Don't forget, memorize

Eph. 6:10-12

"Finally, be strong in the L*rd and the strength of his might."

"Put on the whole armor of G()d, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil."

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the sp*ritual forces of evil in the heaven1y places."

We had a little drama with our school last year, but I felt like we ended well as far as relationships with colleagues goes. As a final farewel, some of the staff at our school took us out for dinner and gave us going away presents. We stayed out late and took pictures. Good times.

I communicated with a few of them via yahoo messenger this summer and several of them met us at the airport this year to greet us. I was honestly happy to see their familiar faces and they even invited us to a big dinner the first month to celebrate the first month after the birth of our administrator's daughter. I was feeling optimistic about the year with hopes that it might be even better than the last.

I'm still optimistic, but I'm trying to have more realisitc expectations now. After our salary fiasco, I knew things had been going too well without a snag and it was time for a new problem (ok, maybe I've never been an optimist). And since I'm not allowed, nor should I, badmouth my school on my blog, I shall just tell you the story how it happened from where I'm sitting.

It started about two weeks ago when the school asked if we wanted to go on a trip with the staff. My first reaction was, Wow, they didn't ask any other teachers! But, uh, no. That doesn't sound like fun; no thanks. But Jenni and I talked about it and we agreed that it might be a good way to build on our relationships with some of the staff. I asked how much and they told me that it would be free for me to go since I've worked there for over a year. Jenni would pay 30 % of the cost. No problem. We'll go (they had me at 'free').

And sometime last week I was told that we would both have to pay 100% of the fee, coming in at over 1 million 300 thousand vnd. That's a lot for ONE night. Jenni and I had another huddle and decided that we could spend New Years another way. So, we won't go.

The very next day Jenni called me from the office with the new update. We backed out too late (literally 5 minutes after we were told how much it would cost) so now we must pay the entire fee whether we go or not.

You must be kidding me.

I put on some nice clothes and came to the school. I got red in the face as I tried to explain to the woman in our office that they can't do that. All the while, knowing, the payers of my salary in fact can do that. The woman to whom I was pleading has excellent English. However her pronunciation and listening skills are horrific-- this combination, shockingly, leads to much frustration.

We've had multiple conversations about this, always the same, never getting anywhere. I've expressed how I feel. I've used the words unethical, sneaky, wrong, and "not ok." (I have also promised Jenni that I would try my darndest to not to get us fired over this)

Jenni had something with a friend that she strongly wanted to do, so we have decided not to go. And I'm finished making a stink about it. I even feel completely non-bitter about it at this moment, though I was afraid that if I went, I wouldn't be able to keep my mouth closed.

Our trust has been abused once again, and we will continue to pr@y for love for them, and somehow for our friendships to be separate from work, or business, whatever it is that they're running over there (totally not bitter though).

Well again

Tori is doing well again. Another surgery under her belt and a new incision, but she seems to be back to her normal post-surgery self at the moment, according to her dad. Thanks again for everything

Emergency Room

My mom just emailed me to let me know that Trey and Tara were on their way to the emergency room again with Tori. I don't know many details, but please pr*y for them!

Memorize Part III

"Finally, be strong in the L*rd and in the strength of his might."

"Put on the whole armor of G()d, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil."

"For we do not rule against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness..."

Saturday mornings

I think I wrote about the increasing nature of my challenges with Saturday morning classes last year. And it hasn't stopped. I should never have complained last year.

This year, I am proud to announce that I have had TWO of these classes on Saturday mornings for the last five months. Kitty 1 and Kitty 2. One class learned A-M and the next class learns N-Z. Which is ridiculous.

My Kitty 2 class recently graduated to Kitty 3, so we're supposed to be learning whole phrases like "Good morning Teacher," and "My name is..." Honestly, as I tend to have about 19 students (roughly 3-6 years old) and less than 10 of the flimsiest 'desks' in the country, they're lucky to learn anything at all.

However, I'm getting to know them a little more and I kind of love them. I'll discuss some of their personal issues later. My administrator's daughter is also in my class, so I am more likely to get a TA than other teachers. However, that also means that if I have a TA, she will be utterly useless as she babysits only one student in the entire class.

But my students are all super cute. I have said this boy's name more than anyone else's. Maybe more than most English words. He is a character, and a moody one at that. He wants me to see everything he does and says and has actually grabbed my face and pulled it down to look at him when I was ignoring him. He is a lot stronger than he looks.

I am not going to tell you how long I expect them to color. I usually print out pictures that are very intricate and pr*y that they spend a lot of time on it. But they rarely do.

See! Look how cute.

The tiny girl in this last picture is my token 3 year old. She's not supposed to be in my class, but she cries unless she gets to be with her sister (who has her arm around her). Funny enough, her sister is not supposed to be in my class either, but I didn't even question why she would bring the wrong book every week.

After it was discovered that she was in another class, they moved her. The next week she (and her sister) was back again and smiling broadly. She proudly told me that she had asked and it's ok for them to be in my class always. If I hadn't been so blinded with pride myself, I might have screamed.

