Well, this week was comprised of a couple of big "firsts"! The week started off bright and early Monday morning with a text message from Mr. Hai "We will not have class because of the storm that is coming" is how it read. I thought this strange as we have gone to school in some pretty crazy weather in the 3 months that I have been here. Pretty soon though, we got word that this was no ordinary storm but rather, a typhoon!
So, not really knowing what to expect, we made sure that we had enough food and stayed home as the winds began to pick up more and more outside. We were content enough, we hung out, watched movies and cooked dinner. We received different reports-"the typhoon is going to hit at midnight", "its going to hit at 6 am on Tuesday", "its going to hit at 1pm on Tuesday"-regardless of when exactly it hit, we spent 48 hours inside while rain and winds (upwards of 90mph) wreaked havoc all over the city. All in all, our house faired well-our roof managed to stay on, the power was only off for about 36 hours and water leaks were the extent of the damage. Not everyone in the city was so lucky. The streets were strewn with debris from trees and buildings. Many people's homes and businesses suffered significant damages. If you pray-I would ask that you pray for those who are having to pick up the pieces from the typhoon. In addition, there are reports of another typhoon on its way-please pray that the city would be protected.
In a daze, we went back to school on Thursday. It seemed like such a weird transition-to be cooped up at home for days praying that our house would stand-to being back at work- preparing to teach. The TAs didn't seem shaken by the typhoon-although they admitted that the one we had just experienced ("Typhoon Ketsana") was a lot stronger than average-storms like that are just a part of life in Vietnam.
The Typhoon messed with our class schedule-thus I was supposed to have a parent meeting on Tuesday evening-but it got bumped to Thursday. Parent meetings occur at the end of a course (every 10 weeks or every 14 weeks, depending on the curriculum). The meetings are a time for the teacher to basically show off what the kids know-demonstrate to the parents all that their children have been learning. I was quite nervous as it was my first parent meeting-as well as my kids' first parent meeting (the parent meeting was for my youngest class that I have written about before). With a full house- the kids demonstrated very well all that they have been learning. They were all so cute and their parents were all very happy. Phew!
There is just such a different rhythm to life here. I feel really strange posting a blog that talks both of a storm that was devastating for some...and....a parent meeting. But, thats honestly what my week was...held up at home for days and then on the flip of a dime, in performance mode....such extremes! It is such a foreign contrast to me. But the people of this county have seemed to learn, that that is just the way life works here. Life must go on-you pick up the pieces and you keep going. I am inspired by their resilience.
Grace and peace and the third way,
Kait
