The last two or three weeks have been a very busy spell for me. First, I had quite a major project related to my Resource Room maven duties at RMIT. I had to complete an inventory of the books and other resources... more than 1400 in total! I think some of this had been done before, but the files had gotten lost in translation, somehow. So, I have almost all of it done, except videos. And there are a few items that are MIA, but that is fairly par for the course, I guess. I feel quite happy with the status of this job, although it is a bit like housework ... everything looks great for just a brief, shining moment in time. I can see how it would affect my personality if I took it too seriously ... sort of what happened when I taught Level 4 Grammar for an extended period of time ... picky, picky, picky. I have colour-coordinated many of the resources (saves me having to know where to put things based on their titles) and while I know some folks mock me for my OTT system, who cares? I like the blue dots on Level 4 CDs, which are lined up ever so alphabetically in their blue plastic sleeves. Yellow for Level 5 and green for Level 6 and ... you get the picture . ^_^.
Then there were some social activites related to birthdays and retirements of colleagues, one of whom has retired to Kho Samui. She could hardly wait to leave ... but a lovely house with a pool and sea view on three sides on a tropical island does sound pretty great.
Then there were some social activites related to birthdays and retirements of colleagues, one of whom has retired to Kho Samui. She could hardly wait to leave ... but a lovely house with a pool and sea view on three sides on a tropical island does sound pretty great.
As well the long-awaited visit of dear friends Sally and Patricia has come and gone. They were here for 5 or 6 days. 
They visited a Waldorf kindergarten and the Mekong while they were here and I hope they enjoyed themselves a bit in Ho Chi Minh City. Of course, we had to eat ... look how pretty this dish was! 
They visited a Waldorf kindergarten and the Mekong while they were here and I hope they enjoyed themselves a bit in Ho Chi Minh City. Of course, we had to eat ... look how pretty this dish was! They have gone off to Haiphong and to see the North now... possibly to Sapa and Halong Bay. I will see them again in Hoi An in a few weeks and Sally and I will fly back to North America together on May 1. Time is just flying by! 
Last Saturday, we all went to the Mai Tam Center, an orphanage where I have been volunteering for a few weeks. Mai Tam was set up to help kids with HIV-AIDS, some of whom are orphaned and who (might) suffer discrimination because of their own positive HIV status. 
Father Toai, who started Mai Tam, has worked really hard to create a place where people living with HIV-AIDS can live with dignity. One residence has a focus on independent living and there is a small workshop where residents sew articles to sell. Another house is a hospice, where people can live out their last days. And the house that I go to is an orphanage with about 40 kids and 4 mothers plus a wonderful woman, Le Thu, who runs the place. Many of the children at Mai Tam are orphans, but some of the kids are brought to Mai Tam if their parents cannot afford to keep them or if their parents are ill. Some of the kids at the orphanage have HIV-AIDS but not all. It is quite the place and I usually help out with the infants and toddlers from 8-12:30 or so. It is pretty exhausting, but the kids are very cute. 
Last Sunday, Sally and Patricia kindly supported me while I gave a presentation on Canada to an English Speaking Club at the Labour Palace. I had met Anh Tuan, a professor at the University of Pedagogy, while I was in Cambodia and he asked me if I would talk about Canada and, of course, I agreed, without thinking of dates and times ... but now it is over. It was not all that great, but we all survived. I taught the participants “Land of the Silver Birch” and they seemed to like it a lot. My biggest faux pas was stating that the Canadian dollar was worth 19 VND instead of 19,000. There is a very good reason why I do not teach math ... oy.
Last Saturday, we all went to the Mai Tam Center, an orphanage where I have been volunteering for a few weeks. Mai Tam was set up to help kids with HIV-AIDS, some of whom are orphaned and who (might) suffer discrimination because of their own positive HIV status. Father Toai, who started Mai Tam, has worked really hard to create a place where people living with HIV-AIDS can live with dignity. One residence has a focus on independent living and there is a small workshop where residents sew articles to sell. Another house is a hospice, where people can live out their last days. And the house that I go to is an orphanage with about 40 kids and 4 mothers plus a wonderful woman, Le Thu, who runs the place. Many of the children at Mai Tam are orphans, but some of the kids are brought to Mai Tam if their parents cannot afford to keep them or if their parents are ill. Some of the kids at the orphanage have HIV-AIDS but not all. It is quite the place and I usually help out with the infants and toddlers from 8-12:30 or so. It is pretty exhausting, but the kids are very cute. Last Sunday, Sally and Patricia kindly supported me while I gave a presentation on Canada to an English Speaking Club at the Labour Palace. I had met Anh Tuan, a professor at the University of Pedagogy, while I was in Cambodia and he asked me if I would talk about Canada and, of course, I agreed, without thinking of dates and times ... but now it is over. It was not all that great, but we all survived. I taught the participants “Land of the Silver Birch” and they seemed to like it a lot. My biggest faux pas was stating that the Canadian dollar was worth 19 VND instead of 19,000. There is a very good reason why I do not teach math ... oy. 
I had a nice visit with Kim Linh and her husband, Tinh, and their kids Phuc, and Quyen on Easter Sunday. They were the folks I went to Dalat with and it was so nice to see them again ... the children have really grown since January. 
The start of the work week brought a new project ... some curriculum work. I am not teaching this month as I have been released for a project. Had a conference call with some of the curriculum developers in Melbourne today ... don’t think they need me to go to Australia for f2f meetings ... what a pity. I could certainly make myself available.
Went to a gorgeous Chinese restaurant last night with some colleagues and helped with a debate preparation workshop today ... so tired now! It really has been a busy time and filled with hard work and fun activities. I hope you all are well and happy and engaged in what you are doing. If you are experiencing spring, glorious spring, I hope you are relishing every moment of it. Cait posted pics of daffs, crocuses and tulips on flickr and they looked so great ... I hope a few tulips will still be blooming by the time I get home. These dyed red pussy willows will be my Spring fix in the meantime! 
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