Things seem to be settling down into a rhythm

I apologize for not writing any blogs for awhile. I'm now working 6 days a week, and I've been spending a lot more time with Lan, so I've been pretty busy. Lan is watching a Vietnamese tv series right now in my room, it's actually Chinese I think, with Vietnamese dubbed in. Many of the shows they like here are from somewhere else, usually China or Thailand, or Singapore. Vietnam doesn't have much of a film industry. Most of the Vietnamese shows that I've seen Lan watching are look llike they are super low budget, and the acting looks horrible. Course I can't speak the language, so I could be totally wrong, but it's pretty easy to tell the difference between one of these Vietnamese shows and an American show like 'Lost', and these show are definitely not Lost.

It's funny, because a lot of these shows that Lan watches shows that look like a porno without the porn, just the first 30 seconds only for 30 minutes (not that I know what a porno would look like, I'm just guessing). Just a lot of people having conversations that look like they could get real interesting real fast and yet end up going no where. I keep trying to see if there is anything that actually happens in the shows, and I can't for the life of me see that anything is happening. Most of the women are rather scantily clad too, at least in this one show that Lan likes, and they always seem to be getting in situations with these guys, but nothing every seems to happen. Not being able to speak the language really changes your perception of tv. I can only imagine how banal and idiotic American tv must be with all the reality shows, of course it's probably less banal and idiotic without understanding what's being said, but when you have no cultural or social context with which to reference what you are seeing, then nothing really makes any sense.

Lan and I are doing well. We're starting to get into a routine, and Lan is spending more time with me. There is still not a lot of scintillating conversation taking place between us, but we are beginning to build an understanding between us. Everyday we learn how to talk to each other a little bit more, and Lan has been doing a good job of studying english with me every day. Lan's nephew, Sumo, has taken it upon himself to teach me Vietnamese, so whenever he's around he'll go around the house pointing to things and repeating them over and over in Vietnamese, and then laughing hysterically when I try to repeat the words as well. He's 4, so language is kind of a new thing for him too. Actually I've picked up a few words having Sumo as a teacher. I don't always know exactly what the word is refering too, but at least I'm starting to gain a little vocabulary. Actually all of Lan's family is pretty good about helping me learn Vietnamese, I think they all want to get to a point where I can at least talk to them a little. I want to look into maybe taking classes somewhere, there has to be Vietnamese classes being taught somewhere in this city. Right now being able to speak to Lan trumps everything else in my life. We have no chance of making this relationship last if we can't figure out a way to talk to each other.

It's getting better slowly, but surely, and my job is really good. I like all the classes I teach. My toughest days are Saturday and Sunday, because I have to get up so early and I'm teaching young kids 8-10 on Saturdays and pre-teens 11-12 on Sunday. I get up at 5:45 am on both days so that I can get to work on time, but the flip side of that is I am finshed teaching by 11:45 am, and I have the rest of the day to relax. The rest of the week, friday is my day off, I teach nights, and it's only for a few hours. I teach adults at night, and they are easy to teach. Teaching Enlish as a foriegn language is actually quite fun. It can also be a little frustrating, especially when your students are beginners. I have to be very patient with Lan right now, because she really doesn't know very much, and I have to repeat many things with her. All my adult students at school are intermediate so they understand most of what I say, and they can converse pretty easily in English. I keep telling myself that Lan will be there someday, and I just have to keep teaching her. I think she will be there by the time we leave to come to America, or at least that is my goal.