In sickness and in health

A lot has happened within the past twenty four hours. As if you couldn't gather that this was the case from the recent posts.

Two nights ago we had an american wedding during english club. I was the officient and was for whatever reason very funny. I know those wedding vowels almost verbatim, maybe that's why. The leader of the group was a university student who was very creative and had a great accent. It's evident that he will become a top teacher of English. The electricity went out on us once during the time. Which a student I asked said was common during the rainy season and the teacher says the government does and announces from time to time.

Later that night while I was asleep the other two teachers and our host went to the hospital. She encountered a bug bite just above her eye that made it swell greatly. I think the whole experience was kinda eye-opening. She went to the towns hospital at 3am and she had EKG, blood drawn, and met with an optometrist. She said that there was lots of blood on the floor, with people coming in constantly from motorbike accidents.  She was fine and the next day I got her some zyrtec. Her bill at the hospital was 34,000 dong or about a dollar fifty. Incredible!

On another note, yesterday was cool because my classes were very engaging. We find that the morning classes have more spunk and energy and laugh more than the evening classes. These are non-English majors and you'd think that they'd be relatively uninterested in English. But in fact, they love to learn about America and have been very engaged in the pronunciation lessons I do. I compare similar words using sentences, pictures and tongue twisters, which gets them speaking in class together in a way that doesn't put them on the spot. Try are passive and reticent to offer a question or an answer when asked for one. Teachers try to push it out of them, but they say that's just the way it's been here for a while. I think it's due to a more holistic cultural phenomenon than that.. Teachers are interesting too. Thy recognize somehow that their English and pronunciation is poor, however when complimented on it, they don't respond. It's almost a social experiment I do to compliment them on it. I cant decide if that's a cultural difference and they just ignore compliments or if they genuinely disagree with my assessment. I'll hope for the former but feel as though they act like the latter.

I have mating lizards in my bathroom at night. They are funky
geckos with big eyes that run around chirping at one another and pooping in my shower. I guess that's an okay place to poop, but I wish I didn't have to listen to their amphibian orgy music.

This morning on my jog, which I've decided dehydrates me, I heard that tv again. I decided it was too blaring for a tv and must be the radio. I'm correct! Not only is it the radio at 5am and 5pm in the rural parts of Vietnam, but it's big brother saying the same thing everyday. Apparently he's talking about  freedom. I am without facebook and netflix, though.. So much for asking those people to turn down their volume!