My conversation in French with a Vietnamese dandy

A few days ago I was eating dinner in a small Vietnamese place. Of course I was the only blonde on the street. As I was enjoying my food, an elderly Vietnamese gentleman came up and asked me in French if I spoke French.

He was tall and thin, probably in his seventies, smoking a cigarette on a slender black cigarette holder. His outfit made me smile: a skin-tight white leather Dolce & Gabbana suit with shiny silver D&G buttons. Very ostentatious. And not what you'd expect from a man his age.

We then proceeded to carry on a conversation in French. Now, my French is pretty basic, but it's a hell of a lot better than anything I can say in Vietnamese! I could answer his questions about where I'm from, what I'm doing here, what I think of Hanoi. It was really great to be able to connect with an older Vietnamese in a common language, as not many older people speak English.

I just wish I'd had my camera with him to take a photo as he was such a sight to see!

Little moments like this are why I'm here.

I'm here!

Well, I arrived in Hanoi yesterday.

It's a year since I was last here and not much has changed. There are still millions of motorbikes, probably less bicycles and more cars than last year. The lakes are beautiful and so far the weather is quite mild.

My friend Yung, who was born in Vietnam, arranged for me to meet her cousin, Luong, who took me out for some beers and Vietnamese food last night. It was great to meet some locals, particularly since I was feeling a bit jet lagged and homesick having just arrived!

I will be visiting my new school this afternoon to observe some lessons and find my way around.

Meanwhile, I need to get a mobile phone and an apartment organised...

Nearly out of Oz

Well it's been an exhausting couple of weeks, but today I finally moved out of my apartment in Sydney. I still can't believe how much stuff I have accumulated in less than two years. While moving is always stressful, I am starting to think it is actually good to do it every couple of years because it makes you really think about what it is you really need to live.

It is now only three days until I leave Australia. I am getting really, really nervous now! Time to plunge in and see what the next stage of the journey will bring.

In the photo is my class at ACE Bondi, back row l-r: Joao, Ludovic, Max, Fernanda, Stephanie, Jeong. Front row: Pauline, Isabelle, me, Jesus.

Job accepted!

With some trepidation, I've taken the first step on my adventure to teach English in Vietnam.

After finishing my CELTA (Cambridge Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) in October, I have been teaching at the Australian College of English Bondi since early November. I have a fantastic class of young European and South American students who are keen and energetic. I'm really glad I've had the chance to get some experience here in Sydney before I head off to Vietnam, as I think the culture shock combined with the stress of a total career change would be overwhelming.

I have accepted a position with ILA Hanoi, and I will be arriving on 15 December. That's three weeks left to pack up my life! Eek! I have a nine-month contract, taking me up to August 2009.

The school will be putting me up for the first week, and after that I will need to find my own accommodation. Hopefully I'll be able to move in with some other teachers...