his family..... Hmm.... He looks very different from everyone else in his family..... They all have a round face and going by the Vietnamese standards, they are slightly plumbish. Of course that would mean they would actually look normal in Singapore. But Tuan Anh is skinny..... He himself says that he cannot fathom why he looks different from the rest of his family..... Even his little nephew looks like one of them! But just not him.... He jokingly asked, "Where did I come from?"

My Vietnamese Family

I was invited for lunch at Tuan Anh's house on Sunday. He lives in a two-and-a-half storey house in a quiet little neighbourhood near my centre. There, I met his mother, uncle, eldest sister-in-law, second brother, two younger sisters, nephew and girlfriend. His oldest brother had to work that day so I guess I would have to meet him another time. (His mother has invited me for New Year's Day lunch next Sunday! We are having beef hot pot!) The older folks cannot speak english but the younger ones can still manage a little. It was such a wholesome feeling having a meal together with his family...... When was the last time I had such a meal with my family?

His girlfriend, just like him, speaks rather good english. His girlfriend's name is My.... Similar to the name he gave me, Tra My. And to think he wants to name his daughter Tra My.... He has such strong affinity with the name My! Tuan Anh pointed out that My was wearing the bracelet that I had helped him choose a few days back..... Looked lovely on her! He's so thoughtful and she's so sweet! They are such a perfect couple together!

After lunch, he told me about his father. His father had passed away 10 years ago.... It's a very sad story. His dad was on a business trip in Hanoi and was visiting the Ho Chi Minh Memorial when he had high blood pressure..... He died on the spot and had no chance to leave any last words with the family. The family had to get over the shock and fly over to Hanoi to bring his body back..... Think it must have been a traumatic experience for Tuan Anh, who was about 13 years old then. He still speaks fondly of his dad.....

Tuan Anh's english name is Henry and it was given by his father. His father had worked in Singapore for a month before and when he returned to the country, he bought Tuan Anh some chocolate bars with the brand Henry. He loved the chocolate so much that his dad named him after the chocolate. But I told him I was not aware of any brands with the name Henry in Singapore.... Could his dad have made a mistake? Like maybe, Hershey's?

Girls Night Out

We girls had a lovely time at the coffee shop on Christmas day..... Wonderful ambience at the place and fantastic live music..... I don't think you all can recognise the staff yet, so from left to right: Vi, Nhu and I..... How did Vi and Nhu end up so tall? Cause I was standing at a lower step!

Ton Nu Tra My

That's the Vietnamese name that Tuan Anh gave me..... He loosely translated my Chinese name into Ton Nu (Sun) Tra (Jia) My (Min)..... Please do not try to pronounce it cause it doesn't sound like what it seems.... I had a hard time myself trying to learn my name. He says that I have a beautiful name because Ton Nu is the last name of a royal family long long ago and Tra Mi is the name of an old famous actress. A pretty one I might add! Tra My is also the name of a flower.... But I do not know what kind.... He says if he has a daughter next time, he would name her Tra My!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone out there! So how did you celebrate Christmas? My christmas turned out to be totally different from what I had planned. I didn't meet Hoang or Yu Zhen. It was pouring last night so I decided to stay in at the centre. It's really not very fun to ride a motorcycle in the rain wearing the raincoat or ao me (me = rain, ao = clothes, remember the national costume, ao dai?). Not to mention how dangerous it can be!

I was chatting on msn with my sissy at around 9 pm when my 'brother' called. He wanted to know what I was doing and said that business at the coffee shop was slow as it had just stopped raining and everyone had hit the streets. He said he would come now to the centre to pick me up as he does not want me to be alone in the centre on christmas eve. Besides, I ought to have a look at how the locals celebrate christmas. Great! Except that I had just removed my makeup and had to get dressed all over again. You all should know how looking mei mei when I go out is important to me! But what the heck for tonight! Anyway it's too dark too see anything clearly!

So off we went at around 10 pm to District 1. He brought me to his coffee shop first to have a drink. It's good to have a brother who owns a coffee shop, as he would always order a nice drink for me for free! Haha! Not that it's very expensive actually.... One drink only costs about S$1.50. At around midnight, we closed shop and took a walk down to Notre Dame Cathedral where all the action was.

