Happy Birthday Jessica

Yesterday I taught my third art class to students at the Anh Linh school. I'm glad I opted for an activity that didn't involve paint as I ended up with eighteen students (I think!), a bit of a step up from the eight I had on Friday. We made decorated name signs to be hung up on a door or wall. The students made their design on a piece of white paper using coloured pencils, and I helped them to stick the drawings onto coloured paper and attach a piece of ribbon. I encouraged the kids to think about the meaning of their name and incorporate this into their designs. I showed them an example- here's one I made earlier!- with my own name decorated with love hearts, as my name comes from the French word aimer, 'to love'. The results of this were quite interesting. Tuyết's name means 'snow', so I encouraged her to add snowflakes and snowmen to her sign.  Bảo, who is always very creative, experimented with flames and thunder bolts to represent his name, which means 'storm'. And Trang, another talented student, drew shiny gold bracelets to represent her name, which means jewellery. I have to say they all looked fantastic when they were completed, although the room was a mess with colourful shreds of paper everywhere by the end of the class. Luckily, several of the children will always stay behind to help tidy up. 

I am learning more about how to handle children as I complete more classes at the school. In some ways teaching children is similar to my old job, waitressing, I found myself thinking. You are kept busy all the time with lots of people simultaneously demanding things from you and always have to stay one step ahead, thinking of what will be coming up next. Yesterday the dear children were so keen to show me their work, again and again, that I essentially had to wade through them to get to my desk. But I think my efforts are paying off as the headteacher of the school, Ms Kim Ngoc, told me yesterday that she thinks the class is a great opportunity for the kids, and I can tell they enjoy themselves.

Getting down to work

Nhuy was the first to finish

Giang, who insisted I took her work as a 'souvenir'

As ever, Bảo's design was creative and original

Dương, still as cute as last time

Some of the class with their completed name signs

               Back, l-r: Giang, Trang, Tuyết. Front: Đạt

Yesterday also happened to be Jessica's birthday. I had planned to take her out for a meal to celebrate but she had other ideas- it is her custom to fast on her birthday to remember her mother's suffering through childbirth. We discussed different attitudes towards birthdays the other day, and as ever Jessica lamented the so-called 'Generation Y' that I apparently belong to, for being spoilt, glutinous, ungrateful, etc. In the end the two of us went to town and I enjoyed her birthday meal by myself while Jessica went to run errands. Later, we headed to the Snap Cafe in District 2, an interesting place that serves as a family-friendly cafe and restaurant, an information centre and open space, a part-time cinema and a full-time estate agents. We went there for a free screening of Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012, director: Benh Zeitlin), a very moving film about a bayou community in southern Louisiana, cut off by a levee and awaiting a big storm. The film centres on five year-old Hushpuppy and her father, who is critically ill, in their efforts to fight the oncoming storm and  keep their home. It was nominated for four academy awards including Best Actress for Quvenzhané Wallis, nine, who played the role of Hushpuppy.

This morning I woke up early and made use of the early start by going for a walk around the neighbourhood, something I can't do when becomes hotter during the day. I don't usually walk at this time and it gave me an opportunity to see new sides of the neighbourhood as people quietly set off for work and the bin-men, who I had never seen before, did their rounds, frequently crossing paths with me. It was a beautiful time of day and I know I will miss these walks when I am back home in grey Leeds. I sense that after I come home and settle back into normal life it will only be a matter of time before I find it hard to believe I ever spent nine months in Vietnam, so I will have to make the most of it while I can.

I have spent today writing another book review, of Mark Atwood Lawrence's second book on the Vietnam War, entitled The Vietnam War: A Concise International History, which was published in 2010. I completed this review in a record time of around two and a half hours. I hope that this is evidence of me valiantly overcoming temptation to procrastinate and not of a slip in standards. Please click here to read it.

After surprising myself by completing my scheduled work for the day early (this never happens), I am going to relax for a little while before cracking on with tomorrow's tasks. With such a punishing schedule as I have set for myself this month I don't want to miss an opportunity to get ahead. I'm looking forward to going to my Zumba class tonight and afterwards taking Jessica out for her birthday meal now that she has finished her fast.