My last day at ILA Vietnam

So yesterday was my last day at ILA and I had to say 'goodbye' to all my classes and friends. I've met so many wonderful people and students here that it was had to do. 

My intermediate junior class

 I had a full day of lessons (8 hours of teaching) so was busy, however after doing this for two years its not stressful, just long. My three remaining classes were all junior classes ranging from 6 years old to 11 years old.

My beginner juniors class

I will really miss teaching children. At my new school there are only adults. The schedule will be different too. At ILA I work very long weekends and only two weekdays for two hours. RMIT will be Monday to Friday with weekends off work. So more like a normal job.

My beginners class

If anyone is reading this and thinking of teaching. I would highly recommend this place for a teacher starting out. Naturally you must like children but the opportunities for development are amazing, it's great fun and socially it's amazing too. 

I'll always remember my time at ILA. I know from my working life up until now that it is very difficult to find a job you love. I think this is the first job I can say without hesitation that I've thoroughly enjoyed.

Anyway, time to look forward to a week off before starting at my new school on 7th October - RMIT University.

Big Jesus Statue

A while back I put up some pictures about a big pink church near my house and mentioned that there was a big Jesus statue in its garden. I also said that I would get a picture of it sometime. Well here it is.

Big Jesus at the pink church

As you can see I was not lying, it is big. you can see Jesus holding out his hands and creating an almost perfect Y shape. When I took this photo there was a service going on in the church. It was very busy and they were all singing hymns in Vietnamese. I didn't go inside.

So, this weekend will be my last at ILA. I will have to say goodbye to my remaining classes and all my friends. I'll be so sad to leave.

Saying goodbye to my jumpstart class

Although I have one more weekend at ILA before having a week off and starting my new job at RMIT I sadly had to say goodbye to my jumpstart class yesterday.

 

My jumpstart class

 

I've been teaching them for 18 months from the very first level that the schools offers over four courses. In this time it's amazing how much English they have learnt and how much they have grown. They all started as 4 years old and are now 5 and 6.

 

A great class that I will miss - spot the twins!

 

I'm having to give the class up a week early as the course they are studying finishes so it's a good point for a new teacher to take over. For the last lesson we have an end of course party where the teacher buys lots of goodies for the kids and play games so it's good fun.

 

Showing off the cake

 

As I've had the class for so long and I'm leaving my teaching assistant, who I've worked with all this time, bought me a cake to say goodbye. We had some photos taken and all ate the cake. The cakes here in Vietnam are a bit different. They're very creamy and have strange things inside. This one had what I thought was nuts but it actually turned out to be sweetcorn. I was surprised that this actually worked quite well in a cake.

 

 

 

As you can see the kids are lovely and I will miss them. Next weekend I will say goodbye to all my other classes.

 

Two of my students who have been in my class since the beginning

 

The cake

 

 

New job - RMIT University, Vietnam

I am pleased to announce I have a new full time job! The job is at RMIT University in Ho Chi Minh City. I had an interview last week and it has been finalised today. 

I will be working at the most well known University in Ho Chi Minh City. It is an excellent job with a great package. The campus is fantastic and it's well known as one of the best place to work in Vietnam. I will be teaching adults only and I start on 7th October.

I've attached some pictures of the campus. It is in district 7 which is a bit of a drive from my current house. My contract expires at the end of the year so I will start looking for a place closer to RMIT University in the next month or so. 

I will be really sad to leave ILA. My last day is on 29th September. I've learnt so much there, met so many amazing people and thoroughly enjoyed the job. They gave me great opportunities and the chance to teach so many different classes however this is a fantastic job which and a perfect 'next step'.

The reunification palace gates, Ho Chi Minh City

I went to the reunification palace in Ho Chi Minh City a few days ago..... again. Its the fourth time I've been there now but for 30,000VND (just under 1 English pound), its a bargain so I'm not complaining.

The gates are something that always interest me because their story in the Vietnam war is really interesting. Below is a picture of them today.

The gates on Friday 13th September 2013

On 30th April 1975 tanks from the North Vietnamese bulldozed these gates when the North of Vietnam attacked the south in the 'fall of Saigon'. This ended the Vietnam war. The troops stormed the palace and arrested South Vietnam's president before raising their flag above the building. Below is the picture of this happening.

The gates on Wednesday 30th April 1975

It's quite amazing to think that it all happened here.

The great flood in ILA's teacher room - part 3

As I've told you before we get some pretty impressive rain storms here and at the moment rainy season is in full swing. As our school building is relatively new the dodgy built Vietnamese buildings have there weaknesses hopelessly exposed by these storms. Our school was no acceptation.

Like a shower in the room

This is the third time our teacher support centre (where we do all our planning) has flooded.

The first time was because when the building was built in dry season (when it never rains) it turns out they either forgot or didn't think the roof would need waterproofing - that was a special day. The second flood, a few days later, was because they didn't repair the roof properly the first time and now it turns out that the third flood, pictured above, was caused by a paper plate blocking the guttering (yep - a paper plate).

The paper plate must have been dropped by a youngling from the 14th floor restaurant and landed in the guttering causing this mess. It was a bit inconvenience to my day but pretty cool to watch whilst eating my lunch.

I've got some video footage below. sorry it's a bit dark but we had to turn the lights off just encase anyone got electrocuted.

Doughnut man.

Not much to report so will treat you to another picture I took around the city. I snapped this one today near Notre Dam cathedral. Its a local man selling doughnuts. What was interesting as you can see is that he was carrying them on his head. You can see him here effortlessly swaggering across the busy street. He even gave me a thumbs up after I took this photo shortly before trying to sell me a doughnut. He had a basket in his hand but I'm not sure what this was for.

Doughnut man - confidently crossing the road

Making clay pots with my class

Here are some pictures of my junior class at my school. I took these pictures after we had been making pots out of clay. The lesson was about describing a process and the book explained how a potter can make a pot with clay using the coiling method.

After I had taught the vocabulary and done some writing about the process we made these pots. The kids loved it.

I've only had this class for two weeks. They're a really nice group and pretty intelligent. They have all been given western names which they get to choose themselves.One kid is called Komodo after the dragon and another is called Ronaldo after the footballer. Below is a picture of me displaying the pots. Mine was pretty good but my teaching assistants was the best.

2 years teaching!!!!!!

Today is my two year anniversary as a teacher. It was two years ago that I went into the classroom for the first time after completing my CELTA. Its amazing how far I've come in this period. Planning is far easier and I've got so many more ideas than I did back then. In the two years I've been here I've taught children from 3 years old to 16 and adults from 17 to 65 (yes, my oldest student was 65). I've also taught IELTS classes that help teenagers get to study in  western higher education institutes and I've lectured e-commerce at a university.

My jumpstart class

It's been great fun and I've enjoyed every minute. The school I'm at has changed a lot. Most of the people I started with have left so most of the teachers currently at my school were not there when I joined. This means I'm one of the senior teachers! Two years is quite a good landmark. most of the teachers who do not want to do this permanently have usually gone home by two years so I'm in a position now where I will be seen as someone who is taking this seriously.

I'm not sure what will happen in the next 12 months. I'd love to teach in another country but at the same time love it here. I may also look at getting work at another school which only employ teachers with experience (this would mean more money). I also will look into studying for a DELTA. This is a Diploma in English Language Teaching which is another Cambridge qualification and the highest one you can bet in this field. Once Ive got this I could go into teacher training or management and a number of other things. 

The picture above is of my class. They are all 'jumpstarts' which means they're around 4 years old. I've been teaching them since March 2012 and still teach them now. They're lovely and a joy to teach. It's been great watching them grow in this time.