It's Not All Fun and Games

There are those moments in the classroom that you're just not really ready for, especially if, say, you're not actually trained as a teacher. Those expected roadbumps aside, there are definitely some cultural gulfs as well.

For example: Every Monday, I ask my kids what they did over the weekend. Today, one kid comes in and tells me that this weekend she went to her school (something people do often here on the weekends to use the fields and courts and things) with her dad and brother to play. Her dad was playing basketball with some other guys including a few high school students. One of the kids (18 yrs old) elbows him in the face and pisses him off, so her dad punches the kid (who is now on the ground) multiple times so hard that he breaks his own hand and has to go to the doctor. My student obviously thinks the whole thing is wildly entertaining, giggling through the whole story, expecting me to laugh, which I do not. I have a great poker face, but I couldn't help but be clearly disgusted. Basically, a 40-yr old man beats an 18 yr-old kid in front of his two children, and his daughter thinks the whole thing is funny and then justifies it to me by saying that her father was really angry.

The Taiwanese are truly unparalleled in healthy anger management.

My Tet in the 'Nam

For those of you who didn't know--I spent Lunar New Year in Vietnam. I spent about 5-6 days in Ho Chi Minh, also known as Saigon, and about 5 days in Da Nang (China Beach) and Hoi An. It was an absolutely fantastic trip, and I don't really have the words for it. There are too many things to say and too many stories to tell that I don't think I'm going to try. Enjoy the pictures (sorry there aren't too many people shots--I was traveling alone for awhile), and I promise, next time we meet, I'll regale you in person. In the end, all you need to know is that you should go. Check the sidebar for pictures! And Chuc Mung Nam Moi (Happy New Year!) And that picture is of me squeezing into a tunnel in Cu Chi. It was small.