-^-for posterity-^-

what an introduction to long xuyen! last night was incredible. fifty to sixty students threw a huge party for me. i’ve never had such a party thrown for me and it was an incredible experience. socially, however, i faced hurdles.

they assembled in front of our modern guest house. at the beginning of the evening i introduce myself to the students. they were all dying to meet me. (especially the girls) i walked from group to group of students and talked to them in my most professional voice. slowly, powerfully, and with compassion in my eyes. because i am a teacher, i’m required to convey some semblance of authority. for the first time in my life i had to pretend to be an adult. it feels like i have to hoodwink them into believing i’m older than i really am. they don’t know i’m just as old as them and i’m not about to tell them. in a culture where age implies wisdom, being a young foreign teacher is a challenge.

they laid out a large tarp on the concrete and placed ten or twelve small stoves and lots of small plates of food. we sat on the ground and people asked me question after question. where was i from, what had i been doing before vietnam, why was i over here, did i have a girlfriend, how long would i be here, would i be their teacher, did i like Vietnamese food, did i think it was hot… i could easily continue.

there personality is excited and innocent. when i spoke in vietnamese everyone clapped loudly. i said simple things like, “i know how to use chopsticks”, and they would all laugh and clap. the boys always were separate from the girls. the random enthusiasm and segregation of genders reminded me of middle-school.

there was a sea of people and hundreds of new names. these would be my friends for the next two years. we’re all kind of on the same journey: they’ll be graduating when i leave for home. we all want to see what the future has in store for us but we’re also dying to live right now.