Seasons and motion: Miscellaneous

English I: Who is a "normal" teacher?

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:44:08 GMT

I was asked to do a blog post on the university blog, so I thought I'd send you a link to it, and that little window into life.

Link to English I: Who is a "normal" teacher?

Sabbath week - R.I.P.

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 08:30:06 GMT

At least I can say I thought about a week of rest. After supervising the mid-terms for first-year students yesterday, and now grading those mid-terms, my intended Sabbath came to a close. Still, I realize the need to stop for once, and wonder how often that'll happen for me if I don't try to do it in the future. All the more I'm seeing how if I don't try, it won't occur. Not that everything rests in my hands, but I need to be intentional.

Rumors of routines

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 11:38:19 GMT

As it continues to rain outside, I'm getting towards the conclusion of my day in a week with something resembling a routine. This definitely hasn't been a normal go-about for routines, but it's been somewhat nice. I think the challenge for me came from not controlling what it'd look like, which a week of being sick has a keen way of pulling that off.

Even still, this is the type of thing I'd quietly waited and hoped would happen, and am glad to see some semblance of continuity in my days. There's a part of me that still feels as though I'm scrambling more than I have things together, but . . . a step at a time.

Now, the pursuit of personal diligence in my life.

Being all things to all people . . .

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 03:53:37 GMT

requires doubling your workload? At least, that's what it's feeling like at the moment. Over the past few days (as early as 10 minutes ago), I've been asked by different individuals to become involved in the following things:

work at a for-profit English language center near campus.
be on hold to teach an English class of first-year students for one of the teachers who will eventually give birth, study abroad, or get married.
teach the fast-track second-year English students.
outside of my normal schedule of 15-6 periods (beyond my present pay), teach a morning class of Pre-Intermediate level Chinese international students studying both Vietnamese and English at the university.

Now, the second option sounds the most reasonable given it's already in the core group that I'm intending to work with anyway. The third option is said to "have dibs," so to speak, on who teaches what. But, with the first and fourth, they're outside of my contract. The one is more of a business, and am not drawn to very much, but the fourth one is something which should be lumped within my present schedule . . . yet isn't.

Ugh, and I'm trying to sketch out my Writing lesson for the next week. Time to make some coffee . . .

Monkeys for neighbors

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 11:44:52 GMT

While being at my wonderland of temporary housing, the latest boost to my being initiated into this community is greeting my neighbors: monkeys. I'm sure it has it's perks. Let's just hope it doesn't include having complimentary fertilizer flung at me.

Until then, more waiting for an actual residence and teaching location in Viet Nam . . .

Travel travails and LA tales

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 15:10:21 GMT

Even though this particular entry may not be sent out till I don't know when, I figure it's still worth typing it up. First, things related to traveling to LA. I'm writing this as of the evening of Thursday, July 12th.

All in all, it wasn't altogether bad traveling by a Greyhound bus. Granted, it took two-and-a-half days, they overbooked the bus out of Dallas that bumped me from it, couldn't find my luggage for 24 hours once I arrived in LA, and couldn't identify where the last stop where my luggage was supposed to go to . . . but, yes, beyond those things, it was fine.

With my time in the Los Angeles area, Azusa specifically, I'd have to say it has been pretty nice. The weather is as they describe it, the public transportation system ain't bad (compared to what I've experienced overseas), and there's a lot of cultural diversity. I can understand the potential for a cultural explosion between people as the movie Crash had depicted so well. As I was trying desperately to find my luggage during the afternoon in downtown Los Angeles Saturday, walking to and from Union Station and 7th and Alameda (where the Greyhound bus station is), I definitely saw a lot of diversity shuffling among the tall buildings there.

For my Master's classes, the one I've had this week has been pretty good. Specifically called "Language and Culture Learning," it's definitely a lot to take in, going from 9 AM to 4 PM, Monday through Friday of this week, with an hour lunch from 12 to 1. It's been deeply relevant content, and I feel a lot of affirmation of this being the right direction for me to have gone in. I'm actually looking forward to the assignments I'll be doing throughout the next semester, as they'll all fit in nicely with where I'd like to go with my language studies.

Even though I don't know when this'll actually get sent out, I did want to write this out to you.

Youngin's

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 01:15:12 GMT

I'm in Ohio now, and I got back an hour ago from seeing family on my Mom's side of the family. It's always nice to be able to meet up with them, but it's also cute to be around my second cousins (I've never completely understood that term, "second cousin," but I figure it's "niece/nephew 2.0" and my being "uncle 2.0"). Their ages being 6/7, 5, and nearing 3. I've never really gotten to be around young children very much as I became slightly older, and have only really gotten initiated into this about four years ago. I'm wondering that part of it isn't simply being there, but then I bounce overseas for another nine months and am away until July visits. It's not a perfect schedule, yet it's what I have.

Then, I realize how friends of mine are also having youngin's of their own, and it's like "I'm dragging my heels!" Not that I'm in any way persuaded having a family is a race, but I do wonder where I fit in it all.

I'll try and post pictures when I get back to my computer, and before I bounce on a Greyhound bus to Azusa.

