Dearest Kin,

It is hard to believe that there are less than two weeks of school remaining until Christmas holidays. This is both a glorious and a terrifying count-down, as we still have to pull off the best Christmas Concert EVER. Joining Cheratien in leading the Christmas concert has been a stressful, deflating, hilarious, and amusing adventure. Despite limited facilities and time, we had been charged with the task of creating a show of wonder. We have had to constantly remind ourselves, that in spite of the external expectations, we must remember that--ultimately--parents want to see their precious ones up on stage in cute costumes, even if they aren't actually singing the correct words to Jingle Bell Rock. Although many of the seeming essentials have yet to materialize, we have been ensured by the owners that giant inflatable snowmen HAVE been ordered. Phew! I was worried.

Christmas decorating in HCMC can be described as follows: a hungry holiday monster ate all North American Christmas decorations and then came to HCMC and vomitted it's feast all over the place. Think whole store fronts tin foiled and laced with fake snow. Twinkly lights. Windos filled with bulbs. Dancing Santas. Facades of buildings laced in snow scenes. Reindeer on street corners, etc. Photos to follow at a later date.

In addition to the Christmas chaos, last week was report card time and parent-teacher interviews. The sweet mother of one my hyper-active Korean students brought me a bin of kimbap--maybe as penance or thanks, I am not sure.

This past weekend was likely the highlight of my time here, thus far. On Friday night we took an excruciatingly long cab ride to the airport, making it there just in time for us to run to our departure gate and catch our flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia. On Saturday, we explored Angkor temples--breath taking religious architecture from the 9th to 13th centuries. I cannot begin to describe it, and my picture will surely not do it justice. Sunday was the true highlight, as we woke up bright and early to run the 14th Angkor Wat International Half Marathon. People form all over the world come to Angkor Wat to run this marathon, so we were able to meet some very interesting people. The run course is spectacular, taking its runners through ancient gates, past magnificent and awe inspiring temples, and through Angkor countryside. The residents of the villages came out to line the streets and cheer us on. The children shouted out broken English phrases of encouragement: "You do it!" ..."Run, Run. Get there!"...etc. Some of the children slipped braclets on my arms as I ran past and high fived their outstretched hands. After two hours and twelve minutes of non-stop running, I completed my first half-marathon in a sprinting blaze of glory. Although we were weary, we spent the afternoon exploring Seam Reap (also enjoying a fish foot massage--fish nibble the dead skin off your feet-- and a massage my blind masseurs). We arrived back in HCMC by 9:30, and got up bright and early to teach the next morning. I am weary, but, surprisingly, not in pain.

The weekend before, I went with a bunch of French and Vietnamese folks to complete a mountain race, just 150 km from HCMC. The mountain is about 1000 meters high, with a steep incline. One competator completed the entire race in the time it took us just to summit. Some Vietnamese people trekked about in flip flops or bare feet with pounds and pounds of bannanas on their backs--making us look foolish and sluggish. The climb was challenging, but rewarding. The mountain was actually used as an American communication base during the war, so evidence of that is still present on the summit. On the way down, we shared this mountain jungle with hundreds of butterflies. We are looking at joining the same group for a jungle mini-triathalon in February.

This week we said goodbye to a good friend, Kim. Kim is American-Vietnamese, and has lived in Vietnam for four years. She has been so wonderful about introducing us to the city and getting us involved in a myriad of interesting things. She is leaving her job as General Manager at a team-building/school trip company and moving to Bali. Living the life.

Oh my.. so much more to tell, but I am getting weary and still have a mountain of marking to tackle.

A big thanks to all those who have sent me mail, e-mails, messages, songs, and so on--makes me feel connected to you all, even though I am so far away. Facebook has been blocked in Vietnam, so my access to it is sometimes dodgy. Accept my apologies if you have not received messages from me in the last few weeks.

Alright. Much love to you all!

Love,
K