Examining in Can Tho, Vietnam

This weekend I've been sent to Can Tho, the biggest city in the Mekong Delta to do some examining.

This was a three day break from Friday to Sunday. Below are some pictures of the room where I spent a lot of time. 

Here are some other pictures from around the school. The university was quite nice and the students bowed to me when I walked past. 

Early morning walking in district 7, Ho Chi Minh City

I've been getting up nice and early in the morning and going walking around my area, which is relatively green in comparison with the rest of the city. Some of the areas are very peaceful and there are lots of older people enjoying the mornings by doing group exercise classes and meditation in the park near the river. I took this video this morning at about 06:30.

Last day working at RMIT Vietnam

This past Friday was my last day at RMIT after 6 years. I joined in 2013 after working at ILA for two years so the majority of my time in Vietnam has been spent working here. Fortunately, this last semester I've had two nice classes to finish my time at the University. Finishing my final contract coincided nicely with finishing my masters. 

Although the majority of the 6 years was enjoyable the company has changed a lot, particularly over the past 2 years, to the point that is wasn't the place I used to take pride in working for. It feels like the right time to leave and for the time being I will do more examining which I'm enjoying far more. I achieved a lot in six years. I was promoted after 2 years to a senior teacher, became the assessment coordinator, got a nice holiday to New Zealand and finished my DELTA and masters. 

I'm looking forward to the next step and taking some time to plan out what I want to do next. 

Examining in Vung Tau

This past weekend I was allocated a three day working examination visit to Vung Tau. I think this is the third (possibly fourth) time I've been here thus year. Below are some pictures of the room at the school where I spent a lot of the time as well as some pictures of the view from the room. 

Although a lot of time was spent examining I did get to relax and look around the town. I stayed in a different area to when I come as a tourist which was near the big Jesus statue. I went to visit him early on Sunday morning. I also got just after sunrise and had a walk about.

Although it was a working weekend it felt a bit like a holiday and was a nice break away from the city. 

Boxing Gym - Cocky Buffalo

I've recently started going to group boxing classes at a boxing gym called 'the cocky buffalo' near my house in district 7. Its really good and a very intense workout. Its a lot of boxing mixed with cardio. Its nice to do something very different from going to the gym and running which I've done in the past. Classes are an hour long are are run at different times throughout the day. Below are some pictures of the centre. They also do Brazilian jujitsu classes but I've not done those yet.

Masters in TESOL!! FINISHED!!!!

I'm please to report that after three years, I've finished my masters in TESOL (teaching English as a second language). 

This has taken a lot of my time and energy over the past three years and I'm really glad its over. Its been a good experience to go through the process of doing research and writing a dissertation. 

I get the results in about a months time. 

Idecaf, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

i went to do some examining in the city centre this past weekend. The city centre is usually busy, crowded and cramped. However, today I was at a place called Idecaf.

This is an old French education centre that was built and opened in the early 1960s when the French were in Vietnam. 

Its not the most attractive building but still quite interesting. When you get inside, it opens un with a large garden square. 

It was quite interesting to find this in the middle of the busy city centre. I image that years ago it was quite a large place and stuck out amongst the other buildings but now its dwafted by the surrounding buildings and quite well hidden.