Doors closing and Windows opening...

Heya Folks,
This week has been personally quite monumental as I made the decision, finally, to leave my volunteering position at the Children's Palace. It has taken alot of deliberation to get to this point; the Children's Palace has been the anchor that has rooted me in Hanoi for the last 10 months, it was the hook which brought me here in the first place, and it has been the one constant 'gig' in a tumultuous sea of ever-fluctuating job opportunities. It has retained a stoic presence on my teaching timetable, providing the stability of regular evening hours and the security of knowing that my rent is taken care of, while still giving me the freedom to pursue other job leads during the daytime (some fruitless, some fruitful).
I think its fair to say that without the set-up of the Children's Palace when I arrived, I might not have made it to Hanoi at all. I'm not the nervous, shy English teacher who tentatively set foot inside the Palace classrooms 10 months ago. The Palace provided the arena in which I've grown and developed as a teacher, as well as allowing me to tap into a crucial resource network of teachers and teaching contacts around the city. 90% of my teaching jobs subsequent to the Palace evolved either directly or indirectly from contacts I made there. I can't ever underestimate the value of those first few critical contacts I made in the fragile and often frustrating world of freelance TEFL-ing.
It wasnt all A-Walk-In-The-Park.
I remembered, forgot, and then remembered again what a challenge it is to take on a cultural system, political system and work administration that is unfamiliar to ones own experiences. In particular, the lacadaisical approach some teachers seem to take towards their classes, their treatment of volunteers, and the reams and reams and reams of red tape/beauracracy/hoop jumping required in order to make yourself heard. I have learned the hard way (surely the path of all the best lessons) the value of having a contract, being clear about terms of employment, and guarding and managing your own income.

In a climate like that, the real gems of Vietnamese teachers stand out a mile, those that show a genuine passion for their job which endures beyond the flaws of the system which contains it. Its the simple things that make all the difference, such as turning up on time, and the absurdly simple principle of teaching English in English. Those are the teachers whose classes I have genuinely enjoyed working with, and those are the teachers that I'll miss.
And the students. The Students. It never ceased to amaze me how much enthusiasm they could command even though they were clearly at the end of a long day of school classes and other activities. Even when the Vietnamese teachers were trying my patience to the limit, I never had an ounce of trouble from the students. They lapped up every single activity and game I gave them and stilll asked for more. They even managed to muster enthusiasm when faced with the driest of dry textbooks (seriously, Let's Go publishers, how about a dragon or a monster every now and again? Honestly, who wants to learn to say 'This is a pencil'?). It's clear to see that Vietnamese students have a genuine work ethic which puts the west to shame; they really deserve an education system which matches their enthusiasm. Its getting there, but its not right yet...
So, What Next?
I have a new job (also through a Children's Palace contact) working for VietEdutech, an education company which administers a highly professional, well-organised education program through numerous kindergartens around the city. Its everything I could wish for in a teaching job, consistent, well-supported and well-resourced. I have the security of (semi-) regular teaching hours and a recognisable teaching format, yet the freedom and variety of traveling to different kindergartens in the city, sometimes two or three in one day! Often these schools are hidden down secret alleyways and narrow but busy lanes, the true underbelly of the city. I cant help but feel that I'm discovering the 'real' Hanoi as I trundle through them on my bicycle.

I've learnt a valuable but unexpected life lesson; that I adore the freedom, flexibility, variety and autonomy of freelance work. The satisfaction of earning your own dong at the end of the day is worth far more than the hard graft and almost relentless networking I have to put in to keep and maintain it. Above adjectives I hope to find again in any future jobs.

So. I shall add soon a few 'last lesson photos' from the Children's Palace. Can't help but be reminded of Dr Kafle's response to Kat leaving the Nagarkot Health Centre in Nepal....

"Happy and Sad, isnt it".

It really is.

UntilNextTime

SarahHeadsEast xx