Dearest Friends,

This week past was eventful. I was warned that the days and week after returning from holidays are painful, and the week, in some ways lived up to the ominous caution. We had an inspector from the DSBN come to interview us and observe our classrooms in order to give recommendations for how we can develop the school further. Although it wasn't an absurdly onerous process, it was somewhat stressful for the staff. My classes that were observed by the inspector, however, went well and the students were at the top of their game. An interesting, student initiated conversation about how pizza is a symbol of the loss of Vietnamese culture to Western norms arose--that seemed to impress.

Monday was a sad day for the C.I.S. staff, as one of our most valuable employees left under unpleasant circumstance. Thao is a deligent, self-motivated, trustworthy, and bright woman. Jeremy and I organized a small going away dinner for her, so that the staff might express our appreciation for all she has done and how deeply we will miss her. We are certainly staying in touch and spending many weekends in her company!

This past weekend was busy. I spent Sunday with the children of Ben Tre. We brought 55 of the children from the countryside to HCMC for the day. The children had never been to the city, and were awed by the experience. We started our at the zoo, which was an experience unto itself. I nearly cried at every stop-- elephants chains in one location, "petting zoo" goats running around in a concrete wasteland, 10 crocodiles piled into a small kiddie-sized pool, etc. Nonetheless, the kids were able to learn about the animals and benefit from the insights of a tour guide. Of course, the tour was in Vietnamese, so I gleened very little. We did some games and activities with the children, had a picnic lunch, and then headed to the waterpark. En route, I sat beside beautiful Hong, how WOWed at nearly everything we passed (tall buildings, lamp shops, gardens). She shared her candy with me and giggled when I tried to speak Vietnamese. The waterpark was a terrifying location. We had 55 kids, and about 6 adults equipped to swim. The waterpark was swarming with people, and the organizers had little per-planning about how we would supervise the children. Cheratien and I swooped in with our teacher instincts and paranoia and orchestrated a supervision regime. I, thus, had six Vietnamese youngsters in my care. My strategy, seeing as I don't speak a whole lot of Vietnamese, was to make my presence as exciting as possible, so that they wouldn't stray too far. Indeed, the plan was a success, but I consequently threw a lot of children about and gave a significant amount of motorboat and piggy-back rides.

Other sketchy/hilarious elements of the waterpark include: a boy band performing on a stage a top a waterfall; fiberglass tunnels (with limb like outcrops that can only be described as penninsulas of death) set in a kiddie pool; lifegaurds spider climbing up the sides of massive water slides; children in full dress in the water (sweaters, pants, hats, etc); and lastly, the greyish colour of the water. In spite of all these dubious qualities, the waterpark turned out to be a magnificent experience for the children. None of the died. None of them were injured. None of them got lost. All of them LOVED their time there.

We met with Co Tuyet today for Vietnamese lessons, and she told us that the children called on the village pastor's cell phone to say a big thanks-- they passed the phone from child to child, until all 55 had a chance to express their excitement.

Vietnamese classes are coming along. I certianly sound like a fool as I sit at the coffee shop and make vowel and consonant sounds, and practice unfamilar intonations. The language is simple in many ways (for example, there is not past or present tense, only time markers such as "yesterday"), and difficult in some ways (6 different intonations and a myriad of accents).

I have really been appreciating my students. They are SPECTACULAR! Some humourous points...

I often ask the students to elaborate their answers by questioning, "How so?" Alice has, in turn, started chiming to her classmates, "how so?," when she feels that their points are insufficiently explained. On her drama quiz she wrote the following post script: "I am somewhat afraid of your 'how so?'"

My grade eights have found the ways that they can divert me from the topic at hand. Just yesterday, we were studying how to make effective transitions in paragraphs. One sample paragraph that I provided was on the topic of 'why a woman would make a good president.' Felix then inquired, "Ms. Krista, why are women discriminated against." I inquired, "Do you mean discriminated against in Vietnam?" He replied, "No, in history." The class then delved into a 30 min. discussion on the matter. Truth be told, I would far rathar have my students discuss such a matter than talk about transitions! A productive tangent, I feel.

This week, preparations for the Christmas concert are being stepped up. Tomorrow, Cheratien and I audition the intermediate actors, while we have already selected the primary actors.

Report cards, parent-teacher interviews, parent workshops and a wealth of other teaching pleasures will soon be upon us! However, our trip to Cambodia and eventual Christmas break will be sweet reward for our labours.

Alright... off to run and then to bed.

So much love to you all.

K