[Day 1] The weekend

Last friday I had the second session with "Flying without wing 1". This class the students were typically quieter than the other one. My class was not bad, and I could deliver most of what I wanted. But I want to note more information for later reference:

- I improved on handling questions. Some of the questions were tricky but I managed to direct back to the main points.

- I felt more confident. The first class I was a bit nervous at the beginning. But this one I was confident from the start.

Things to improve:

- What I could have done better was to explain more, stressing the details, so that the students could understand more, and also to create "wow" moments. For example, if I said: "I went on a trekking trip for 90 km", the students couldn't imagine how hard it was, but if I said: "We had to walk for 25 kms each day", then they could have a better idea. 

- I should have told them the story about my childhood and my journey from a confident girl to a shy adult, and then back again. That would make a different impression. 

- It was more difficult to make the students laugh. The whole atmosphere was as not exciting and energetic as I wanted. This class is more challenging so I should find a better way to communicate and engage the students next time.

I find it hard now noting down the details after a few days from the class. I should have noted down right after finishing the class at that night. Writing the journal and jotting down everything I thought have great effects which I already experienced. I also told my students to do the same. It's especially good for stress management, reflection and self - understanding. I just need to be more diligent in this. Whenever I want to do something, I just need to do it, and beat procrastination.

Talking about procrastination, I've just learnt a lesson about this. I have planned to write something to ask for my readers' opinions. But on the day I planned to do it, I just postponed. And the next day, the chance was gone, and I can't do it now. I know everyone procrastinates to an extent, and I'm also not very satisfied with me on this aspect. But this is an event that shows me the drawbacks of procrastination clearly and immediately. I felt bad about myself. But if I don't change then things will stay the same, and life will keep throwing bigger stones to me until I do something about that. A hard lesson. Need to act on that.

Apart from that, I’ve made some progress. Last week I took two of my old friends out for a vegetarian meal. They are both very gentle and mild and lovely, and I was glad that I had more time to talk with them. I also went out for a drink with a bunch of friends and we all spent very nice time together. Not to mention a very nice chat with three youngsters who studied abroad to prepare for a new event.

And yesterday I strolled around D5 with a new friend. He’s a cool chap, traveling Vietnam for several weeks. I met a countless number of travelers in my life, some were ironic, some were LSD or drug addicted, some were party animals, all kinds of people. Although I could get along with many of them, I felt the connection with very few people. And he is among the few. 

He is an experienced traveler who is really interested in local cultures. Of course everyone says they would like to discover cultures when they go travel. But you will notice some are not what they think they are as what they do in a new place is going to pub crawl with other fellow travelers, eating in big fast food chains, and backbiting local people they’ve met. This guy is different. He made an effort to meet a lot of people in Saigon to learn more about the culture, he could speak a great deal of Vietnamese words with amazingly correct pronunciation, and he wandered around in the areas not well known by tourists.

After we met, I drove him to Cho Lon, and he showed me the way there because my last time there was around 5 year ago. We walked around the market, he was trying to find a specific kind of pan using in Chinese cooking, then checked some jackets and we had lunch together. At first I felt a bit bored walking around in a noisy market, then I started to look around, and the more I breathed and felt conscious of the scene around the better I grew. As we went out of the market for a walk, I felt really like it. I guess that’s the whole point, that’s what so called: “enjoying life”. We go through life in haste, always looking for more and expecting great things to happen. But life is not always awesome or amazing, not filled with adventures and achievements every day. So if we breathe mindfully and enjoy tiny pretty things, and cherish every moment that we are alive, then life will unfold to us with all of its greatness. After all, life is in the small things.

It’s always a pleasure to have a well – behaved company. The new friend really knew how to entertain local people with his Vietnamese, politely asked the pharmacies for Cobratoxin, and enjoyed the “bun mam” bowl to the last sip. When we were walking on the street, an aquarium shop owner invited him to her house to take pictures of the fishes, and he brought a big smile to her face when he returned her hospitality by his gestures. He had a Canon 6D and he took very nice photos. The photos were lively and had the “soul” in them, as I reckoned later when he showed me the pics. He also surprised me with three little gifts from his hometown. I’m sure he’ll be welcomed wherever he goes, and be liked by many people. What a pity he already has a girlfriend, she is in Da Nang waiting for him. Good men are taken, ahaha.

Anyway, that was a nice weekend, and my new week resolution is to be more tolerant of my mom. And increase my workout time.