Four months in…

I have decided to write a post about my experience at the half way point. How many things have changed!

Driving

Nevertheless, it’s scary but I love it. Every time that I am away for the weekend, I miss my bike. And it always makes me happy to drive it again! I stick by that confidence is key when driving in Saigon, if you’ve made your move, finish it. But it’s important not to be too cocky. People still drive too fast and make tight corners, so we have to be alert at all times. It’s a funny one, driving in HCMC; I love it, but it terrifies me at times – even 4 months in!

Social Life

I still love Saigon. There are lots to do at the weekend and many western influenced activities, if that’s what you’re into. I’ve discovered that D2 in particular is like a western country in the heart of Vietnam. It’s strange and I don’t really like it. You’ll find on Facebook group, middle aged mums organising pottery or sewing classes, or people asking about where to send their western child to which international school. It’s not like being in Vietnam at all!

Personally, I like the best of both worlds. I can eat cheap Vietnamese food, go to places and be the only western person and interact with local yet I can take up bachata lessons in D1 and see a Spanish tutor in Thanh Binh. I can continue the hobbies I have at home and engross myself in Vietnamese culture at the same time.

Regardless, living in Tan Phu is a pain. In the beginning, I enjoyed the drive out to various events and classes. Now, I can’t be bothered with the traffic. I know rush hour lasts from 5-7 and it’s a nightmare getting anywhere; especially a 25-minute drive into D1. I’ve really lost motivation to go into the centre and that’s really affected my social life and my mood and mind set. Stay in Tan Phu and D12 for work gets extremely depressing after a while. Writing this post, I know that I need to start forcing myself back into a routine of going to classes, one to break up the week and two, to improve my lifestyle and mood. Life will be much more fun if I force myself to do these thing. I just wish the job wasn’t so tiring and that I didn’t live so far away.

Making excuses as to why Tan Phu was a good place to live

Live in D3, it’sprobably the best location to get the best of both modern and Vietnamese worlds.

Work

Maybe it’s the time of year, maybe it’s the comedown after the high of moving country, maybe it’s the job itself – work is hard.

Having discussed with other teachers here, we are all spent. The days are getting longer, hotter and less exciting.

Personally, I am just not motivated anymore. I used to get excited to go to work, and maybe even a bit nervous about what and how I was teaching. Nowadays, I’m not nervous about going to class, or worried about teaching the wrong thing. Now it’s much more casual; I know the students now, and I know that I can teach them what I want and how I want and no one will batter an eyelid. Despite the ease of the job now, it doesn’t excite me anymore – it’s normal life now.

I guess that can be the same for any job. But no, since September I have done many covers as a substitute teacher in various schools throughout Saigon, and I am not exaggerating when I say that my two schools are the worst. I have to teach in the heat with no air-con, with the windows open and fans blowing about hot air. The toilets are disgusting, filled with mosquitos, no lights and no toilet paper or soap. The school is dirty with no area for the staff to sleep or rest during the long lunch breaks. I have to drive 25 minutes to get to school and another 25 minutes in the opposite direction to get to the city centre – so my living area is not ideal either. And to top it off, my classes are no less than 50 students in each, making it harder to teach in a busier and louder environment. Class control and discipline is one of my main issues with teaching in VN.

At the beginning, I tried extremely hard to be positive and to welcome the challenge. Now that I’ve put up with it for 4 months, I’m beginning to resent the company for where they have placed me.

I have worked in schools 10 minutes away from the centre, with classes of under 30 students, in clean, air-conditioned schools where the toilets are pristine. It’s infuriating that other teachers have it a lot easier than I do.

I can’t help but think that if I lived closer to the centre and worked in a cleaner and less-stressful school, I’d be enjoying January a bit better. These days, I can’t wait for the TET holiday in February and April can’t come soon enough to see my contract end.

It’s a difficult one, I’m not unhappy but I’m not necessarily happy. Part of me wants to stick it out until the end as I do like my life, I’ve made friends, I like my flat and my bike - I just wish I was closer to the centre with a different school. Another part of me says “life is short’, leave if you’re not happy. But complications with work and housing contracts makes it difficult; part of me wishes I signed the 4 month contract instead.

In the end, my friends and I (who are all feeling the same) have decided to make the most of it. We need to force ourselves to be more social on weekdays to break up the week, despite our exhaustion. Weekends away will get us through the long weeks too. Before we know it, our two weeks off in February will fly in. Not to quote Hannah Montana, but life is what you make it. I know I will look back on this experience and be amazed at what I’ve done and achieved. I know I will miss driving about in the sun, chilling by the pool and weekends away every month. I just need to find ways to stay motivated and positive. January is like that for everyone, we just need to push through it.

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