A smorgasbord of familiarity

Tue, 08 May 2007 05:45:47 GMT

I've been trying to get started two weeks of review (decided to end studies after two weeks instead of three), and it just isn't working. There's just so much accumulated notes and other stuff that I can make sense of where it all should go. Part of the problem is it all looks familiar, so I can't really tell what to choose, hence the subject. It's a little frustrating because I'd really like to make a landmark over what I'm finished with and prepare for adjustments come next year, but . . . I don't know how!

On top of that, and in other news, I just learned handwritten letters of mine to different folks in the US haven't been going through. That's a lot of focused time gone in a puff of smoke, especially since I want to communicate with folks in that way. Why? Honestly, I believe it's because the people at the post office here were insistent I didn't need a return address.

Grrrr . . .

Oooh, next year . . .

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 04:15:58 GMT

So, I've been talking with different, relevant folks about things as they might be happening as far as the next school year is concerned. I'd pretty much put Da Lat out of my mind because it didn't seem like there'd be a need there, and then just set aside thoughts to being in Ha Noi. I'd learned a little earlier this morning that both end up still being possibilities. While I heard about the university at Da Lat opening up a new International Studies program a few months back, I didn't get to thinking there'd still be some sort of need. Turns out there is, but as that all depends on a number of things: the biggest is if I'm supposed to go back (kind of put it out of my head for the lack of need, but also feeling bad in how I "left there"), if there's space for it with my organization's needing to place teachers at schools, or the details related to the options of my places of work anywhere next year.

I thought to help me would be something I'll share: compare, compare, compare. I had to make it small because of formatting issues.

                          Da Lat                         Ha Noi
Relationships         Several already             Very few known
Status w/ students     Mixed; some good, bad Still too unknown; not bad
Backgrounds            Most come from            Most come from the city
                                the countryside
School                     Worked with foreign     Same, but more access to
                               teachers for awhile         good materials
Renown                  Seen as decent, but           "The Harvard of Viet Nam"
                              not like HN or HCMC
Teaching area         International studies,         English as relates to business,
                              possibly still other English economics
Location                 Would need to box up       Also not new, and closer; 3
                            stuff, but not new locale     million people
Language               Would speak VNese a         Wouldn't need to as much
                              fair amount                        per students' level
Per interests            Far from the NW             Very close to the NW

With all that, even those things may not be much of a matter, but something for me to help get me thinking about stuff. I just needed to help sort stuff out. After this, I'm going to e-mail some folks in Da Lat for details about this department. If you can be keeping that in your thoughts, I'd appreciate it.

First of the Second (Lunar) Month

Mon, 19 Mar 2007 08:04:53 GMT

Since February 17th, the Lunar New Year, a month has apparently passed and it is now the first of the second lunar month. I really wouldn't have noticed this had it not been for the people burning things outside businesses and homes at different times. When a bus home passed by a pagoda, I wasn't surprised at the number of people selling and buying incense and paper representations of things to be burned at the pagoda. They're all burned in bundles, for the most part, and it appears to be a deal for the living. The other week, I'd bought some paper money just to have (and give later). I had to have bought around six or so bundles, all for about six thousand dong ($0.40). Considering some of it was copies of $100 bills, I sure hope the exchange rate is good for the dead. Then again, if that's the going rate, maybe they'd have other things to worry about once one dies. I wonder whether this is why good luck and prosperity is wished for people: they won't get it when dead.

In a way, true.

Back in neutral territory

Mon, 29 Jan 2007 07:17:11 GMT

The annual time in Thailand . . . it's alright, these conferences, though it's a bit of a random thing with my normal schedule. I'd typically let time in Thailand for our annual conference there be my time in "neutral territory," having no prior connections to people or places. So far, it's been that, but you get back in routines pretty quick. Add in the costs of being a visitor, and it gets a little old.

Unfortunately, though this is my third year of being in Chiang Mai for our conference here, I don't know that I understand Thai culture any more than in times past. I guess it's just a combination of my time here being largely business-related, and the cost of being a tourist in ignorance over language and time to learn better, keeps me that way.

In the meantime? I'll continue going to Internet cafes every-other-day, over Internet connections that are more than I'd like, going to restaurants paying more than usual, until I go up the hill to the Suan Bua and I'm back in the wonderland of my organization.

It's alright, so long as there's a point to it all, and an ending!

Pictures added!

Sat, 30 Dec 2006 14:22:10 GMT

Ah, the Internet is more of a friend this evening. As you can see, pictures! Many of them speak for themselves, as I didn't try and take pictures with the thinking, "Oh, don't that just look novel!" I really wanted to understand the things I saw, and will be using pictures like these to call my heart to reckon what I saw. So, enjoy a fragment of the whole!

Also, just been thinking about stuff with myself lately while in Da Lat, and not too, too busy. Realizing a tendency within myself to try to live to please others. Not saying the solution is "now life is all about me!" Rather, I work myself up with tension and expectations, ultimately being frustrated and "crashing" in certain ways. The thought there isn't a finished one, but I wanted to share it in its present form to be remembered. I'm tired of living life that way. I want it to be not about others, not about myself, but something else. Not in-between. Again, an unfinished thought.

I'll try and e-mail more of you, as its been the Christmas season, and a random schedule for me.