1. I have started walking with an umbrella in the sunshine. Yes, this is the culturally appropriate way to protect my skin from the sun and my body from the heat, which is excruciating.
2. Cockroach season has arrived. So far, we've only killed two. Eponine my cat assists in the killing. She chases the geckos and cockroaches just as you would expect her to chase mice. She goes crazy.
3. This weekend we celebrate Saigon Independence Day - ie, the day when Vietnam was "freed" from the nasty American colonialists. We have no school on Friday or Monday. On Friday, I'm traveling 400 km (round trip_ to see a famous cave with class 42a2. On Saturday, I'm traveling 50 km into the countryside with three students to visit one of their hometowns for the weekend. I'll write more about that next week.
4. I've taken up watercolors. I bought a book of Chinese paintings as well as an instructional book with some kind of paint-by-number examples. This hobby likely won't last more than two weeks, but I'm very into it now.
5. My one-room apartment has a tile floor. The tiles are mustard, green, maroon, and white colored. The walls of my room are pale yellow with a red stripe. My bedspread is blue. Things hanging on the walls are: coral, retro green, yellow, light blue, navy, and red. This is beginning to drive me crazy. I'm on a mission to redecorate in a minimalist way (can I ever achieve minimalist when I begin with this tile?) using only black, dark red, and cream. We'll see how that goes.
6. I bought the first season of Alias on DVD (six discs), but alas, of the four I've tried so far, only the first works. The others all let me see the first half, and then they cut off. Jenifer Garner will always remind me of Caroline Sasser.
7. I have two new sisters. They were born last week and they are filled with joy.
8. My time here is short. 5.5 weeks to go. What to teach in such brief time?