Blog Game Thursday: Can You Beat Minnie?

I was just about to post another Dress Competition Blog Game Thursday, but my Uncle Rex beat all of you to it. He sent me this picture of The Minnie Pearl Dress, and I can't imagine that any of you can beat this design for me.

Go ahead and try.

(I did not post this from the Philippines...just thinking ahead so that AmyT doesn't stop commenting.)


Here's Mungo's entry (isn't it nice when certain people have a reason to dress up in drag? By the way, Mungo, what was your reason? This contest?)

Love the dress.


And Michelle, is this one OK? So fitting, with "Dorothy and the King of Darkness" coming soon...

Warring City States and Sixth Graders in Love

We are studying Ancient Greece right now, and not only is each student a god, goddess or hero (6E will tell you who they are in the first two videos), but each table is a city-state: either Sparta, Athens, Olympia or Corinth. Each city-state had to create a poster advertising all of their major points of interest, as well as to present either a play about a myth from their city-state, a rap, or some kind of dance/song (these are my dancing classes) to promote themselves.

Unfortunately, my classroom is too small for much activity, so we had to use the weight room.
These videos arent' the greatest quality, but they are cute. The Spartans could put on a halftime show at a football game.

In English, we just watched Whale Rider to go along with a mythology unit (a near perfect movie, in my opinion). I just finished grading their character analysis paragraphs and honestly, I could put some of their writing up against a high schooler's (when the grammar is corrected) and you would not be able to tell the difference. Our discussions were so deep (their observations: "the whales are dying because the Maori culture is dying"..."the grandpa is stuck and he's mean to Pai, but he's still a good person" and "should we write this in present tense or past tense?"- which then led to a discussion about literature being a living thing.) They are bright and lovely kids. Still.

On a non-education note: it's spring and the fact that we are studying Greek mythology with all of its love scandals has fueled the fire for what was already beginning to blossom in the sixth grade...love. About five girls in 6E are "with" five boys from 6A. Very unlikely couples, too. But seeing this occur is such a phenomenon. The interest level between the sexes has been slight, if any, up until exactly three weeks ago. But now...whoa...these kids are very similar to kids from the rest of the planet, I think.

Mom, this post is for you. I know how you love my sixth graders, and how I don't talk about them enough. They are still making me happy every day. Hope you are entertained by 6E's videos.

Saturday Roller Disco

Yesterday Tarn convinced us that our Saigon experience would not be complete without visiting Saigon's roller disco on a Saturday afternoon.

I'm thinking it woud have been a fine experience without it.

But it was funky and classic (Katherine saw this photo op first - so vintage with the old skates and the fan). There was a flat surface in the middle and a pretty scary rolling hills section around the perimeter. The disco lights were flashing, but they played house music instead of disco, what a shame. I wonder how many roller disco skating rinks like this are left in the world?

Shannon (as you know if you have been following) loves loves loves to dress up. She had the beaver costume made by the seamstress, she has a ton of costumes at home, and a few weeks ago when she and Katherine were invited to a party with the theme "Dress up as what you miss from home" - Shannon dressed up as a Sink and Katherine was Tap Water.

So last weekend when Shannon, Tarn and Katherine were riding their bikes through Chinatown and Shannon found this mask, she was thrilled. She wore it while riding her bike, she wore it all over the carnival they found that day, and she brought it to roller disco yesterday.

She was a hit with all of the kids at the rink (no one over 12 there) and at one point went into the middle when the strobe lights were going and she danced on the little platform. A bunch of 12-year olds joined her.

Later, as we were walking down a random street, we saw this picture of Audrey, so I made Alice pose for all of you, since I was just talking about her yesterday.

A few random things:

Edge sent me a text yesterday and told me that he has "rented an island" - a private island on the chain of islands called Palawan. He and a bunch of his friends (I think the ones who are making the music video). I asked Alice, "Can Edge rent an island?" She looked at me and said, "Of course he can."