Tori again again

On Friday night, Tara's facebook said:


"We made it home with Tori around 4 this afternoon. The shunt is working much better this time and she seems to be recovering well. Thank you all so much for your thoughts and pr*yers for our little girl!"

I got a chance to talk to Tara and Trey after the surgery. Sounds like Tori and the doctors both did great and Tori is recovering. I took this picture of her head because Trey said her hair was always crazy looking after surgery.



She was pretty out of it right after the surgery, but apparently that is a good sign. Meaning that the fluid in her head was draining out (showing that the new shunt was working properly) and she was probably feeling dizzy and/or nausious.


She didn't smile when I talked to them at the hospital, but Mom said she's been smiling this weekend a lot. She looked good though and Trey and Tara are my new heroes.

Memorize Part II

Ephesians 6:10-11

"Finally, be strong in the L*rd and in the strength of his might."

"Put on the whole armor of G()d, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil."

Little Tori again

I copied this from Tara's facebook:

"Tori had surgery on her head again last Tue and we found out today when she was supposed to get her staples out that she needs to have it again because it still isn't working. She will have it sometime Thur (12/16) afternoon. We hope for correct placement with the shunt and that it drains well this time with no blockage."

This isn't from tonight, but I didn't get a picture of Tara, so here's one Tori and I had a nice chat. She told me that she's not worried at all about this new surgery. Piece a cake (translated almost directly).

Then she just fell over (onto a pillow) and looked quite content to just lay there and go to sleep. Maybe I talk too much...

Then she gave Denny a high five

Denny, when I put these two pictures on a slideshow and click on them back and forth, it makes the high five look fantastic.

Russell said hello

Tori is a tough one. We said tonight that she just wants to be able to brag later about how many surgeries she's had because I think she's beating us all already.

Hopefully the surgery today will be the last one for a long time. Sorry I cut off your face here, Trey.

Pr*y for steady hands and wisdom from these doctors and that this surgery wil go well, the shut will function as it should, and hopefully not have to be repaired over and over. Thank-you!

That hat is so CUTE
Our little angel

Memorize Part I

Let's memorize this together.

Ephesians 6: 10-20

Today, just verse 10

"Finally, be strong in the L*rd and in the strength of his might."

Roommate December

Reasons that I am thankful for my roommate, Jenni:

• She is super easy to buy Christmas presents for. I drew her name in our group exchange and I could think of 5 presents just off the top of my head right then. I could easily have gotten her more than the prescribed limit without even resorting to candy, which was my back-up.

• She doesn't get stuck living in a routine here. I think I could do the same things every week and never stray from it, but she challenges me (without saying it) to do different things. I need a reminder that just because I lived one way last year, doesn't mean that I have to do everything the same this year.
• These outfits. Jenni really wanted to get them so we went and looked EVERYWHERE until we found ones that fit. A lot of women here wear these every day all day, just in different patterns-- not that we had a lot to choose from in the large sizes...

(and often they can sit like this for a long time. I can get down there, but I'm done after about a minute) (also, I'm pretty sure Jenni is cheating here and not squatting on her heels)

more skype pictures

So, here's a lot of (though not all) the family for Thanksgiving. I really don't know why they all look so happy since they told me they were sad about me not being there...

I'm still not sure what happened with our bill, but our internet company chose Thanksgiving Day to turn off our internet. Perfect. Jenni and I had both planned to skype with our families and now it was impossible from our apartment.

I finally got to go to a coffee shop with wifi and see some off my family. Apparently they had skype turned on all day waiting for a call from me. The internet was still terrible and I never really saw anyone moving at the right speed. I could kind of tell that other people were there, but for the most part, this was it.

This picture is a classic. Seriously. And I even played a couple rounds of "Things," thanks to the beautiful MC. I do believe that she was the champion of that, though I don't have any other details at the moment.

It blinked and froze a lot. And once it got frozen as this. Another classic shot. And I couldn't take Denny seriously because he was talking, but to me, his face looked like this.

So I told them and he must have recreated it because a few seconds later the screen froze like this.

So, I got to participate more this year than last, but it was still pretty minimal. Next year...

I have a feeling Mom and Sally are going to love all of these pictures. This was really my best venue for showing them all to you both. The connection was terrible, but the few pictures I got were gems, dontcha think?

There's a chance that we're the best

Oh, and the morning after our meal we ate pumpkin pancakes and bacon. Steph bought the bacon because she couldn't resist it. If you can't read the bacon package, it states it's slogan: "Probably the Best in Vietnam."

Thanksgiving 2010

Well here it is, folks. I tell you, this not having a functioning camera thing is really doing a number on my blog. I'm so thankful that Jenni lets me use hers, but I still don't take enough. There's not even a picture of our pumpkin pie (from Harvest Bakery)!