It was such a misty night that my photos didn't turn out very well.... But the cathedral looked like a castle shrouded in mystery huh? Looks much better than the photo I had in an earlier posting.

It was the wisest decision ever made to walk and not to ride the motorcycle. The traffic was horrible..... I'm sure if a Singaporean was stuck in this kind of traffic, he would be cursing and swearing.... But the locals seemed to be enjoying themselves!

Me In My Ao Dai

I have finally tailored an ao dai (read: ao yai)..... The national dress of Vietnam is really beautiful and graceful.... I really feel like a lady when I wear it. I have to walk carefully and have small movements because I'm afraid I might trip and fall! That wouldn't be very graceful, would it? Climbing the stairs is no longer the same.... And so are sitting, walking and riding the motorcycle in an ao dai! The dress really accentuates one's figure.... and flaws! Think I'll go on a diet before I next decide to wear it! It's not that expensive to have one made.... Cost me less than S$30! But Vi says the tailor that I went to overcharged me....

After Leonora and I collected our ao dai, Madam Huong made us wear it down to the office and parade around.... So embarrassing! Tuan Anh saw these photos and said that I look like I'm 18 again! I think that's a compliment right?

The Joy Of Giving

What's Christmas without presents? I couldn't think of what to get for the staff for this season so I ended up knitting them a coaster with their initials on it.... I have quite a lot of free time and perhaps it would help keep their drinks warm in the office! N for Nhu, VI for Vi, S for Son, T for Thao and H for Madam Huong. The easiest to make was Vi's..... That's why hers is the only one with a complete name! Hardest was the letter S! They are not perfect but at least it's a gift from the heart....

Brrrr

The weather these days have been weird.... It's so cold.... The weather report says that it is about 18�C..... I really need to wear a jacket when I leave the centre.... I'm so afraid of the cold that I sometimes wear the jacket over a cardigen..... Brrrr...... The staff have even started wearing sweaters to work! It is especially cold when riding the motorcycle! Worst when at night! This weather is apparently abnormal and even the locals are not used to it.... All of a sudden, many roadside stalls have sprouted out selling jackets and woolly stuff......

Not So Lonely Afterall

I have just received two invites for Christmas..... One from Miss Chan, the staff who can speak Mandarin. I call her Yu Zhen.... By the way, she has left the job for greener pastures. She has invited me to have coffee in District 1 on Christmas eve and to walk around and have a look at what the locals do on this day..... The other invitation I got is from the friend who brought me to watch the soccer game. His name is Hoang. He is not my student at the centre but I got to know him during the Teacher's Day celebration here. He wants to bring me to see 'snow' at one of the parks in District 1.

Now I do not know who to go with..... Maybe I'll ask Yu Zhen to come along then we can all go drink coffee after that.... But I think the three of us would have problems communicating. Yu Zhen does not understand English, Hoang does not understand Mandarin and I do not understand Vietnamese! Gosh!!!

Lonely Christmas

Leonora's going back to Philippines for Christmas.... Everyone has their own plans for Christmas.... All except me.... Perhaps I would have a silent night with Leonora's fishes in my room.... Just to cheer me up a little, I like to look at the pictures of these little Santas hanging from behind the motorcycle.... They make squeeky sounds when pressed!

Bizarre Night

My classes usually end around 8.30 pm every night and I do not go out for dinner anymore as it's too late and too dark to be walking around alone. But last Thursday was a full moon night and Ty Na and Dung invited me to the pagoda. The pagoda is the equivalent of our temple, but they do not use the word 'temple' here at all. And when they say pagoda, it's really a pagoda! I almost died climbing to the highest level.... Must be all the fatty meat I'm eating here....

Anyway, after my class on Thurday, I went downstairs to wait for Ty Na and Dung to pick me up. But when I went downstairs, the security guard of my office shoved me a note and 20,000 VND. He doesn't speak a word of English and I cannot understand Vietnamese. So I have no idea why he was giving me money and what the note was about.....

