Flat Tire

They say you should put all your eggs in one basket. Well, screw whoever "they" are. Although, "they" are right, dangit. I did. And now chest feels like some elephants trampled on it.

So I'm not getting my dream job. I'll put on my big girl pants and deal with it of course. I've no choice. But dang...I really wanted that job!

I'm feeling a bit lost. I was really convinced that God was really lining things up for this to happen. I know there's a reason behind the closed door, but now I'm just not sure what my goal was. Before I was working towards a goal...now I'm just sort of treading water.

I'd appreciate some job recommendations. I'm great at typing and Microsoft Word. I have a car and I'm willing to relocate. I'm super friendly, organized, punctual, reliable, and great at multi tasking. Thanks for helping in advance.

I also make some pretty awesome ColdStone Creamery Birthday Cakes...that's always a plus.

No, Mom, That's the Bumps Blind People Use to Read

Why yes, the title is something that came out of my sister's mouth on the way into the city from the airport less than an hour after arriving in Vietnam. I always miss her, but more so when we are together and we just crack up over the smallest things. Check out the quotes section on my Facebook for more of my sister's antics.

Gotta love that face.

It was so great to show them what life is like here: loud, dirty, crazy, busy, unplanned, unscheduled, late, early, cheap. But the best part was to be able to share my family and friends with them!

Sister, sister, and mother.

The NIN family and my family :)

Although most of our experiences were positive ones, I'm still fuming over a couple bad ones.

1) I got my phone stolen at the Long Bien bus station on Sunday afternoon. I had just finished giving my mom a lecture about pickpockets on the bus, and WHAM! Some guy shoved into me, I grabbed my purse, and he grabbed my phone. I almost wish he had stolen money instead! There goes a year's worth of contacts made in Vietnam :(

2) I almost got in a physical fight with some guy on the street. He grabbed me to push me out of the way, I elbowed him to get my arm back, he shoved me in the back. I almost punched him in the face. Ugh. Boys suck in every country.

Speaking of boys, I may or may not have met a cute Irishman to keep me company for the remainder of my stay here in Vietnam. He's a gentleman, has an adorable accent, nice friends, and likes me :)

Christmas in July...in December

I was definitely feeling homesick this past week. Putting up a Christmas tree all by myself and hearing about my family getting together without me was a bummer. I wasn't even really looking forward to our Christmas trip to Da Nang. But once I got there it was wonderful! It didn't feel like Christmas at all! No snow, no cookies, no snow, no presents, no snow, no parents, no snow. It was upper 70s to 80s every day, a nice breeze, and my Vietnam family :)

My mom and sister arrive in Vietnam in just 7 hours. I couldn't be more excited!!!

(Side note: kid on my street SCREAMING, "Mẹ oi!" MOM!)

I got to spend a lot of time with Ted and his family, especially Nadia, his daughter whom I met when I first arrived in Hanoi, but she has been in the States for school since then. It was great to get some single girl time!! I also got to drive a motorbike by myself and even rev it up to about 60km/h on the way back from Hoi An! Even though it didn't feel like Christmas, I know I'll remember this one forever! For some few pics of the gorgeousness that is Da Nang go to www.picasaweb.google.com/amandolinrooney2

My Artwork Strikes Again

My Question: Write the names of Santa's 9 reindeer.

Students: What's a reindeer?

This is a reindeer. Yes, Santa is a bit skinnier than usual. And yes, that's a steering wheel on his sleigh. And yes, the reindeer has feet like a chicken as well as an unusually long, thick neck.

I apologize to all educators in the United States that I am giving my students a terrible impression of what American teachers are like.

Not really.

I think it's funny.

God Knows My Thoughts

No joke, last week I wanted to go home. I was entertaining the thought of going home with my mom and sister after they visit. Of course I wouldn't break a contract like that, but I was just fed up with a lot of things...on top of a nasty cold which is like number 8 or 9 in the list of sicknesses I've gotten since coming back in September.

But this weekend I was invited to the wedding of one of my student's cousins. We took a 2 1/2 hour train ride to Hai Phong, east of Ha Noi. The ride was spectactular. Although one of the most uncomfortable 2 1/2 hours of my life, the scenery whipping by was breathtaking. The rice fields, houses, tropical plants, rivers, small mountains. The sun began to set turning the sky beautiful orange and pink colors. I almost cried thinking about leaving this country!

