English School

Monday Aug. 3rd Steve took my father and I to an English school where he teaches part-time.

As soon as we arrived we were greeted by dozens of smiling children and adults. "Hello! Hello! Hello!" many would ask, 'How are you,' and not wait for a reply.



Hear I am picking my nose for all to see. Actually I am sure that's not what I'm doing. I swear!

Standing next to me is the actual teacher, Ms. Phuong. Her English was excellent. The school loves to have foreigners visit so the students can improve their listening skills.

The students were so appreciative of my father and I visiting their class.

We were asked to come back on Aug 5th, this time with a different class. On Wed my class was smaller and older. Their english was better as was their listening skills.

The teacher, also named Phuong, but with a different series of accents - which essentially means its a completely different name, is 36 years old and has almost perfect english. His class was curious of my opinion of Vietnam culturally and politically.

The students wanted to know what I thought of Vietnamese traffic. Would I live in Vietnam? What type of direct communication existed in America, vs the round about indirect way the Vietnamese communicate. They were curious about everything - from how we celebrate birthdays to how different people from different cultures in America get along.

My dad and I had a blast. Friday Aug 7th we will be going back - maybe this time I'll get a picture of the entrance of the school so I can at least remember the name of the school.

The school is private. The headmaster of the school also has a tourism business. Cong is a gracious man with almost perfect english. Cong began learning English from the American soldiers who were taking a rest in Vung Tau during the 1960's.

Student come seeking better english skills and if they cannot afford the tuition it is waved - the school is subsidized by the headmasters tourism business. Children of all ages, 800 plus, learn english improving their marketability in the Vietnamese economy.