30 Mar 2014

Sunday, March 23, 2014

My morning started off just like any typical Sunday, teaching at my language school.  I was mostly conducting and evaluating oral/speaking exams for students though, since it’s the end of their term.

However... the afternoon arrived and something AMAZING happened – something that turned my day around.  While having a random French conversation with a Parisian-Vietnamese man over a lunch of com tam (rice dishes) at one of my favourite local vendors, I received some sudden, exciting news...

I found out that I was accepted into U of T!!  They must have thought I was a little crazy in the com tam restaurant – I jumped up and I couldn’t stop grinning.  I was itching to share the news with anyone who would listen, even a Vietnamese stranger! And as I walked home, I  felt a few refreshing raindrops that lasted for several minutes – the first refreshing rain I’ve ever seen since moving to hot Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam!

I was accepted into 2 Masters of Education programs at U of T! I ended up choosing the collaborative program: Comparative, International and Development Education (CIDE) + Curriculum Studies and Teacher Development. 

With a contagious vigour (my student seemed to feed off my enthusiasm and happiness!), I taught a 2 hour private lesson in the afternoon. – we went to “The Refinery”, which is a fancy French restaurant and Cafe in the ritzy area of district 1, close to the Opera House.  I tried a passion fruit, mango and lime smoothie.

To celebrate in the evening, Patrick and I went to Bobby Brewers on Bui Vien Street, D1 for dinner and a movie.  At Bobby Brewers, you can watch a movie for free if you order anything, be it a beer or drink or a full meal.  They have comfortable couches for sitting on while watching and despite being a small portion of food (I got a celebratory beer and a thin steak with fries and steamed veggies), it was pretty tasty.   The 8:30pm show was Evil Dead.  If you like gore, cheesy witchcraft and need your bi-annual, monthly (or however often you feel the need to watch them) horror fix, then check it out! 


Anyway, here is a non-traditional com tam meal from NowZone for my dish of the day: Beef with gravy sauce and garnished with cilantro, bean sprouts on fried rice, topped with a fried egg; and potato wedge fries on the side with a dipping sauce of the typical soy sauce+chili mixture.  Protein fix, indeed!



No comments:

Post a Comment