 We arrived after dark, had a delicious crab dinner, then took a relaxing walk around the center of town. The parks and rides reminded me of being back in the US! Plus, we had great conversation about careers and family and happiness. Much needed. The wedding the next day was a blast! Even though I can't speak much Vietnamese, I still felt like part of the family...eating deep fried frog (not just legs) like a pro!

Upon returning home, a student stopped by my house because he needed someone to talk to about his recent relationship break up. Although I was sad about the break up, I was a little happy that my students trust me so much!

I am so thankful that God knew exactly what I needed to experience to remind me how AMAZING Vietnam is, how much I LOVE my students, and WHERE He wants me to be for now.

You Don't Even Know!

The first weekend in December, two volunteers, Sarah and Betsy, from Thailand came to visit me while renewing their visas. I had met them a few months ago in Taiwan for our SE Asia retreat, and we were fast friends! I was super excited to see them, and the weekend totally lived up to my expectations! We went to Hai's wedding, English club, and did LOTS of tourist stuff in the city! It was great to have people stay with me, and I got some good practice in for when my mom and sister visit in 2 weeks!! Also, super excited for Sarah, the new volunteer, to arrive in only ONE month!

Celeste

My last term in Vietnam, J.P. and Aimee's daughter, Celeste, was my best 2 year old friend. It was always "Manda, watch" "Manda, look" "Manda, help me"!! When James and I drove to Virginia for J.P.'s ordination, she pretended not to even know me! I was a bit bummed. After returning to Vietnam, she was pretty shy at first towards me, which made me a little sad. But after a weekend at a resort with the NIN crew, she warmed up again! It was awesome good fun, and now I feel uber loved when she's yelling for A-MAN-DA to come play!

My Week

I know you are all sitting at home (or work...slackers) wondering what it is that I do all day, every day. Well here ya go!

Monday: teach Pronunciation class 7:30am-11am ish...office hours in afternoon...tutor 2 nine year old boys at night.
Tuesday: coffee with my friend to practice English in the morning...teach Pronunciation from 1pm-4:30pm...dinner with Rachel
Wednesday: teach Pronunciation from 6:45am-11:30am (yeah I know!)...office hours in afternoon...dinner at JP and Aimee's house or with friends...Bible study at JP's house
Thursday: sleep in!!! tutor high school girl in afternoon...English club at night
Friday: tutor student in the morning...teach Pronunciation from 12:15pm-5:00pm
Saturday: who knows? trips...meetings...hanging out...being lazy :)
Sunday: (my favorite day) church at Hanoi International Church...lunch with church people, usually at a great Indian place down the street...clean, do laundry, study, call home, watch TV, relax!

It's not as busy as it seemed at the beginning...and I LOVE teaching...other than getting up at the crack of dawn on Mondays and Wednesdays!

My (His) Yoke is Easy

So today in pronunciation class we were learning the difference between "joke" and "yoke". I asked if everyone knew what these meant and of course they didn't know what yoke meant. So first I attempted to describe in words...which I've realized is pretty futile because I just end up using big words that they don't know to describe little words that they don't know. SO I resorted to my drawing skills:

Yup. That's what I drew on the board. Actually, I embellish on Paint...in the classroom I actually didn't put nostrils...and in one class I just drew a smiley face. I never claimed to be an artist...or a teacher for that matter :)

Anyways, talking about yokes always makes me think about one thing: not eggs! Jesus! Honestly, coming from good ole' Rochester Hills, the only time I heard yoke was when reading the Bible:

 "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." -Jesus (Matthew 11:29-30)

This verse really struck me in college when I definitely felt the weight of the world on my shoulders at times. I think this is also when I began to develop my "dislike" for nitty-gritty doctrine and focus more on the main message of the Gospel: Jesus died for all our sins. We are going to heaven! God loves us all! Amen!!

Blessings Amid a Pile of....Bad

Food poisoning = no good. Monday was fine until I returned from a trip with some students to get a heater (see post before this for details about the need for a heater). My stomach wasn't feeling so hot on the back of the motorbike but I thought maybe it was a bit of motion sickness...for the first time in 8 months? Anyways, when I got home let's just say it started coming out both ends. And didn't stop! After 3 hours I called my boss in a bit of a panic and feeling like crap. I got a few tips and tried to tough out the next couple hours. But by 9pm I was severly dehydrated so J.P. came to my house, called the doctor, and took me into the SOS Clinic.

