Hello friends!
We have made it to Vietnam and have started teaching English!
We arrived in Ho Chi Minh city last Friday and spent a few days exploring the city, and teaching English. Sunday was my 25th birthday and I felt so special and loved by my teammates, friends/family from home, and strangers. We went to a market and shopped around for a bit, and I got some bubble tea, and then we taught English at a school. The lady who ran the classes found out it was my birthday and bought me a cake that said “Happy Birthday Malia” and then some of the students brought us a whole bunch of authentic Vietnamese food after class. We had a feast! I am continually amazed that the generosity that people give.
Then that night we hopped on a night bus and slept our way to Nha Trang. We have been here for about a week now and have been teaching English at a cafe near the university, as well as evening classes around the city. I have a new found love for teaching that I didn’t know I had before. I love taking people from one point to another and seeing thier face light up when they understand. It has also been so cool to actually start getting to know people through teaching English. Most of the students can write English very well, but they have a hard time speaking it so we have a lot of conversations and get to talk about our lives. Teaching is honestly an awesome way to get to know someone.
Today I got to hang out with a student from one of our evening classes and it was so much fun! She took me around the city and showed me a couple of popular spots and then some spots off the beaten path. There is both beauty and culture, as well as calm and peaceful places to visit in Nha Trang. I have found a friend! Even though we can’t communicate perfectly, we have still been able to figure out what the other is saying and have patience as we we’re trying to explain. You can communicate in so many different ways and not speaking the language (really anywhere this year) is just an opportunity to communicate our love and care for people in a different way. Our grandma for this month doesn’t speak any English whatsoever but she holds our hands, waves at us, and laughs at us everyday and that speaks a thousands words (she has the best laugh!).
This month is going to be challenging to be prioritizing well, but it has already proved to be worth it. My team is figuring out how to prioritize time as a team, time by ourselves, time with students, and time with G. What’s been great is that we’ve had to bring these things up and talk through them (one of the great things about living in community). We’re not perfect at it but we are working through it together and that’s the best thing we could do. I’m so thankful for my team – Team Hesed!!
Keep the faith,
Malia