Here is the Lonely Planet's description of Palawan: "Palawan is one of the real treasures of the Philippines. Stretching from the Midoro Straight down to the tip of Borneo, it is a magnificent, coral-fringed range of jungle-clad mountainous islands jutting up dramatically from the Sulu Sea...it is a place of world-class diving, snorkeling and jungle trekking... we consider Palawan to be one of the most rewarding outdoor sports destinations in all of Southeast Asia."

And I never mentioned meeting The Evergreen School from Seattle. I got to stand outside to greet them, and it was pretty fun seeing these American kids walking up the steps, lots of them wearing REI clothes and shirts that said "Seattle." I didn't get to spend much time with them, but one of the teachers explained to me that all 34 kids spent the whole year studying Viet Nam... reading books about it and studying the history of this one country. I asked a few of them about the heat and they said they felt as though they were "wearing it" - which is a very good description. They seemed like a really good group of kids.

Tonight I am meeting a girl that Pam met while taking the slow boat in Laos- she is coming to see the castle (she also read about it on the blog) and to eat at our squid restaurant. Katherine had two separate friends "pass through" last week. Saigon - with its roller disco and modernizing skyline - part of the new major world highway.

The Philippines, Scrambled Edge and "Dorothy and the King of Darkness"

On Thursday's Blog Game, regarding Where the Happiest People Live (according to a 2005 world-wide survey), A-Net said:

"I think it is some underdeveloped, non-industrialized island where the sun is present a vast majority of days and people fish, gather fruit, and take care of their neighbors. A place where the notion of consumerism and working your life away isn't quite as rampant."

A-Net, you are a genius. Yes, it's true, it's not Norway, Brian and Cecilie - although there are many reasons for Norwegians to be happy - and someday, Mungo, I truly hope it is Iraq. But The Happiest People live the place I will be in just a few days, thanks to my friend Alice who has given me this happy country for my birthday:

The Philippines.

I bought a (pirated copy of the) Lonely Planet the other day and have been reading all about it. No wonder people there are so happy...the book also says, "Filipinos love to eat - so much so that you would be excused for thinking that's all Filipinos ever do." Typically, it seems, they eat five meals a day. Five Filipino meals a day from Tuesday through Sunday, to me, will definitely equal happiness.

Alice, my Audrey Hepburn friend, has also given me a tour guide to go along with my country birthday present. His name is Edge ("Scrambled Edge" is his full name), and he is a DJ/music producer here in Saigon, but he is from the Philippines...they hatched this plan when Alice was trying to figure out what to get me for my birthday. Edge goes home all the time, and happens to be shooting a music video in Manila the week of my visit. Read on and you will find out how I am indirectly responsible for Alice meeting Edge and, therefore, for my own happiness this upcoming week:

A long, long time ago, I told you that I was "helping" Alice with The American International School's spring production of "The Wizard of Oz." Well, this is one production that I wish I could fly you all here to see: it's no little high school play, let me tell you. Because the person who is directing it is the Diva Alice Audrey Hepburn from Off -Broadway in New York.

To give you a little taste of what is to come (I will be writing much more about this later), she has renamed it "Dorothy and the King of Darkness." It has two parallel story lines: one with mostly middle schoolers - all of the munchkins are my sixth graders - in full, vivid color out front, and one with high school dancers behind a screen doing provocative, thematic-to-the-play "shadow dance" to music such as dark, brooding Tom Waits. (!)

I went to a dance rehearsal after school the other day and was blown away by the combination of their raw talent and Alice's choreography and artistry - they are basically hip hop kids with the opportunity of a lifetime. I've written it here before, but I will write it again: Alice is an amazing talent. And, well, Edge happens to know every artist in Saigon and has introduced her to all of them.

So. One Vietnamese costume designer named Ivy has sketched all of the costumes (you really, truly will not believe how edgy and cool and adorable they are, stay tuned, you will see them) and Ivy has EIGHT seamstresses working on them. Ivy told me the other night that the most difficult costume to make is the Lion's.

And. Alice's set designer is from France.

And. She toured all of the theaters in the city and found one that reminds her of New York, kind of small, but it's OK, because "Dorothy and the King of Darkness" will run for three nights.

And. None of it has been OK'd by the upper powers yet, but that's OK, because it's Audrey Alice the Down to Earth Diva, and it is going to happen.