They put an IV in my right arm and loaded me up with some painkillers and anti-sickness. Then they tried to take a blood sample. I guess I was so dehydrated that my veins were too small to find, but that didn't stop them from moving the needle around a ton to find it. It hurt. So did my stomach. And my head. And I was tired. And thirsty. Ugh. I really just felt helpless, like it was just never going to get better. I started crying really hard and saying I wanted to go home...which is a sentence I have only seriously uttered once before this night. The nurses wanted to give me more painkillers, but J.P. explained that I was just sad. It was one of those moments where you just want your mom, ya know? I was only there a few hours and managed to get a few hours of sleep that night/morning. I spent the next 3 days feeling pretty crappy, but was able to attend Bible study on Wednesday night which was some much needed "people" time.

I remember laying on the table shaking due to dehydration with tears streaming down my face wondering what God's plan was in all this. Maybe I would have to opportunity to share a story with a nurse there? Maybe J.P. would have a life changing conversation with the doctor? Well, none of that happened. However I did have an amazing chance to talk with a friend about where I draw my strength from and who would be my Healer. And then the CRAZIEST thought crept into my head...well more like popped in there: I would do it ALL OVER if I could have that conversation with someone else. WHAT?? Who actually wishes to be sick like that? But in some weird way I feel like that was more like what I thought signing up to be a "volunteer" with LCMS World Mission would be like! Plus, I think people relate more to stories of suffering and the "miraculous" healing!

In other awesomely awesome news this week....Thursday we celebrated Thanksgiving as an LCMS team. I have to say that is one of my favorite days in Vietnam so far. I felt like we really were a family! Everyone sat close, chatted about traditions from home, and we ate REAL turkey :) I definitely wasn't expecting that! I was actually pretty homesick that day. I woke up and thought, "This is Thanksgiving....but I don't smell my mom cooking anything...and we're not going to the Lions game." God has certainly blessed me by placing me with such an amazing family here in Vietnam- people I can depend on and who love me. I have way more than I can ask for!

Friday was my first day back in the classroom for the week, and although I was coughing pretty hard I loved it. I've said it before and I'll say it again: the classroom is one of my favorite places in Vietnam! After class I went to dinner at my new favorite burger place called My Burger My (the second My has a Vietnamese tone on it which makes it mean American). I took one of my new good friends and although it was a lot of food for him (welcome to America haha) I think he liked it, and of course the company ;) Afterwards I went to see Mamma Mia with Yung Ting. Now let me tell you, Yung Ting is NUTS about Mamma Mia. We're talking about listening to the soundtrack or watching the movie at LEAST once a day. Saying he has it memorized is an understatement. He was STOKED about the play and LOVED it! I did too :) The high schoolers did a good job, even when there was a short blackout in the middle of Dancing Queen (how Vietnamese).

Tonight we had dinner at Hank and Donna's from church. They invited tons of people and had the dinner completely catered. I felt like I was at a wedding! The dinner was SO nice! All the "young people" from church sat together and had a blast! I was really feeling like an outsider in their group, and still do from time to time, but tonight was a nice big group event and we all enjoyed each other's company. Another huge blessing: people who are in similar circumstances and the same age as me! We concluded the night with karaoke down the street. I haven't done karaoke with American's before! It was good, but the place had a serious lack of English songs. Seriously, I haven't been to a place that didn't have Spice Girls! I hope we do it again sometime :)

Look, we haven't changed much have we?

I'm looking forward to December a TON! Thursday I will be attending the wedding of one of our LCMS employees and friends out in the villages. Also, Sarah and Betsy, whom I met in Taiwan last Easter for an LCMS retreat, will be visiting for 4 days and staying here at my house! I'm excited to do the tourist thing again! It's been a while since I've been to all the sites! Later this month it seems like everyone's families are going to be visiting so that should be fun. I am MOST looking forward to my mother and sister coming at the end of the month! I miss them so so much, especially my sister. I admire and love her so much...and this will be the longest period of time we'll have spent together in over a year!