Metamorphosis – from tourist to teacher? Arriving at Vung Tau University

Well, I’m here now, committed and no going back.  I think I’ve experienced the whole spectrum of human emotions today: fear; joy; curiosity; apprehension; enthusiasm; exhaustion blah de blah.  The career break adventure has definitely kicked off!

My tour with Intrepid officially ended yesterday, after a morning at the Cu Chi Tunnels (well worth a visit), back in my hotel room I was packing and getting sorted for the journey to Vung Tau, when the phone rang.  It was my university contact, to tell me that someone would come and pick me up at 11.00 a.m. from my hotel – a bit later than originally agreed, but better for me, I’ve been longing for a lie in.  That meant I could say prolonged and fond farewells to my traveling companions and get myself sorted – including boring practicalities like topping up my phone.

In what follows, I’m not naming anyone in case that is inappropriate, so if some references get a bit convoluted that is why!  I would also point out, in the ‘boring practicalities’ section, if you yourself are heading to Vietnam and about to face a mass of introductions, take a pen and paper with you and write down names and pronunciation as best you can, I’m already at sea with unfamiliar sounding names and feeling at a distinct disadvantage in that respect.   I stick out like the proverbial sore thumb, but for me it is confusing to work out who is who and who does what.

Curiously, the person who phoned me asked if I had a lot of luggage – just a backpack I said (maybe I should have mentioned it’s largely full of rocks though – it certainly feels that way).  All was revealed this morning.   My contact arrived in the lobby with a smile and a handshake and explained we would be getting  a taxi to the bus station and then a public bus to Vung Tau.  Bizarrely I found the prospect of this really exciting.  Great as the tour has been, I have felt quite insulated from ‘real’ people.  It was immediately quite different traveling with a local, I felt much more invisible (in a good way) even though ironically I was very much more conspicuous as very soon I was obviously the only westerner everywhere I went.

The bus we took was ‘luxury’ but still only about 120,000 VD (if I heard right), air conditioned, you had a bottle of water and reclining seats though they were rather narrow.  I was a bit squished up to my escort.  We had a good conversation on the way – his English is excellent, and I learned a lot just on the 4 hour coach journey about Vietnamese culture.  My host gently encouraged me to whisper as the English language apparently sounds so alien in that environment it will give people a headache (oh dear, doesn’t bode well – but entirely logical given how jarring some accents can sound to me from an English speaking perspective I suppose it’s only logical it would be the same in reverse).  We paused en route and my escort bought some rose apples and mango slices in bags.  They each came with little sachet of chilli and salt that you dip the fruit into.  Quite nice, but a bit strange.  At Saigon coach station I was bought a coffee – I requested Vietnamese style but was advised to have it white on ice, which was delicious, my host felt their coffee would be too strong and bitter.  I haven’t found that to be honest, the coffee here is smooth and delicious, but maybe I’ve been served a tourists’ version to date? My host hopes to study a PG course in the UK next September – an exploration of women in leadership roles in educational settings in the UK and Vietnam.  Perhaps unexpectedly he has a particular interest in gender equality and that let to a really good discussion en route.

At the coach station in Vung Tau our taxi to the University was a small mini bus – it wasn’t far.  The university is by UK standards absolutely tiny.  Just 5,000 students, dropped from 7,000 last year for reasons I couldn’t grasp.  The building looked sort of shiny and new, but also had a sixties tower block feel.  My escort had explained that the classroom I have been allocated is just temporary because it will be quite noisy.  I couldn’t really understand what he meant until he took me up some echoey concrete stairs – a bit like a wide fire escape, and through a long bare classroom with lots of long wooden desks and a raised wooden platform at the end, and through a door with one of those roughened glass panels into my living area.  It is literally accessible through the classroom!  Not at all what I was expecting.  The room is spacious, though could do with a lick of paint and a deep clean to be honest. In the ‘OK’ rather than ‘very nice’ spectrum I’d say.  It is en suite, and has a fan and air conditioning.  I tried for internet access but it didn’t work – though it’s fine now, apparently it was an IT problem, they seem to be a common factor in universities both in the UK and Vietnam.

After a quick shower I went to find my host again in his office, he had said he would show me somewhere for a late lunch, but to be honest it was 3.00 p.m. and everywhere was shut and it was blisteringly hot.  Also, he was sat behind his computer and looked a bit stressed.  I said I was very happy to explore alone (it does feel safe here, and lots quieter than anywhere else I’ve been to date) if he provided a map.  He looked relieved and dug out a folded hand written map left by a previous volunteer from 2011!  That was really nice in fact, a cheery note from the Australian saying basically ‘go with the flow’ and some useful pointers (post office, vegetarian restaurant, laundry, supermarket) but adding the remark but ‘if I were you, I wouldn’t bother with the map, I’d just go and explore, half the fun is getting lost’ or words to that effect.

