#17

More from Vietnam:

"Hello! I hope you had a happy St. Patrick’s Day!

The past week has been a busy one for us. Firstly, we have 3 brand new classes this week. I started out with my first new class on Monday night. I was given curriculum, and told to prepare lesson 1. That is logical, right? I prepared a Power Point for that lesson, as usual, and felt prepared, though still a bit nervous. Well, my class began at 5:30. At exactly 5:38, the administrative assistant sends me a message saying that I am to start with unit 6. Unit 6??!! I had never even looked at unit 6. I guess that’s when my four previous years of experience comes in handy. It definitely wasn’t the best lesson I’ve ever presented, but I pulled last minute activity ideas out of my brain, and it turned out okay. There are two p0lice officers in the class. At first I was pretty nervous, but they turned out, surprisingly, to by my favorite students in the class. They are very chipper and cheerful. Next thing on my list is to get both of their phone numbers. If I ever have an accident on my motorbike, or any kind of trouble, knowing them will be extremely helpful!

Hannah’s mother is visiting from Hue, which is a city a few hours north of us. She is only a few years older than "Boo-Boo", but looks old enough to be her mother. It is interesting to see how people age differently here. They are small people, so they look younger than their age for a long time. Then, it’s as if they instantly go from childhood to old age. There just isn’t much in between. When people hear that "boo-Boo" is 47, they can hardly believe it. No one here who is 47 looks nearly as young as her. They also are surprised how big American children look on TV.

Anyway, Hannah’s mom cooked several delicious dinners and invited us to come. The first meal was delicious. It was spicy minced clams over noodles. It tasted better than it sounds. The second day she cooked shrimp inside kind of a gummy, chewy dumpling. She put at least 20 of them on my plate. I pr*yed, and got through about half of them. My mouth was on fire, and my nose was dripping. It was kind of embarrassing because everyone else ate them like they were candy. I finally had to tell Hannah and her mother that I enjoyed trying them, but I just couldn’t eat the rest because they were so spicy. They nodded in agreement as they looked at my runny nose and watery eyes. After dinner, Hannah showed pictures of her graduation from when she became a C0mmunist official. It was really interesting. In the picture of her accepting her certificate, there were statues and photos of Stalin, Marx, and of course, Ho Chi Minh. I really had never realized that she actually had to go to study and take classes to become an official. Sometimes I’m really glad that I don’t find these things out until I know people better. I might be tempted to avoid them all together. It was neat, though, that the same day, on the same table where she was showing me the photos, lay the book Fire Proof that was sent over to Vietnam by one of you. The Sp*rit is working!

I also had my first coffee outing with two people who know absolutely no English. I thought this would be an absolute disaster. I was pleased that we made it through an hour together. That is good motivation for me to continue studying! Please continue lifting up my language learning. I really am yearning to be fluent in the language. Thanks!

A popular dessert here is called 'che,' or sweet soup. It has beans, corn, and various other things, in a sweet syrup. It’s served hot when it’s cold out and with ice when it’s hot outside. David, his girlfriend, and I went out to eat 'che' over the weekend. It’s served in a small cup, so after our first round, we all ordered another. Well, anything sweet is almost too much for Vietnamese people, so of course, David and his girlfriend couldn’t finish their second cup. That meant I had….well, a lot of che!

We also ate hot pot with them this past week. They brought over squid, shrimp, and vegetables, and we boiled it all together, pouring it over noodles. Our dinner conversation was interesting. They were shocked to find out that Americans do not eat rice every day. I’m not sure how they could have spent so much time with us over the past two years and not known this. They also asked if Americans often get intestinal worms. When I told them no, they wondered why. I told them that in America, we refrigerate our meat, among other things.

They were really surprised that Americans don’t worry about getting worms. David says that most people take anti-worm medicine at least once a year just to make sure they don’t get them. Later, they said that they are worried about our health since part of our kitchen is in the bathroom. Well, that is the best option we have, and I still think it’s better than what people in the countryside have. Plus, it makes me thankful for a real kitchen when I visit Berne in the summer!

Thanks to our friends for the cards and packages!! I am thankful for each of you who read our newsletter and support us financially and with pr*yer. We appreciate it so much! Blessings to you as you serve Him!

Love,

"Yogi"