I was trying to figure out the note and who the person was.... Who was it who wanted the security to buy dinner for me? But the security obviously did not follow the orders of that person and passed me the money instead. (I later realised that it was Madam Huong who passed me the note) I was confused enough then, but the security continued by giving me the second note below. And he kept saying "Son, Son, Son...."

Oh gosh! Who was coming to the centre to ride me out for dinner? Son?? What's this? Why is everyone suddenly wanting to buy or bring me out for dinner? As much as I would have liked to wait for Son to come pick me up, I could not because my students were bringing me out to the pagoda! So bizarre right? I still have not figured out why Madam Huong and Son both wanted to bring me out for dinner that night.... By the way, I have returned the 20,000 VND to Madam Huong.....

Proud of 4N1

I am very happy to learn of the 'N' Levels results of 4N1. They all passed! Kudos to Janice and Shuhua for topping the class! This is such a good and obedient class. One of my favourites! They deserve these results! Who got 1 for Combined Science? Everyone must now work hard for the 'O' Levels next year! Must pay attention to Mr Yap for Physics! So next year when I return to Singapore and visit JWSS, I'll be able to meet 5N1 '06!!!

Long Lost Brother?

I've got a student, Tuan Anh, who's a coffee shop owner. It is his family business so he is always busy after classes as he has to tend to his shop. But he is usually free in the morning if he does not have a class at the university. He is in the process of opening another branch for his coffee shop and wanted me to give him some opinion and ideas. He knows how bored I am staying in the centre, so last week, he brought me riding around looking at other coffee shops, discussing the exterior decor and getting ideas from there. Then we went to a shop that specialises in glassware and he bought cups and spoons etc. After that, we went to a ceramic shop in the Chinatown district where he continued his shopping spree. I don't mind going along as these are sights that I have never seen and it was really an eye-opener! I could not help but snap a picture of these colourful incense ceramic pots!

On another occasion, he brought me to a Swarovski shop as he knows I'm interested in jewellery making. The prices for the crystals are about the same, but I thought that the ready made pieces were relatively cheap. I helped him to choose a piece of accessory for his girlfriend as he says that we are both fair, so whatever looks nice on me, should also look nice on her. The funny thing about our shopping trip was that the store owner thought we were siblings! Haha! I've now got a Vietnamese brother and he has a Chinese sister! So now he always calls me sister! I have been mistaken as a Vietnamese many times before and I think Tuan Anh looks a little Chinese too. But we both insist we do not look like each other.... What do you think?

Banh Trang

I think my blog will very soon turn into a food blog because of the different kinds of food that I am introducing..... I finally had a taste of the rice paper roll (Banh Trang) one Sunday when Son brought me to eat this 'strange' food. Actually I don't know why he calls it strange.... I thought it looked quite normal and it's just like our popiah..... The meal consists of rice paper (duh!), loads of fresh vegetables, pickled carrot and radish, rice noodle, steamed pork (very fatty!) and fish sauce. I think the steps to eating this is quite idiot-proof, so no need for me to give any explanation.

It still never ceases to amaze me how much fatty meat the Vietnamese eats! And yet they are so thin! During the meal, I picked out all the fats and Son looks at me in equal amazement! Haha.... Anyway, he gets to eat double the portion of fatty meat when he dines with me, so isn't it better??

Goldilocks & The 3 Bears

Just before Ms Celsa went back to the Philippines, she left behind some food in the fridge. Since she couldn't possibly bring those home, she told the staff and I to help ourselves to the food. A few days later, I went into the training room. (The training room is where the teachers can work and where the refrigerator is.) To my surprise, Nhu, Vi and Son were there doing some filing and stock-taking of the books. I opened the fridge and discovered that my raisins, milk and fruits were all gone and so I exclaimed aloud that my food was missing! I turned around to realise that in addition to Ms Celsa's food, the three of them had eaten mine too! That scene was so funny!!! They three of them apologised for eating my food but I guess it's alright since they had no idea who the food belonged to exactly. Besides, it's just food. I can always buy some more. In the end, I joined them in their little party and I shared with them my bak kwa too.

