I feel like I have been here for weeks but in a very positive way. I don't know what it is about the place but I have just settled in very quickly and I feel at home.
My first full day at the Pagoda was tiring but interesting. I met my English students in the morning and had to cobble together a hasty lesson on the spot when I saw their text book. This is not ideal but I managed ( a PGCE and years of French teaching stood me in good stead). They are all 12 -13 year old boys, with a range of abilities and attention span. My role is more as a tutor to back up what they do in school so I'm going to try and do some games and more creative stuff with them...not sure how this will go down but I'm only here for 2 weeks so I'll give it a go. it was strange to have to think about lesson plans again, but also quite nice to engage my brain. I need to raid the local stationery shop for some materials too.
My afternoon was spent in the therapy room and I started to see the routine a little more clearly. I don't know any of the kids' names yet but I have started to work out what some of them like and what some of them can and can't do. The language barrier is an extra obstacle but some of the nurses and staff are helpful- they really have their work cut out and it must be an added stress for them to have to deal with a bunch of unqualified 'do gooder' Westerners.
My neighbour and fellow volunteer Amber have bonded over our love of food and have already started to try out as many different places and foods as we can. She has been here for a month already and so has lots of good tips. One surprise is the food at the Pagod-delicious simple vegetarian food.
I spent Saturday morning with a national volunteer who took me on a tour of down town Saigon, on the back of her scooter. This was an experience, I spent the first half of the journey with my eyes firmly closed, clinging to the seat, remembering to breathe...however I soon realised that despite the amount of traffic and what looked like chaos, there was in fact a system and Vy knew exactly how to negotiate the roads. I'm actually very pleased that I did it. She showed me the War Remnants Museum, the Reuinification Palace and the main post office. The city centre heavily influenced by the French and it is impressive, it is what I expected to find in Pondicherry.
Before heading out for a night on the town with Amber I returned to our hotel and wandered around our local area. People recognise me in the street now and I met the lovely Mr N a furniture store security guard in his 60s desperate to practice his English with me ( he told me he learned it when he worked for the Americans but you never know how many questions to ask about this). I also discovered a fantastic local market tucked away in some streets behind the hotel. This was full of fresh food, fish and meat, as well as clothes and houseware. it was great to wander around and such a contrast to the city centre.
Amber and I spent the evening drinking cocktails at the Sheraton where the view over the town was quite spectacular and the cocktails were £3 each ( actually that is expensive for here) and then we followed a Lonely Planet recommendation and ate in an upmarket restaurant nearby. Needless to say we were disappointed...as so often happens the surroundings and the price (13 for 2 course...very expensive for here) were not an indication of the quality of the food. It was a good experience but we a sticking firmly to street food from now on.
My first full day at the Pagoda was tiring but interesting. I met my English students in the morning and had to cobble together a hasty lesson on the spot when I saw their text book. This is not ideal but I managed ( a PGCE and years of French teaching stood me in good stead). They are all 12 -13 year old boys, with a range of abilities and attention span. My role is more as a tutor to back up what they do in school so I'm going to try and do some games and more creative stuff with them...not sure how this will go down but I'm only here for 2 weeks so I'll give it a go. it was strange to have to think about lesson plans again, but also quite nice to engage my brain. I need to raid the local stationery shop for some materials too.
My afternoon was spent in the therapy room and I started to see the routine a little more clearly. I don't know any of the kids' names yet but I have started to work out what some of them like and what some of them can and can't do. The language barrier is an extra obstacle but some of the nurses and staff are helpful- they really have their work cut out and it must be an added stress for them to have to deal with a bunch of unqualified 'do gooder' Westerners.
My neighbour and fellow volunteer Amber have bonded over our love of food and have already started to try out as many different places and foods as we can. She has been here for a month already and so has lots of good tips. One surprise is the food at the Pagod-delicious simple vegetarian food.
I spent Saturday morning with a national volunteer who took me on a tour of down town Saigon, on the back of her scooter. This was an experience, I spent the first half of the journey with my eyes firmly closed, clinging to the seat, remembering to breathe...however I soon realised that despite the amount of traffic and what looked like chaos, there was in fact a system and Vy knew exactly how to negotiate the roads. I'm actually very pleased that I did it. She showed me the War Remnants Museum, the Reuinification Palace and the main post office. The city centre heavily influenced by the French and it is impressive, it is what I expected to find in Pondicherry.
Before heading out for a night on the town with Amber I returned to our hotel and wandered around our local area. People recognise me in the street now and I met the lovely Mr N a furniture store security guard in his 60s desperate to practice his English with me ( he told me he learned it when he worked for the Americans but you never know how many questions to ask about this). I also discovered a fantastic local market tucked away in some streets behind the hotel. This was full of fresh food, fish and meat, as well as clothes and houseware. it was great to wander around and such a contrast to the city centre.
Amber and I spent the evening drinking cocktails at the Sheraton where the view over the town was quite spectacular and the cocktails were £3 each ( actually that is expensive for here) and then we followed a Lonely Planet recommendation and ate in an upmarket restaurant nearby. Needless to say we were disappointed...as so often happens the surroundings and the price (13 for 2 course...very expensive for here) were not an indication of the quality of the food. It was a good experience but we a sticking firmly to street food from now on.
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