suddenly i have a very full schedule..

So apparently there are a lot more people then I thought reading my blog. I thought it would be my parents and a few close friends, but it seems to have spread quickly! Thanks for your support, it's really great to be hearing from more friends and family then ever! I'll try to write more important things now that I know it's actually being read!

We went out this weekend which was a lot of fun. Sang karaoke, which is very different in Asia. All of your friends sit in one room and you pass the mic around while sitting. The Vietnamese we were with (including you An!) were really good singers, they take it seriously, which is way different then going to Our House at 1am on a Tuesday night. But it was fun! Then we went out dancing, which is a good time wherever I am. The gates to my campus close at 11, so you either have to come home then or wait til they open at 430am, which is what everyone does apparently. I didn't quite make it, I fell asleep in An's motorbike on the way home, and outside while we were waiting for the gates to open. Thankfully An and Chris are great at taking care of me. haha. Also, Chris made pizza the other night! It was delicious and very filling, exactly what I needed. 

I finally took pictures of the monkey, and found another one! So they should be up next time. He is really really old, and looks really sad. But the other one I found, although in a cage, seemed a lot livelier. An told me about a beach I can go to where Monkey's just roam free. I can't wait! 

I'm going to start teaching at the second school this week. I'm usually going to be teaching three to four classes there, along with my three university classes. And next month I teach another three at the university...I think one week I will be teaching 11 or 12 classes. It sounds a little overwhelming, but that's what I'm here to do, right? And the second school pays pretty well so it will be nice to have some extra cash. It is proving to be really difficult to create a whole class. And I have to create many. A just finished my syllabus and I'm looking forward to it, but I still have to figure out lesson plans for each class. I need more activity and group based work, so I'll have to do a lot of online research and try to come up with something. By next week I'll be able to tell you how my classes are going! 

I've also started taking a class. One of the English teachers told me she was teaching American Literature, and it sounded really interesting, so I asked if I could join the class. I'm taking it upon myself to learn as much as possible, about everything. These are books that I should know about but never read when I was in school. Or only read the spark notes haha. So far I've studied Uncle Tom's Cabin, and read the Narrative of Fredrick Douglass, which was really interesting and I recommend it. This week we are watching Gone with the Wind, and next week we are having a big discussion about all three and how they each treated slavery in a different light. These are things I should know about, so I'm glad I'm finally taking it upon myself to study certain things. I've also been reading a lot. There's a nice collection of books in the row of foreign houses I live at. The last two I didn't really like, but I will let you know when I find a great one. I also started reading more of Paulo Coelho on his online blog. He's really interesting. I think there could be a whole class on him.

I'm about to start taking a Vietnamese Language course as well. And I've officially met about ten German people. I swear I hear more German then Vietnamese. And I'm also teaching people a little bit of Spanish. It is so much fun to be with people who are so open to learning so many different things, and I'm just taking it all in. The other teachers accused me of being quiet, which isn't a first, but I don't think I'm "shy" as much as I just enjoy listening to other people's thoughts, ideas, and opinions. I've been a part of some great discussions about culture and things like naming your children in Germany and in Vietnam, and also birthdays. I think in Vietnam I'm 24. Is that right An? Also, I'm convinced An knows everything. She is the best person to know and she has already helped me SO much. So thank you! :-)

Good news, I also found a place where I can do yoga on the weekends (my only free time) For about $3-4 american dollars a month. How great is that! And there are apparently other foreigners in this class already, so I'm going to start on Saturday! Very excited.

One thing that has been bothering me is that no one knows what baseball is. I've taken it upon myself to teach everyone. I tried with An and well... we ended up playing badminton instead. Maybe it will be easier with enough people to make two teams haha. Thankfully I have Jake to give me the play by play for the red sox games. I currently don't have a TV, but even if I did, ESPN covers completely different things. Have you ever watched Australian football? I LOVE it. Well I have to go, but I look forward to ALL of my e-mails, you are all really amazing.

A new favorite quote, from Paulo Coelho.

"It is necessary to run risks. We only properly understand the miracle of life when we allow the unexpected to happen."