I hung out with 6 of my old students from two years ago the other night, and that was one of the first things they all said. Now, I'll be honest, I've put on about 15 pounds since they last saw me. If I was a woman, they all could be forgiven for thinking that I was maybe a few months pregnant.
But most people back home wouldn't call me fat. No wait, let's back up. They wouldn't even think I'm fat (right?). And even if they did, there's no way they would say it to my face. Here in Vietnam, though, a place where "saving face" is important, they paradoxically (to me) have no trouble pointing such a thing out.
I had heard about this. I've heard others tell funny stories about it, so I was prepared. But I still cringed a little when I actually heard the words directed to me. On the plus side, they also said I looked more "manly" and later on they called me "well built".
TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) Certificate classes are going well, but time is tight. Most of teachers here taking classes took a little trip to Ha Long Bay this past weekend which was really nice. Stay tuned for more updates . . . eventually!!!
Oh, and if you haven't already joined my group on Phanfare, "Teaching Enlgish in SE Asia", this would be a good time to do so. I update that quite regularly, so it'll give you a better idea of what's going on with me.