I went for a brief stroll, just up the road, and crossed nervously.  It was really hot, so I didn’t go far, but I found a friendly yoghurt and juice bar and got a really delicious mango shake for about 29,000 VD and sat in air conditioned comfort processing everything.  I then went back to my room for a bit, and ventured out again 5.00 ish as we hadn’t really made a plan  My host first gave me a list of emergency contact numbers – some of which he put straight into my phone, and then we had a lightening tour of people lots and lots of introductions.  Everyone seems to be incredibly friendly, though levels of English are extremely variable.  I met the rector, who poured me water and welcomed me most courteously, my host acting as an interpreter.  There was mention of maybe organising some Vietnames lessons for the international tutors, that would be great.  There will be colleagues from Korea, Japan and later on in the year some Fulbright scholars – that should be a hoot!  I was so glad to have seen some of Vietnam during Tet as it enabled me to trot out my ‘Chuc Mung Nam Moi’ and smile a lot, and say how beautiful the country is.  I’ve decided the best strategy is to be open and enthusiastic and positive (outwardly at least) whatever nerves I’m feeling I just keep saying, ‘thank you so much for having me here’ and ‘I want to help however I can’ and ‘please tell me if I am accidentally rude as the culture is unfamiliar to me’.  Of course I can’t read all situations yet, but this approach seems to be OK, I got warm responses.

I met the head of the library, the chief consultant (in what I don’t know) and finally was deposited in the Faculty of Foreign Languages where there were three women all clearly about to go home, but they trooped back into the office and sat me down to welcome me.  Here I picked up on a little friction – it seemed the head of the faculty had absolutely no idea I was coming, has not seen my CV etc and I think I may have witnessed a Vietnamese expression of frostiness – awkward.  However, fortunately they had excellent English and have worked for BP all over the world and studied in Australia.  This meant that once we got talking we seemed to establish a rapport and I genuinely feel excited at the prospect of working together .  Her background is HR and she said her approach is as facilitator, so we quickly talked about co-teaching and running workshops together for her more advanced students of English doing role play of job interviews UK style, and I could be guinea pig interviewer/ interviewee good and bad.  I think it would be a delight to work like that, and I feel relieved that these are activities I’d be really comfortable doing, plus she is keen to ensure I am integrated into the group, and arranged for me to commence my induction with a meeting on Friday (8.00 a.m. though – I need to get used to early starts!).

By now, it was getting dark, so I headed back to my room to get a torch.  The building does feel a bit creepy at the moment.  It’s pitch black – no idea where the light switches are.  It sort of reminds me of being in a deserted school late at night, echoey, dark and not my natural habitat.  It doesn’t feel unsafe, just really, really weird.  I also smacked my knee really hard on one of the tables in the dark.  Must take more care in future, don’t want a repeat of my Hastings trip where I broke my knee cap running into a brick wall (no really, but that’s another story)…

I didn’t fancy exploring Vung Tau in the dark, so I just went down the road 200 metres or so to the Vegetarian Restaurant.  Confusingly, the restaurant isn’t vegetarian, it just includes a vegetarian menu. A lovely woman (the proprietor) welcomed me in.  I was the only westerner and felt unsure about what to do.  Seeing my confusion she said ‘shall I tell you what I recommend?’ and I said ‘yes, bring me whatever is good’, and she did!  A large crispy pancake crammed with bean sprouts, mushrooms and maybe soya bean curd of some sort?  I have no idea.  Another waitress came over with a huge tray of leafy vegetables, some grated carrots and a pile of rice paper.  She poured oil and chilli sauce into a bowl and directed me to roll the veg in the papers and to dip in the oil.  Now I wasn’t 100% sure if I should be eating the salad, but I figure I’m going to have to eat something, and it looked delicious.  Also, I’d been given a bottle of green tea, which came with a half pint beer glass in which was a large cylinder of ice.  Safe or not safe?  Local people were eating here, and no-one drinks the water, local people buy bottled too.  I just thought ‘what the hell?’  the woman had been so nice and kind, and it looked great.  I need to work out one way or another what my limits are, and tomorrow I’m not working so it would be a ‘good’ day if I find I do get an upset stomach… so I tucked in, and watched the world go by.  Vietnamese music pumped out, local people came and went, and I felt really happy and settled, maybe this is going to be OK .  I certainly felt safe.  At the end the meal came to 28,000 VD that’s 84p for a complete meal.  Less than one UK pound.  I handed over 100.000 VD and was given change, when I tried to hand back a 2,000 VD tip the woman explained very politely that was very kind, but they wouldn’t accept, but that she hoped I would come back tomorrow!  Amazing, I don’t know how typical that is, whether it is a Buddhist place (there were lots of Buddhist type literature about) but it was really really nice, what a welcome to Vung Tau.

By now it was 7.00 p.m. and completely dark.  I was glad of my torch, entering the ”campus’ that seems too grand a word for the single building, I noticed the security guards at the gate – it can lock, I don’t know when the curfew is.

I decided to simply capture my thoughts and impressions for Day 1 in Vung Tau.  I’d say it is a positive start, I’m here, I’ve found somewhere to eat, I have my phone and emergency contacts, I have made friendly hellos, I’m going to be on a huge learning curve, but my main feeling is excitement rather than fear.  I don’t want to turn around and head for home, which I feared might be my immediate ‘fright and flight’ response, and my hosts have already said they’d like me to stay as long as possible – but they haven’t seen me interact with any students yet, so let’s wait and see…