-^-for posterity-^-

i wrote this yesterday. the internet didn't work here then. i'll see if it works tonight and post something then too.

oh my. i had my first language class (again). the change occurred because the other class was not meeting as frequently as this one will be. i will be having class every morning from 8-10. this class isn’t full of old women hiding behind four inches of makeup. this class is full of young korean students that don’t raise their voice, one chinese man that decided he should be called philip cause no one would understand his other name and an older american business man who continually tells the teacher, “well, that’s not how i normally do it” and, “when i was in singapore, we normally…” he wore a polo shirt. that says it all.

my vietnamese language studies must be as intensive as possible i am thoroughly afraid that i will leave this country without mastering this forked tongue. there is a small cleaning lady here and she’s adorable. she walks around everywhere and sweats. her hair flows around her face and sticks to her cheek in clumps. she always looks like she’s been running. or lifting weights maybe. no, more like running for she’s much too small to lift weights.

she asked me one day if i would teach her english. i said that i would if she would teach me vietnamese. today we spent 3 hours on the roof trading vietnamese lessons for english. when i talk to her she sits and listens and says, “yea, yea, yea” even if she doesn’t understand a word i tell her. i told her to raise her hand if she doesn’t understand me. she ignored me or, more likely, didn’t understand me. we’re making swell progress.

she also brought up some kitchen utensils and asked me to write down what each of them are called. is it really terrible to make words up when you’re teaching someone another language? what do you call one of those things that you use to sharpen knives. it’s round and long and you run the knife up and down. i called it a “sharpener”. i even wrote it down. what do you call one of those cups that you fill with milk to pour out into coffee? i called it a “pourer”. wrote that one down too. oh, and the best one. she asked what i called the countertop. instead of calling it countertop i said “formica”. didn’t write that one down though.

i’m a lousy teacher. at least when i don’t know what things are called.

when she teaches me her entire demeanor changes. she goes from receiving information to dispensing it and it always makes her grin. she turns her head sideways and puts on her best serious face. it’s the face you put on when you’re trying to tell someone a joke. she says something and i don’t understand. i roll my eyes, bite my tongue and do everything to make it look as if i’m deep in thought. she frowns, well, more of a smile than a frown but it’s supposed to be a frown, and tells me that i’m wrong. i’ve never had someone tell me i’m wrong when i haven’t even given an answer. obviously i was wrong.

her teaching method is also interesting. we spent a lot of time working on handwriting. she didn’t like how i made my q’s and my d’s. we worked on that. i think i’m getting the hang of it but it’ll take some time.

after all this language study i was tired and ready for a nap. after the lesson she went to work. she didn’t go back to work, she started work. she works until 6:00 in the morning. she used to work from 6:00 in the morning till 6:00 at night and then go to school until 11:00 but she could only do that for a couple of years. i guess it got too tiring. i couldn’t even describe how hard she works. words wouldn’t do it justice.

she said, “i used to drink a lot of coffee.”

there’s something terrible and wonderful about learning another language. it’s like cracking a code. it’s getting invited to a really fantastic party. it’s like finding out a really great secret. it’s really one of the most rewarding things i ever did. oh, but right now i’m frustrated. it feels like the only language forged in the pits of hell. i can’t see much past that description.

well, who really wants to hear about language study in vietnam.