Oh, and how it ties to me: well, the first time Edge met Alice, he called her "Audrey Hepburn." Apparently, I am the only other person to call her that, and she claims she might have ignored him if not for me. Turns out he is a very, very nice guy and has become a great friend of Alice's.

Here's what has been going through my mind lately (as we still suffer in the heat):

In August, I clicked on an odd little Craigslist posting that said little more than "Teach in Viet Nam" No one else was hired through Craigslist at this school, and some of the people in charge of hiring don't think anything was ever posted there. So maybe it was in some other reality that I clicked on it, sent my resume in half-heartedly, and suddenly found myself living in a castle with cooking friends and hair washes and massages and trips to treehouses and temples and meeting friends who buy me countries for my birthday.

Definitely a Year Filled with Lots of Happiness.

Become a Friend of the “Diarrhoea” Beauty for Some Days

Here is an email sent out by our principal's assistant, Mr. Dung. Mr. Dung is the one who came in to shake it like the King of Pop during 6E's Halloween Competition. Everything he says and does is funny (like when he taught us about 'swearing in Vietnamese' - best staff meeting ever):

Subject: Changing Season - Food - Health

Dear Teachers,

Four days of this week seems to be hard. The weather has been harsh. It is the season changing time. National Broadcasters report that 3 days – hot in a row (HCM up to 37 degree Celsius) then one day rain….until the rainy season officially starts (Hopefully early May). Due to weather, many teachers have been sick. And this email is to show our Appreciation to your cooperation of arranging your time to substitute the absent teachers.

The fluctuation of the temperature easily results in coughing, nose-running, fever, even diarrhoea.
è To fight the harshness,
1. Eat more fruits (not buying by the streets) è Vitamin C
2. Do not drink a lot of cold water (not clear origin) after being under the sun è you can become a friend of the “diarrhoea” beauty for some days. (Do you want?”
3. As moving from the air-conditioned room to a non-aired place. Do not rush. Pause at the doorway for about 1 minute to allow your body to get balance.
I am not a physician, but a Vietnamese who have been surviving in Vietnam for years. I hope this can help you somehow.
Any other advice, Please add to this!
Thanks,
QD

Blog Game Thursday: Where the Fun and Happy People Are

AmyT sent me some fun news the other day:

The Ritz Cracker company commissioned a survey that found that SEATTLE is the MOST FUN CITY IN AMERICA. The fun little article is below, but here is the same type of question on a larger scale, and it is today's Blog Game Question:


WHERE DO THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD LIVE? (according to a global survey conducted in 2005?) (They're talking a country, not a city.) (And evidently, the people who are having the most fun are not the most happy.)

While you are pondering this question (and now wanting a Ritz Cracker), you can read the Ritz article. (By the way, Ritz are sold in Viet Nam, but they are usually a bit stale.)

Ritz Crackers: Seattle is America's most fun city
If you're not enjoying yourself today, you might be in the wrong city.
A new study of the nation's 50 largest metropolitan areas has named Seattle the most fun city in America, topping Minneapolis, San Francisco and Chicago.
Just so you don't take it too seriously -- the study is the second this year to be conducted by Portland-based Bert Sperling's Best Places on commission from a snack food company. In March, Combos told us we were unmanly.
Today, it's Ritz Crackers who's telling us we know how to have a good time.
Our city's proximity to mountains, lakes, parks and other recreational hubs helped us get to the top, as well as our higher than average attendance at block parties and barbecues, our tendency to spend more of our income than most on things like the gym, the movies, and sporting events and -- of course -- all those dog parks.
Interestingly enough, the study also found that we also spend more money on musical instruments than most other cities. Who knew?

Here's the top of the list:

1. Seattle, WA
2. Minneapolis, MN
3. San Francisco, CA
4. Chicago, IL5. Washington, D.C.
6. San Jose, CA
7. Los Angeles, CA
8. Boston, MA
9. San Diego, CA
10. New York, NY

He Da Nam

Rain is heavy tonight, so the Evergreen School from Seattle has luck on its side for arrival timing; it's much, much cooler right now. I'm hoping I get to meet My People tomorrow.

