This is already the middle of year 3 in Hanoi. 2020 was quite the year and yet nothing really prompted me to write a blog since May. Admittedly, there's nothing specific now either but I figure ... I'm on Tet break and it's been almost a year so why not. So some of the "highlights" of the last year (ish) ... 1. end of 2020 school year: a lot of the people I started with at St. Paul moved on to other schools and countries. I became team lead for the math department for 2020-2021 school year 2. Got trained to teach AP Calculus. Unfortunately the trainings were from 8pm to 4am. Yay synchronous learning on opposite sides of the world. 3. Did get to go on a couple of trips to central Vietnam in the summer. God bless the beach after months of staying in Hanoi 4. Covid wave #2: in the beginning weeks of July, Covid made a return in central vietnam (luckily I got back to Hanoi like 2 days before the cut-off for quarantine). We had our first deaths (35 of them to be exact) but the government handled everything swiftly and we were able to start school in person only a couple weeks late. 5. "start" of 2020 school year: a whole new crop of teachers joined us virtually for the first two weeks of school while they quarantined. Part of the reason we started late was due to some difficulties getting them in to the country. It's been slower getting to know them since there was no introductory period but the ones I've gotten to know are great 6. Finally made it back to Da Lat over Thanksgiving, without 50 children attached this time. 7. Christmas plans were swiftly changed when my closest Hanoi friend had to return to England with 1 week notice. Still managed to spend the day with friends and had a decent holiday. 8. International New Years was nothing special 9. Signed on for another 2 years in Hanoi. It's a good job and a good life out here, not in any rush to move. 10. Slowly formed plans to go to Mui Ne for Tet break but procrastinated forever on booking anything 11. Luckily that worked out because cue Covid wave #3 featuring the UK variant My year in photosCurrent situation/ thoughts on CovidCurrently wave #3 is hitting Vietnam hard. Still not sure exactly how it got here but that's largely inconsequential now. Up to almost 30 cases in Hanoi, same in Saigon. Original outbreak was in/near Hai Duong where they're up to 300 something cases (maybe almost 400 now).
The government response has been swift and strict in major affected areas like Hai Duong. In my opinion, it leaves a bit to be desired for the rest of the country though. At this point last year, Hanoi was working from home and basically in lockdown with just as many, possibly fewer, cases. The difference between last year and this year is the timing with Tet (lunar/chinese new year). Tet is the most important holiday in Vietnam. Everyone has the whole week off and goes back to their hometowns to be with family. With Covid happening right before Tet this year, people had one of two reactions. 1. Stay where they are. Prioritize health of the country and minimize possible spread to rural areas. 2. Get back to the countryside as fast as possible because they don't want to miss Tet with their family. For the foreign community in Hanoi, the first reaction is basically the same. But the second reaction was: "Go on vacation anyways before a lockdown happens. I'm not currently sick so it's fine." Personally, I believe in the power of masks and staying the fuck at home so that's what I'm doing. I've seen 2 people outside of school since this wave hit and one at school while teaching online. School was virtual for the last 7 days leading up to Tet break. Many Vietnamese schools just cancelled classes completely and allowed students to take an extra week for Tet break. During this time (Tet/Covid), I'm trying not to fall into the Netflix all day every day trap or mindlessly scrolling on my phone. To combat that, I've sat my ass on the porch in a beanbag with a book for most of the morning. Phone and computer safely in the living room. Go for a walk or cycle (wearing mask) before lunch. Nap after lunch. Walk or cycle after nap (whichever I didn't do in the morning). Read some more. Then I'm allowed to watch netflix after I feed the cat around 5pm. So far it's been working okay. I've read two books from start to finish so far. Today is actual New Years Day so I'm making an exception today and am watching Netflix in the morning. While I want to be optimistic about going back to in-person school after Tet, I am dubious as to that actually happening. So many people did still travel and have the potential to be spreading the virus. Already, the news has covered stories of covid patients who falsely declared themselves healthy or lied about where they've been during contact tracing so that they wouldn't be quarantined and have to miss Tet. While I have faith in the government response, my faith in people in general is a bit lacking. One of my students before break said "oh there's nothing to worry about. The Vietnamese people will listen to the government." to which my response was just "but Tet." Just like in the US and UK over Christmas, when the government recommended against travelling and large gatherings ... the people's response is "but it's Christmas! you can't miss Christmas." So here's hoping the next few weeks and months go back to normal quickly. Here's hoping that with new administration the US gets its shit together. Here's hoping that after over 2 years, I'll be able to see people in the US again this summer. Here's hoping for a better 2021.
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ShannonMath Teacher living and working in Hanoi, Vietnam Archives
February 2022
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