The next day, when I opened the fridge, I found a large bag of fruits in there. Attached to the bag was a note from the three of them. Aww..... So sweet!

Since they bought so much fruits and I couldn't possibly finish them on my own, I cut some of them up and we had a fruit party that afternoon. They usually have a tea break about 3 pm everyday where they will buy fruits from outside and bring it back to the office for all to share. So the only difference today is that I am the one providing the fruits!

Now You See It, Now You Don't

One night after my class, I returned to my room only to discover that one of Leonora's fishes was missing! Only the two big, dark blue fishes were in the bowl! The tiny orange fish was gone! I desperately embarked on a 'Finding Nemo' mission. I had washed the fish bowl earlier this afternoon but I remembered vividly that I had scooped all three fishes back into the container. Could it have jumped out of the bowl while I was walking back to my room? I went back to the toilet and even retraced my steps to see if the carcass of the fish was lying anywhere..... No, don't have! Next, I thought "Could it have jumped out in my room?" So I searched every inch of my room and even under my bed! But still don't have!!! Where did it go??? I went to bed that night feeling utterly distressed.... For all I know, I could be sleeping with a dead fish.....

The next morning, when I woke up, I looked at the fish bowl.... Voila! Nemo was miraculously back in the bowl! My theory is that one of the big, blue fish swallowed it and later spat it out while I was sleeping.... But then again, I do not know if Nemo could fit into the other fish's mouth..... I still have no idea what happened..... But whatever it is, I'm so glad that all three fishes are safe!

Mini Bread

A big thank you to those of you who left comments and gave me suggestions on how to prolong the lifespan of my bread. I've finally managed to finish a loaf of bread without it turning all grey! And yes, funny as it sounds but I believe that keeping the ends of the bread would put off the moulding process. I must say thank you to Ben's father!

So how did I actually finish the whole loaf of bread? Heh..... I discovered that the bakery makes bread in smaller loaves. It costs less too! Four pieces of the small bread would be the equivalent of one normal piece of bread.... It's only about the size of my palm! So I'm like eating small sandwiches every morning!

Also, since I started teaching every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at the primary school, Son has been coming to pick me up at 7 am on these mornings. The first time I went to the school, I rode the motorcycle taxi and had a bad experience. So that's why Son is the one sending me to school now. I'm not sure if he's paid extra for this job, but since he's waking up early to send me to school, I prepare breakfast for him as well. So now that there are two people eating the bread, the whole loaf gets finished faster! Guess what? He has never eaten peanut butter before! He says that my breakfirst is great! And that everyday, there are many different kinds of butter that I put inside! It's such a nice feeling to see someone enjoy my breakfirst!

Class 3/3

This is such a lively class! Too bad not everyone is in the picture.

Sitting on my lap is Nhi, on my left is Son and on my right is Tommy. Tommy has a eye deficiency but he is otherwise a brilliant child. I like Son as he's not like the other boisterious boys. He tries very hard to read well too. And of course there's cute Nhi who's so bubbly!

She's Minh Anh, one of my favourite students. Actually I've got so many favourite students that I'm finding it hard to keep track! I call Minh Anh a 'little mum'. She's so tiny but she takes care of her other bigger classmates! Look at how she's holding/hugging me! Just like a mummy!

Class 3/2

I teach three classes altogether.... Two classes of Grade 3 and one class of Grade 2. Here is one of my Grade 3 class. This class has quite a good standard of english. Most of the students in this class have english names so it's quite easy for me to remember them! Only problem is, they keep changing their names! A girl could be called Helen one day, and the next day, she would be called Kitty! Another would be called Lucy, if not Marry. (She insisted that I spell it this way) My favourite student in this class is Daisy or Nhu in Vietnamese. She is a quiet and gentle little girl. Can you guess which of these three girls is Daisy?

Ok, here's the answer: The girl in spectacles is Kitty. It's quite rare for a Vietnamese to be wearing glasses. The girl who has her hair combed back is Maggie. If I'm not wrong, she's also the class monitor. She's the one who gets the class to stand up when I enter the class. The girl with the bangs and a fair, chubby face is Daisy. She's so lovable!

