Teachers get their Hue
National Teachers’ Day in Vietnam is a big deal. Temporary florists flood the streets and local students take the opportunity to show their appreciation for their much valued teachers by buying them flowers. Vietnam Orange students showed their gratitude in a similar Hue by buying hand-crafted cards and writing heartfelt thank you messages on them. The students were definitely not prompted by our considerate guide, Suny… but seriously, the three of us were so touched by the messages and we feel very lucky to have such a grateful and united group to travel with.
This group of students have embraced every aspect of the Big Experience so far and the student-teacher relationships have flourished in this environment. Conversations have been in-depth and stimulating and the students are keen to fire out questions to broaden their understanding of the similarites and differences between Australia and Vietnam. We have learnt a lot about each other through activities such as brick lines, card games, charades, joke telling, singing on the bus, puns, and meals. These good times will come to end soon but the memories will stay with us for ever. As teachers, we are fortunate to travel with such a kind, respectable, interested, and considerate group of Year 9s and they are representing their families and the St Leonard’s community beautifully.
Today involved a cyclo ride from our hotel to the old Imperial Palace. Hue was the centre of the Ngyuen Dynasty from 1803-1945. A lot of the old buildings had unfortunately been destroyed during the American War but the ones that were left, including the 10km wall, the main gates, and the concubine houses provided a sense of what life was like during the feudal system days.
The second activity for the day was a river cruise to a buddhist pagoda where a small group of monks still live. This pagoda is famous for being the home of a particular monk who, in 1963, set himself alight as a protest against the persecution of buddhist monks. Buddhism is now an accepted religion among Vietnamese and there are many pagodas spread throughout the country.
We dined like royality tonight, at a themed restaurant where King Aaron and Queen Imogen ruled over the rest of us. The 9 course meal was accompanied by traditional live music and some interesting garnishes. It was difficult to maintain 19th century conversation so we reverted to our usual Hues and joked about our day.
Mr Hyde, Mr Hill, Miss Southey