I love these children

Thank you, Annaleah, for the photos.

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Ho Tay, Sunset

Happy Thanksgiving!

Last night, we had a huge, chaotic Thanksgiving dinner with all of School Year Abroad, and all of our host families.  My host family, along with many other families, had never even heard of Thanksgiving before. That made for quite an interesting night; I'm pretty sure my family is still confused as to what Thanksgiving really is.  It was still fun though! And I was happy to eat some pumpkin pie and apple crisp.

Take a look at some pictures!

My Economics/Environmental Science teacher, Chuck, and I spent all of  Wednesday night preparing deserts.  We made 8 pumpkin pies, two apple crisps, 2 mango cream pies, and over a hundred cookies.  Not surprisingly, we had a lot of leftovers (and we would have had more had I not dropped an entire pumpkin pie on the floor.. oops). 

Elliot and Savon (Chuck's daughter)

Maddy, Abby, Julia, and Nan

Abby and Annaleah

Julia and I

Andrew and I

Van Mieu

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Van Mieu, also called the Temple of Literature, is the first national university in Vietnam, built over a thousand years in the Ly dynasty. Ly Nhan Tong, the emperor at the time, established a merit system.  If scholars could pass the exam, they had the potential to become mandarins (court officials). Students who passed the exams had their names carved on the stone tablets that rest on the back of stone turtles (turtles are a symbol of longevity and strength).

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Chúc Mừng Ngày Nhà Giaò!

Happy Teacher's Day!

To show their appreciation for teachers across Viet Nam, students bring their teachers flowers and gifts.  My host mom is a school teacher, and so for the past few nights we have had a steady stream of visitors bringing her flowers and wishing her good health.

My mom also insisted that I am a teacher now too, since I teach my little cousins and sisters English. So on Saturday morning, before my cousins and their friends came over to for class, we got all dressed up in our ao dai (traditional Vietnamese dresses).  When the little students came, they brought with them bouquets of flowers for me that were so big they could barely carry them by themselves.

Nhi, my adorable cousin 

On Sunday, the celebration continued.  My sister and her friends (the older students) surprised me with more flowers and gifts.  I am so honored that they went to so much trouble to do all that for me! They even had sparkly confetti guns that they shot up into the air when I came in the room.  I was so flattered! Even though teaching them can be frustrating and tiring, it's so rewarding and such a unique experience.

 

Fun with Pipe Cleaners

To answer your questions... yes, she is most definitely screaming with delight because of her new glasses. And yes, he is crying tears of joy, so thankful for his new glasses.