Class 2/2

This is a grade 2 class which means that they are about 7 or 8 years old. At the back with the class is Ms Wan. She helps me with the class whenever they are too noisy or don't seem to understand my instructions.

This 'uncle-looking' boy is Phuc. He always salutes me when I come into the class! (See above picture) He was also the official photographer for some of my pictures!

Here I am with Tram, Phi Anh and Anh. In the photo on the right are Nguyen, Cheng and Hang. The girls are pretty right? I can't say the same for the boys though....

End of Competition.... Finally....

I like this picture.... Not so much because of how I look in it but because of how my state of mind then was different from what was captured! This photo was taken at 6.30 am in the morning!!! Amazingly, I managed to smile for the camera!!! Here I am sitting in the teacher's room of Luong The Vinh High School on a Monday morning, waiting for the prize giving ceremony of the competition that ended last Saturday. The ceremony was just a 5-minute slot held during their morning assembly but I had to wake up super early to get there punctually..... Of course, I always trust that Son will get me anywhere on time and safely....

Luong The Vinh is a new school so it has only classes for Grade 6, 7, 10 and 11. The students on the left are the younger ones while those in the blue PE t-shirt are the seniors. The girls go to school in the ao dai (Vietnamese costume), which I think is so inconvenient! But lucky for them, they have stools to sit on. There don't seem to be strict school rules here as the students can come in all kinds of footwear and their hairstyles don't really matter. Then as they were leaving the parade square, they were all talking and that seemed to be the norm! Imagine if they were at JWSS, they would long have been made to run round the parade square or stay back for detention!

Hiss....

I finally managed to grab the kids and take some photos with them. In the white jacket is my beloved Hung. Isn't he cute? But notice in his recent gift to me in the form of a snake picture, he called himself "Miss Hung"?!? On my left is Anh who simply loves taking photographs! He wanted to be in almost all photos!

Help! Help!

Sorry to be making another distress call..... I do not know why, but the sidebar of my blog has shifted to the bottom of the page!!! I tried looking at the html codes to see if anything can be done but it looks greek to me!!! How can I get the profiles, tagboard, etc back up to where it originally was? Anyone?

Squid Soup Anyone?

Do not be alarmed if a Vietnamese asks if you want to have some squid soup.... What they actually mean is sweet soup..... They have many kinds of sweet soup here and most of the time it's cold..... must be due to the weather..... My favourite is the che dao san, which is the sweet soup of green bean with coconut milk and ice shavings! It costs about 20 cents to have a cup at the roadside stall just outside my office. But a similar cup would cost 60 cents in the tourist area!

Not That Rosy....

"You will be sad if you stay in the office all the time....."

I suppose the verb used here should not really be sad but going by the limitations of Son's english, I fully understood the meaning of his words..... I didn't realise how true this statement was until I heard it for myself..... It was a Saturday night and I was all alone in my room..... How can anyone not be sad when in this situation? But I still think it's alright for now as I had a really busy week and I need to have some quiet time by myself. Time to catch up on my ironing, laundry and cleaning up as well!

Everything so far has been rather good, and comparing to all the crap that I was getting from JWSS, I would say that I am enjoying life now. But things are not always as rosy as they appear to be.... The way they do things here are not as professional as what we are used to. There is hardly any structure to the programmes here so everything is kind of adhoc..... One moment is this, another moment that..... But fortunately, with the tough training I had received at JWSS, I can still handle them all! Bring it on! Then there's such a thing as office politics..... Vietnamese style of course......

Almost Famous

Amongst the many things that I have to do here, one of them is to be a journalist. I was asked by Madam Huong when I first came to do an article about the different courses available in my centre and in Singapore. Well, no problem with that..... Until the article came out in the newspaper and I realised that my article had been translated to Vietnamese! I mean, if they were going to translate the article, then why bother asking me to do it in English in the first place?!?! That's not the end.... The photograph that they chose was of a polytechnic in Singapore but the caption read NUS! It's such a big booboo!!! The ultimate was this: My name became SANDRA SGN! Yes, I know I'm from Singapore, but that's not the way my last name is spelt! What a total screw-up! I shall not bother to blow up the article cause you wouldn't be able to understand it anyway....

