A busy schedule and weeks without internet at my apartment have made me sorely neglect this blog. I can hardly remember all that has transpired since my last entry.

A trip to Singapore—A few weekends ago, Cheratien, Jennifer, Erin, and I took a long weekend trip to Singapore. The place is truly unique and worlds apart from Vietnam. With its clean streets, orderly traffic, and expensive prices, we hardly knew what to do with ourselves. The mere existence of taxi stands absolutely dumbfounded us. We took advantage of vast bookstores and drugstores, and my companions of Starbucks. Some highlights of the trip include a vast array of delicious food, walking about the botanical gardens, dancing the nights away, and so on. We made some good fun by creating alter egos and sticking to them.

The story goes as such: We are all friends from Alabama, and all practicing athletes. We were recruited by Vietnamese Athletics for Girls (VAG for short), an organization that is trying to promote the increasing participation of females in athletics. I was, of course, an aspiring UFC fighter.

Cat Tien and Madagui with the Grade Nines—Upon return from Singapore, I took off once again. This time, I took my grade nine students to the jungle in more central Vietnam. Cat Tien is a national park with some of the last species of wild life left in Vietnam. We took the kids hiking (which is, as one student declared, “really just a secret word for walking in the woods”) at a VERY slow pace. They all complained immensely, as they are not used to such physical exertion. One even suggested that we should make a call to Prudential, her insurance company, because she would surely die in the woods. Alas, they all came out alive and, I think, were proud of their accomplishment. We took the kids to a Primate Rehabilitation Centre, which focuses primarily on the rehabilitation of Gibbons and the Slow Loris. Poaching is still a tremendous problem in the park for a myriad of reasons. Primarily, the native people are impoverished, and so use the poaching as sustenance. The local guards at the park have little investment in conservation, and so often turn a blind eye. The situation is improving, though, due to increased training and awareness. We did team building and other activities with the students—from bon fires to boating.

I, likely, have the best job in the world. My students, in spite of their complaining, ate up each teachable moment. I would wish to always teach like this—with natural moments of learning. Instructing in drama, literature, science, and life as the inspirations arise in natural living. For example, the students made the spontaneous, mid-hike request for me to structure environmental related improve games for them to play en route.

Reunification Day---Friday of last week was a national holiday here in Vietnam. 35 years since the reunification of the north and the south. In the evening, the city streets became parking lots as fireworks lit up the night sky. Once again, the main street s were decorated with lights of all sorts.

Spring break—I have had this week off. I decided to stay in the city and study Vietnamese for the week. Our translator at school says that I “speak horrible Vietnamese... for a Vietnamese person.” I explored the city a bit more, finding several great treasures. I also got in a motorbike accident, smashing up my leg a bit. Some soft tissue damage and stitches. I am hoping for a quick recovery so that I can return to training for the tri and half marathon coming at the end of this month and next month respectively. I also spent some of the week working with friends to create some promotional material for the sponsorship program. Hopefully our “Kickstart” website will be up soon, and you can all check it out. If –any of you are interested in sponsoring one of our students (for about 50 dollars), you can ensure that one of our kids has school fees, supplies, and other necessities covered for the year. Let me know!

I also spent a few days with friends at Thao’s brother’s resort. I spoke of it once before. We spent the night on the island. I slept atop the tower, savouring a beautiful full moon and cool breezes.

Ben Tre, once again---A few weekends ago, the students from my community involvement club went to Ben Tre to complete work on five bridges being built in a small hamlet there. The students, after visiting the first time, decided (in conjunction with the local community) to raise money to build these bridges. The community relied on several unreliable and unsteady bamboo bridges, making passage by bike impossible and passage in the rainy season highly treacherous. The five new cement bridges are helping 40 students get to school with greater ease and safety, and assisting with transportation for the community at large.

My students, many of whom had never even TOUCHED a shovel, made and mixed cement (from scratch) and poured the concrete. I brimmed with pride as they each requested a turn using the shovel and completing the manual labour. Members of the community came out to watch our students at work. Women of the community expressed their thanks, and told the students that they are welcome in the homes of the community at any time. The students were proud of their accomplishment, and many of them expressed new learnings. Days later, as we were walking along a cement path, one of my students looked up and stated, “I look at cement differently now. Now I know how hard it is to make and I think of the people who put their sweat into it.” I know. I know. Cheesy TEACHER MOMENT!

The Bike/Run--As part of our adventure circuit of insanity, Kelly, Kristi, Cheratien and I participated in the VietAdventure Bike-Run some weekends ago. We were meant to do a 26 KM bike-run, which participants had to complete in pairs, never straying more than 100 meters from one another. After a series of mishaps (on the bus for 5 hours, instead of the 2 it was supposed to be....the last group to arrive to the race.... waiting in line to use the one washroom as our race started... lost on the trail, as local people had moved the markers (and wouldn't you for a bit of entertainment?)... flat tires.....separated.....waterless and running 8 km in the midday sun.....) we completed only 19 of those 30. Still, a hilarious and fun experience.

Chauro Trip-- We took a trip to a minority village about 3 hours off of HCMC. We led some simple English language instruction and hygiene training (how to brush your teeth). The kids went about their study diligently, and used the brushes and paste we provided to practice according to our instruction,taking the task VERY seriously. We visited many of the families in the area to get an idea of the living conditions, meeting a variety of candidates for the scholarship program, which we hope to expand to this area in the fall. We visited several young families, who lived on essentially no income. The major problem in the area is a lack of clean water--they have to purchase their water at a high cost, and then it has to be transported to the town. Although wells and some rain harvesting systems exist, the dry seasons leaves the community waterless, making hygiene and sanitation not a high priority. Consequently, we are putting this issue on our list for future projects, as we investigate some possibilities and make connections with some folks connected to water related non-for-profits.

Alright. I am off to get my brain into school mode. I have been spoiled with an all too long vacation and need to transition with some extensive marking.

Love to all.