Before coming to Vietnam, the company who I booked with sent me a load of information about things such as what to expect in my first few weeks, culture shock, Vietnamese tradition, etc. I distinctly remember reading that Vietnamese people, especially employers, are unlikely to tell you anything unless you ask.
They warned that if you don’t ask what the plan is for the next day or the next week, you may arrive at school to find it closed, or that some big event is taking place which no-one had told you about.
If you don’t check what time your classes are the next day, and in which room, you may arrive to find that either your class is not there, or that a completely different class has been sent for you.
If you don’t check when the Festivals and Special Events are, you may well arrive to a Ceremony in your usual outfit, while everyone else is in heels, dresses, and the traditional Au Dai Vietnamese clothing.
I remember reading this thinking that it had to be somewhat exaggerated, and that surely this was only in the worse schools, and that surely once the school knew you, they would keep you in the loop.
How wrong I was. All of the above things happened to me, more than once. You need to be able to work fast and think on your feet. More than once I was called up on stage at the last minute and had a microphone thrust into my hand, while the organiser of the event would whisper to me, “Now, you the MC!” I would then be left on an empty stage with a microphone in my hand, a large amount of eyes watching me, and a deathly silence…
Luckily for me, I’m a drama student (it really does help) and the Vietnamese seem to have a lot of respect for Foreign Teachers, so you really don’t have to say much to get an impressive reaction. Which is also kind of cringe.
It doesn’t stop there. I remember teaching for a whole week before anyone came in and observed me. The teacher sat at the back frowning, and then came over and said, “You did well but…” and gave me a long list of things which I needed to improve on. She told me really useful things like how I should give out stars for each team for good behaviour, and which page of the book we were on, and the children’s names, and some of their favourite games. WHY did I not get told all of this a week ago?!
This is Vietnam!