Good Character Training

Someone once told me that waking up early and having cold showers are forms of good character training.... I'm doing both of them now.... And I think I'm doing them very well..... I no longer wake up at 6 am, but instead at 5.30 am..... I'm having cold showers every night despite the presence of a Ariston heater in the toilet. Not by choice of course! The @#$% thing does not work! To add to these two forms of training, I'm also sleeping late.... May I ask if that constitutes part of the good character training programme?

You Make Me Happy

Here's another drawing from young Hung..... He can read my mind..... He knows I'm having a bad day and hence the dark clouds and rain. He knows I like flowers! And check out the cute apple tree with 2 fruits danggling from it!

The reasons I can think of for why he's giving me so many drawings are:
1) He loves me so much! (I love him too cause he's so cute!)
2) He wants to get my attention.... (No need for that as he already has it!)

3) He's so bored during my class that he has to turn to drawing....
4) He wants to be an artist when he grows up.
5) He knows I'm a sucker for his drawings....

6) He's just being a sweet young boy who knows how to make his teacher happy!

Gosh, I really don't know..... But for whatever reasons he has for giving me his drawings, he sure makes my day!

Message Me

I've finally gotten a mobile number in Vietnam. There are three service providers in Vietnam: Viettel, Mobi Fone and Vina Phone. I chose Viettel as it's the cheapest and has the most suitable plan for me. Thankfully Son was there to buy the SIM card with me and he helped me choose a fantastic and easy to remember 10-digit number! If you want to call or sms me over here in Vietnam, just ask me for my number when I next chat with you online... It doesn't cost that much to sms! I felt so deprived the first month that I was here cause I could not sms much. I talked so much to my parents back home that the phone bill that I chalked up with my Singapore line last month was almost equivalent to 6 months worth of calls!!! Imagine that! So with my new Vietnamese number, they would be the ones calling.... and paying!!!

Santa Is In Town!

Ms Celsa and I went to District 1 this afternoon for lunch as we wanted to give ourselves a treat. It was also one of the last few times where we could lunch together before she heads back to the Philippines. We had a Vietnamese buffet at a hotel and it was just delicious! I don't think I had eaten this much ever since I came over.... And all for the price of US$4.50!!! So cheap!!! Where can you ever find hotel food at this price?!? I'm sure I'll be going back there again very soon!

While we were walking along District 1, we chanced across a shopping centre with some Christmas decorations. Unlike in Singapore, it's really rare for the malls here to have huge x'mas displays. What do you expect from a place that does not have a public holiday for Christmas!!! Bleahhh!!! Anyway, while Ms Celsa and I were posing for a picture with Santa, we could not help but notice that Santa is very slim (just like the typical Vietnamese!) and he bears an uncanny resemblance to Uncle Ho!!! We don't mean to be disrespectful, but if you know how Uncle Ho looked like, you would know what I mean! So that's their version of Santa Claus....

Vietnam vs Thailand

When was the last time I watched a football match? Hmm.... I think it was more than one and a half years ago..... Back then, I would watch some of Arsenal's matches because (1) I like Thierry Henry, (2) I like Fredrik Ljungberg and his pink hair (3) I like looking at Kanu's intricately braided hair and (4) it was my way of saying I love you to him. I always had to struggle to keep myself awake when we watched the game though..... :)

Yesterday, I had an invitation to watch the Sea Games soccer finals of Vietnam vs Thailand. I was so afraid that I would be bored to tears, but it turned out to be an experience of a lifetime! The Vietnamese are soccer fanatics! The roads were crowded with motorcycles and people were carrying the Vietnamese flag. But I was suprised that not many people were wearing the colour red. I initially thought that they would all be in red to support their team and so I bought myself a red top with the yellow star.... I wonder when I'll ever wear it again....

We watched the game in an basketball stadium with huge screens. It was so crowded that I was really worried and scared that I would lose sight of my friend and get lost. During the game, they kept chanting 'Vietnam Vo Dich', which means 'Vietnam Champions'. But sadly, the game ended with a 3 - 0 score. The Thais really did play better last night.....