In the Out Group

I'm sitting alone at a restaurant in the backpacker district of Ho Chi Minh City. An English pub across the alley way is filled with loud, boisterous Americans. I'm not one of them. Three young women ride up on motorbike taxis. A crippled beggar approaches them, his hand extended. They cringe & back away, then laugh amongst themselves as they join their friends inside. The cripple moves on. Later, the Americans in the English pub break out in a drunken rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. Tears sting my eyes. I am surprised. I miss my home, my friends, my family. But I am not a part of this celebration of Manifest Destiny. I don't want to be.

Plans for the Rest of the Year

My time in Bien Hoa, Vietnam is coming to an end. I will be here for another two weeks before I head off to see the rest of the country as a tourist.

It has been quite an experience! I've learned a lot about living in Vietnam, & about myself. Most importantly, I learned first-hand what culture shock is & how I react to it. I'm forever grateful for the opportunity to live here.

As for the rest of the year, I've got a banner line-up. Here's a snapshot:

• [Nov 20-Dec 1] Travel with Michael I. to Angkor Wat, Saigon, & Hanoi
• [Dec 2-Dec 21] Travel solo from Hanoi to Saigon, stopping along the way for a few days at a time
• [Dec 22-27] See the sights in & around Saigon with my brother & sister-in-law
• [Jan 2010] Move to Shanghai, China to start my new job teaching English there

I'm so excited to start the next stage of my journey!

Teacher Training with Pearson

Last weekend I went to Ho Chi Minh City to observe a teacher training seminar held by Pearson-Longman in preparation for my own seminar, which I will conduct this coming Sunday, also in HCMC. I will be presenting some teaching activities to a group of teachers who currently use two of Pearson's textbooks, plus introducing the interactive whiteboard activities to them.

I'm looking forward to it. I've never done any formal teacher training before, so it will be a good experience for me. I'm hoping to do more of this kind of thing in the future.

Weekend in Vung Tau

My partner in crime Katie is leaving Bien Hoa to return to New York. Before she left we decided to have one last hurrah on the beach in Vung Tau, a two-hour bus ride from here.

On our first day there, we took a long walk on the beach, snapping tons of photos of the waves & the people enjoying the sun.

The next day we climbed the hill to the statue of Jesus, much smaller but reminiscent of the famous one in Rio de Janeiro.

In the evenings, we had dinner & beers under the light of the full moon.

I'm so lucky to have spent the last few months with Katie. I will miss her very much.

Updates

Wow! So much has happened in the last week. I've gone to the beach with Katie, done some work for a publishing company in Saigon, booked a flight to Cambodia, & accepted a job in China.

I'll try to expand on all of these things over the next few days, but for now I'll just say that the end of 2009 is going to be great!