24-Apr-2018 Jon Howard left the internship. Its a regrettable but understandable decision. If I was in a box of a room for over 2/3rds of the program I would want to leave too. I just wonder why he didn’t leave sooner with all the unfortunate problems building up. At least he will return home andContinue reading “From the book: Planning Saigon”
Tag Archives: TEFL
Jon’s going away party
The previous post on this was very brief and honestly an incomplete write up in my book. It surprised me that I never wrote a full extract based on Jon’s health throughout the internship and I feel this would be a better way to write about it. Jon was one of the first people IContinue reading “Jon’s going away party”
From the book: April decisions
15-Apr-2018 Its been an uneventful yet thought provoking week. I was called into the BME office to discuss a contract extension. They want a decision by Monday. Whether they get a yes or no from me depends on where I will travel next: Thailand, Hong Kong or Hanoi. All 3 have merit: Hong Kong hasContinue reading “From the book: April decisions”
5 a side football in Hanoi
February to May, 2018 Cards on the table, I am not a particularly fit person. Its strange that someone who cycled 150km and swam 1500 metres a week would say that, but I definitely do not fit the mold of a ripped lad with a 6 pack and who goes to the gym 5 timesContinue reading “5 a side football in Hanoi”
The buildup to Tết
03-Feb-2018 It feels like a classic case of ‘life is what happens inbetween’. A few weeks had passed from teaching Monday to Friday, having parties in Trung Hoa and visiting Ha Long bay. It was exciting to have had a big adventure, but Tết was on the horizon and approaching surprisingly fast. I had beenContinue reading “The buildup to Tết”
Ha Long Bay (Part 1)
“Its like something out of a James Bond movie“–My pharmacist in Killiney 2 weeks before my trip to Vietnam After a few weeks of classes in Hanoi, it didn’t take long before the group of teachers were thinking of weekend breaks away from Hanoi. It was fast becoming clear that the city had grey skiesContinue reading “Ha Long Bay (Part 1)”
End of week teaching in Kim Giang
The good news for you lot dreading another school review: This is the last core school I taught at in the week, and I taught here both on Thursday and Friday. The bad? I will do a quick rundown of the many cover schools I taught at as well! However, from this point on thereContinue reading “End of week teaching in Kim Giang”
Wednesday teaching in Cổ Nhuế
17-01-2018 I mentioned in the last post that Cổ Nhuế was great for banter and bad for everything else, but I was getting ahead of myself. Without a doubt it was the quintessential ‘schticks’ school for my internship; beyond the CT20 ringroad, painted yellow that was fading fast, quite a distance away from any highContinue reading “Wednesday teaching in Cổ Nhuế”
Wednesday teaching in Thanh Liệt
17-01-2018 Wednesday was very much a day of two halves. On one hand, I had Thanh Liệt, a school that was not all that modern and noisy as fuck but had a strong TA in the form of Hien. On the other, Co Nhue 2B, a school with great banter between myself, Niamh, Mia andContinue reading “Wednesday teaching in Thanh Liệt”
5 First places checked out in Trung Hoa
I may be writing about the first week of public school teaching in Hanoi, but I thought this deserved addressing before continuing with more articles on schools. The fact of the matter is that most of the internship’s down time during the day was spent chilling out in cafes, restaurants, or the famed Bia Hoi’sContinue reading “5 First places checked out in Trung Hoa”
Paul's TEFL Adventures 