As with lead up to New Years day, I find myself reflecting on the past few months that swear to be 11 months and one week, even if I don’t fully agree that it could have been that long. Really now, my first few days in Vietnam still rest fresh in my memory, not even to mention the nerves of facing my first class.
In my reflection, however I am once again convinced that making this decision more than a year ago has been the best one of my life. I have enjoyed this year like no other, learned so much, not just about Grammar and pronunciation rules but also about myself.
Before my arrival, I didn’t know that I could teach never mind that I would actually love it as much as I do. I could go on and on about why I enjoy teaching and possibly write biographies about almost every class I have taught so far. I have a deep and sincere love for my students. I think back on how I was so absolutely convinced that I would never ever be able to drive a motorbike in Hanoi, resolved to travel by xe om forever. This also changed and I now take great pleasure driving almost anywhere on ‘my-little-pony’, can’t believe I almost missed out on this experience. Don't dare think your living the good Hanoi expat life without a Honda wave, it's a total must have! (yes you Dana!)
This year also brought about the birth of my imaginary friend ‘Gramaal’.(Gramaal= Grammar + Taal [taal the Afrikaans word for Grammar]) He has proven himself a rather useful person when planning for lessons and good company in my nerdiness. You see, as language is now an important part of my job I find myself thinking about it a lot and I honestly think it very interesting. I do however have two full languages here in my brain so comparisons tend to surface every now and then… I then get to explain all of this to Gramaal as he really cares about this too. Nice guy that Gramaal.
ME "Hey Gramaal, did you know that there is no word for 'julle' in English, odd hey?"
GRAMAAL "What about all'yall as the English version?"
ME "I don't think so"
GRAMAAL "Okay then, thanks for that"
So as I’m going home there are a few things for me to keep in mind for personal safety and sanity (and some amusement)
-Honking here (in SA) is not a friendly and necessary way to create awareness of your existence on the road.
-Restaurant staff will not respond to “Em oi!”… pity that... or will they??
-Minor things like red lights really do mean that you have to stop the vehicle. (Ooo this one is important)
-Lock doors… all doors always.
-Accept that your next cup of truly satisfying perfect coffee will only be once your back in Hanoi. (I’m ruined to any coffee that is not super strong, iced and served with condensed milk)
-Almost everybody can understand what you are saying… do that whole “think before you speak thing” again.
-Flaunt your tan, dark and lovely here in Africa!
-Wrong side of the road is now the right side of the road.
-Nobody will get your lame ‘grammar teacher jokes’… unless you tell Gramaal or write it down to share with Ben later.
-There is nothing funny or exotic about your accent here. The way you say ‘yes’ is not that entertaining. (Tell that to Celine). You are also able to refer to ‘robots’ again without judgment.
-Bargaining... uhm, no.
*** So a few days later and I’m back in Johannesburg, was a safe and pleasant trip. I’m looking forward to my Africa refill, will be sure to update again soon.