Jenni and I got together with the 6 American girls in Biên Hoà for a weekend and specifically one large dinner. Jenni and I brought the sweet potatoes, the mashed potatoes, a (very expensive, but delicious) can of cranberry sauce I found in district 1, and the aforementioned--and rather perfect-- pumpkin pie.
It was pretty delicious. Ashley cooked baked apples and mixed it with the cranberry sauce which was SOOOO GOOD! Steph made some delicious dressing and salad and bought all of the meat (combined with leftover turkey and ham, THANKS JANELL!), bread, and probably more. Then Brittany made hot apple cider for dessert while we watched Elf. I had a lot of fun. Below: Ashley, me, Steph
So, that's the meal. If you were only interested in our food, turn back now.
When we arrived in Biên Hoà, most of the girls were at their school for some kind of function. It had been a long bus ride and we just lay on their couches when we came in. Some boys came up playing soccer outside the gate to their house. I was tired, and I've played soccer maybe three times in the last two years, but I thought, "What the heck?"

I went outside and the boys laughed at me. They looked about 7- 10 years old and they mockingly shouted "what yo name!" in my direction. Then I used a phrase that I practice constantly in my classes of five year olds: "Cho Cô đi." (Give it to me)

I heard a noticable change in their tone( or is it 'change their tune?) ('change their tone' is redundant in a tonal language) as they surprisingly expressed to each other that this lady could speak Vietnamese. Finally they put the ball down and started playing. I just tried to take the ball and keep it as long as I could, and they loved it. Teams sort of merged and I noticed that sometimes I would get passed the ball, and other times one person would separate from the group to try to take me one on one. I was sweating like crazy, but having a lot of fun. Playing with kids is an interesting dynamic of needing to not be dangerous or look stupid, but also not appear to be trying too hard. Because that's just embarassing. Also, meg them when you can; they love that.

After a few minutes, a neighbor pulled a lawn chair to the street and sat down to watch, grinning broadly each time I got the ball. Finally one boy picked up the ball, yelled to his friends and then spoke to me quickly. I wish I knew more soccer vocabulary, but I don't even know the word for soccer field (I live in the city). It sounded like they wanted me to come with them so I went. We walked on the gravel road to a park and a field of grass and sand. The leader of the boys yelled to a group of older boys and it seemed like some kind of challenge. Our little team of boys was going to play these mostly older boys.

We got slaughtered.

We held our own at first, but when the goals started, they didn't stop. Slightly out-sized, except for me, we put up a good fight. It was really fun, though I felt a lot of pressure because a crowd sort of gathered to watch the foreigner girl playing soccer. The older boys would occasionally yell out phrases in English to each other ("Good!" "Don't be scared!") and then look at me for my response. I had a great time.
I miss playing soccer a lot.

I had been kind of stressed out--- on the bus all afternoon on Saturday trying to get our internet turned back on, buy cranberry sauce, pick up the pie, not be late for class, blah blah. And that next morning I was cooking potatoes and cleaning up my mess and forgetting why we even celebrate Thanksgiving.

Which brings me to my point... If you're still with me... There's something about soccer now that clears things up for me. Brings me back home. And I remembered to be thankful.

We celebrate this holiday because the pilgrims wanted to w*rship freely! That's why they came to America and they feasted out of thankfulness that G()d had not forgotten them and had provided for them! And two out of those three things are TRUE here!

We have so much to be thankful for it's unbelievable.

Daily Happenings...

Let's just talk about a few stories from this week... (in keeping with my crazy blogging streak!)

• Walking to school the other day, I was waved over frantically by one of my neighbors. He seemed very concerned about me. After trying with words I didn't know, he finally motioned with his hands. He was worried that someone on a motorbike would grab my earrings while they were driving by, and rip them out. So I obligingly took them out... And put them back in when I was out of sight.
• I don't have a lighter. I have been lighting my pumpkin spice candle on the gas stove, but I finally decided that I've had enough of that. I want to buy a lighter. I tried to buy one from a lady near our apartment and she refused. She got a terrible look on her face and asked me why I wanted it. I don't know the word for candle, so I tried to explain it. She looked horrified at my explanation and wouldn't sell me the lighter. Finally a student came over and translated the word and she gave it, slapping me on my behind.
• I've told you about our neighbors before. One of them has a perpetual cough. But that's beside the point. We also have a 19 year old male neighbor who only ventures beyond the threshold of our door when he is hammered. He thinks that it's easier for him to speak English that way. He came over this week and we tried to get him to walk a straight line. That was funny.
• Tonight my student asked me what I call a person who sells drugs. I gave her a curious glance and said, "A dealer." "I want to be a dealer," she said. Wait, what? "Oh, no, no," I said, "You want to be a pharmacist."
• Phượng's birthday was December 1st. She had to work all day, but Oanh and I decorated a vase and gave her some flowers. The next day we all went out to a buffet with some of her friends from work. It was fun, though Jenny (Phượng's daughter, not my roommate) was cranky and bit me in the arm.

Tori

If you get the chance, please lift up my niece Tori and by brother and sister-in-law, Trey and Tara. Tori is almost 9 months old and was born with Spina Bfida.

Today, on the east coast, Tori had to have another surgery to repair the shunt in her brain. She's already had it repaired once and I thought they weren't going to have to do it again for years. I don't know how many surgeries she's had already, but she beats me.

Thanks Tara for letting me skype with her!

Trey's behind the computer trying to get her to smile for me.

These are from a while ago now. She's even cuter now and has a tooth!

Please remember Tori, Tara, and Trey this week as she recovers from another surgery.

-Thanks