Motivations

Last week I interviewed for a teaching job in Ho Chi Minh City through Skype, an internet phone...thing. If you must ask, Ok, yes, the job was posted on Craigslist. Where and how, other than on Craigslist, do people conduct their lives? I don't remember! Anyway, at first they told me I was inter

viewing for a K-5 position. I thought, well, that will be different and I want different. Then I was told they had an opening in high school social studies. I thought, well, OK. Then they found out that English was my "thing." The end of the story: I will be teaching English at the American International School in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. That's right...two nights ago, I bought a one-way ticket to Saigon. Pushing the "purchase" button for a one way ticket to Saigon was a little weird.

When I called to tell my parents, my mom responded with the usual. "We never know what you're going to tell us when you call." I responded with, "Just think how I feel." This couldn't be any more last-minute.

Back to the interview...when the principal asked me why I wanted to teach in Vietnam, here's what the thought bubble above my head looked like:

...so I paused. "Well," I said. And I paused again. Finally, I said, "Um, honestly, I want to teach in Vietnam because of the food." He laughed. He said, "I eat pho ga every day!"

Here are a few details: the school has gone from 70 to 700 within one year. Vietnamese parents want their kids to get an English education so that they can go to University in the states...and Vietnam has a red hot economy now, etc. This recruiting company is hiring 30 new teachers for this school year. It's a brand new facility, and they follow the California State standards-based curriculum. Thirty teachers are now in the process of picking up and moving with very little notice; it will not be dull. To use Jaci's comment, "They should have a Real-World camera on all of you!" They are putting us up in a hotel for two weeks, assigning us a Vietnamese "buddy" who will help us find an apartment. The pay is good for Vietnam...I will be making $2600 plus a $300 stipend for housing. They were thorough in their interview process. I don't know what else to say...

Here's the school's website: http://www.ais.edu.vn/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3&Itemid=44

Many of you remember my trials teaching in China--no air conditioning, no curriculum among those trials. I said to my mom, "I am going to die in the heat!" She said, "Well, just remember how you endured it in China. Because, you know, you DID endure it." All I remember is that I endured it by promising myself I would never again go to a place that sucked the air out of my lungs. It has been confirmed that the heat in Ho Chi Minh City will suck the air out of my lungs. But then, I know people who FOUGHT in Vietnam, so I can probably walk to school there. My former neighbor, Patti, married to a Vietnam Vet, said, "At least you won't have to drop your pants and check for leeches." I sure hope I won't have to do that.

To summarize and reflect, in 2001, about two weeks after 9-11, I got on a plane to teach in the food pit of the world (with apologies to Cecilie, who is reading this. Norway has wonderful pastries, and she herself is an amazing cook. And it's not that I don't love hot dogs wrapped in bacon and meatcakes and potatoes and waffles). But it's seven years later, and I am getting on a plane to teach in the food mecca of the world. And that makes me pretty happy.

Please help me name my blog for this next chapter~