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i’ve been going to class with jack to observe. it’s been interesting and rewarding.

the classes are in large, square, stone rooms surrounded by grass and trees. the windows are covered with metal grating and have no glass to allow air to smoothly pass through. the walls are painted brownish-white and the floors are brownish-maroon. the front of the room is equipped with two large black boards. they are not stone but black plastic and you write on them with long stems of white chalk.

the students sit on dark, wooden benches behind long desks. they sit four or five to a row and there are three rows with four benches in each row. they all dress nicely. some of the girls wear the ao dai dress and the boys all wear button up shirts neatly tucked into their creased pants. they’re all smiles.

the front of the room is elevated about two feet off of the ground. it’s a grey concrete platform that snakes around the front of the room following the black boards. the teacher’s desk sits on it. it allows all of the students to easily see.

the students gather early for class and sit casually talking. they all seem excited to learn and have been very happy to meet me. before each class they buy me and jack a bottle of water. it’s a nice gesture.

the activity today centered around having the students design a “student center”. they were to draw the lay-out and present their proposal to the class. they did a wonderful job and had many questions. jack and i floated around the room listening to people argue over where the bathrooms should be located and firmly telling people to stop speaking in vietnamese and start speaking in english. one group named their center the “puppy club”.

the class ends with a large bell. it is manually rung outside and sounds like a large, rusty cow bell. the students all listen for final instructions and then most of them stand up and let jack and i leave. it’s really a humbling experience to have a room of twenty five students stand for you silently as you pass by them. it always makes me want to smile.

i’m thoroughly looking forward to teaching next semester. the students are wonderful and i’m falling in love with this place. vietnam has truly been a wonderful experience.