Began the day as usual with communal breakfast and team meeting. Off to school for a long day. My first class was with Ms. Mai and her 6th graders. I have seen this class at least twice before so they know me now. I decided to ask Ms. Mai to write some exercises on the board while I played Simon Says with them. They were quite involved today.
After this class, our team took a field trip to Mr. Hoa's farm. We went in the school bus with Mr. Hoa and Mr. Quy. It took about one hour or more to get there. Along the way I saw many people selling their corn on the highway. Part of the way we were on National Highway 2 with a beautifully landscaped median.
Mr. Hoa's farm is 6 hectares(14 acres) in size and populated with many mango and dragon fruit trees. Mr. Hoa also has chickens and geese who greeted us with enthusiasm. The house on the farm is very nice and traditional with mostly open space, bathroom, and bedroom. The other main building is a large wooden building with high ceilings and a cement floor. Mr. Hoa intends to bring students from the school to his farm and teach them some camping skills and life skills. I would be really interested in knowing how the students handle this new school project.
Mr. Hoa wanted to show us the farm so we "trekked" along the perimeter of the property. Some to the terrain presented minor obstacles but with help, we all managed quite well. On the upper side of Mr. Hoa's property, you have a nice panoramic view of the area.
Back at the house, we were treated to some good food which was chicken, fish, and vegetables. I worried a little about the chicken because is was pink. Time will tell.
After dinner, we all napped. I knew there were not enough beds in the house for all of us so Mr. Hoa took all the woman inside the house. Next he brought out a pillow and directed me to the large wooden building where we had eaten lunch. Inside the building they took the doors off the hinges and put them on stools, put the pillow on the door, now making it my bed. One door would have been sufficient but they thought maybe I would roll off with only one door, I guess.. I did sleep some.
One of things that I noticed was the relationship Mr. Hoa had with workers at his farm. He was very cordial and friendly to them, and they were very relaxed with him, smiling a lot and eager to engage in conversation with all of us .
In the evening we spent an hour in rush hour traffic to have dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Hoa, Mr. Quy, and two of the English teachers. Ms. Mai took us to Mr. Hoa's house but she wasn't sure where he lived, so a neighbor actually had to help us find it. Inside, we sat upstairs and had tea, then took a tour of part of the house. It is a very nice home but you would never know it walking down the alley to get there.
The food at the restaurant was very good and lots of it. Fish, shrimp, beef, beans, soup and spring rolls, all served on a lazy susan. It was the end of a long day but enjoyable. We were sorry that Frankie developed an allergy and couldn't attend the dinner hosted by the school. I hope she feels better tomorrow...
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