Tonight Katherine is at soccer practice, Tarn is downstairs engaged in a Vietnamese lesson, and I have just returned from A Double at the Bum Bum (massage and hair wash). All of us at the castle pursuing what we love the most...

At the beginning of last week, Nam dropped by Minh's house so that Minh could tell me that Nam's mother went into the hospital. "She has a brain infection" he told me.

Every day since, if a student is near during drop-off or pick up, I ask Nam about his mother. "She is doing better, thank you," he says each time, but the gate to her door has remained padlocked, so I know she's been at the hospital a long time.

Today after the gym pick-up, with me in my very sweaty clothes, we stop by his mother's house. She is lying on a bed near the door and a physical therapist is on the bed with her, moving her legs around in a circular motion. She seems to be sleeping, but when she sees me, she perks up. Nam's sister Mai gives me a little red plastic chair to sit in and Nam's mother grabs my hand, squeezing it tightly. She talks and talks before Minh arrives to translate- just as she has done during my previous visits with her - as if I can understand every word. The left side of her mouth is drooping. She points to the left side of her body and makes the negative Vietnamese motion with her goood hand...that gesture has so many applications. When Minh arrives, he tells me again that she had a "brain infection" - a stroke.

After a bit of translating questions, "How do you feel? Where do you hurt?" I tell Minh that my father also had a "brain infection" that affected his left side. When Minh translates this, Nam's mother's eyes open wide again and she is filled with ten more questions. "How is your father now? How long was he like this? Was his mouth this way?" - spoken with so much fear and pain in her eyes. Finally, Nam pokes me and says (gently) "Go home?" His mother is tired, I can see that. But she doesn't let go of my hand for another minute, and says "Cam on, cam on..." Thank you, thank you...

I get a little teary at the scene, being there with the whole family around her looking so worried. I walk back to the castle and tell Katherine about it, and I tell her that now I feel kind of badly about how I talked to Nam in the morning.

"What did he do now," she asks, already annoyed at what my answer is going to be. K is the best affirmer, really, and she would have killed in the competition had she written her response regarding The Shoe Incident...(Marjie, that is NOT OK. NO ONE does that. NOWHERE in the world. WHERE is it OK to give your opinion about EVERYTHING? ABOUT YOUR SHOES? YOU'RE KIDDING!"

I tell her that on the way to school, Nam reached around and grabbed my hand- which is always gripping the back end of the seat- removed it and placed it on my lap. While we were driving.

And what I did was to jerk my hand away and put it right back where it was. And I was mad. "Nam, I can put my hand there. I CAN PUT MY HAND ANYWHERE I WANT!" So there's a little pent-up anger over his intrusion in everything, as you can tell. He turns and gives me his pouty, passive-agressive look, points at a restaurant we pass and says, "Miss Sue." Yeah, OK, I know, you and your friend Miss Sue ate there, and you had a really good time, and she never even came close to using the tone of voice that I just used with you. I know, I know.

Katherine's response: "Marjie, don't feel bad about that. No, no..." and then she launches into her favorite affirming response to me when Nam gets me all worked up over something..."MY GOD. WE WOULD HATE HIM IF HE SPOKE ENGLISH! IT PROBABLY INSULTS HIS EGO THAT YOU HOLD ON TO THE SEAT. WELL, I HAVE NEWS FOR YOU, NAM, THIS IS SAIGON! IT'S DANGEROUS HERE!"

See why I love her?

Still, though, his mother...

You're probably wondering when I am going to mention the picture of Obama.

Copies of great art abound in this city - you name it: Van Gogh, Matisse, Gaugin - as well as lots of pop culture art. This particular painting is everywhere. I knew I wanted one the moment they appeared on backpacker street- it says so much about being in Viet Nam during election year 2009- but I didn't want one of the huge ones you see everywhere. I finally found this one, a nice 16 X 20 or so. What do you think?

Pam told me I had to get one. "Just think if your mom had been cool enough to buy something like that of JFK or something," she said. (Mom, did you ever have the opportunity? I'm sure you would have been cool enough to seize it.)