Vietnamese is such an insane language.... Don't get me wrong, I've loved my attempt so far to learn it but it's a crazy language. Keep in mind that I'm still VERY BASIC so some stuff below might be wrong still if you actually know Vietnamese. The three things that I think make it so hard right now are:
1. Tones: There are six of them for any given vowel and some letters have multiple tonal marks on them. For example, con cá = fish and cái ca = mug, mẹ = mother and me = tamarind. Keeping it all straight (and learning how to type it all) has been fun. I also started trying to learn how to say all the different tones . . . my ears don't perceive some of the differences so I will definitely sound like the redneck in the Mexican restaurant when I get there I'm sure (best analogy I've got right now, sorry). 2. Classifiers: Apparently you need to designate what type of object things are. There are classifiers for animals, objects, documents and papers, fruit, food, meat, people, etc. For example, con cá = fish (the living animal) but món cá = fish (the dish you eat). According to a friend of mine who speaks Vietnamese, these are what so many foreigners get wrong when learning to speak . . . so I'm trying real hard to get these down. 3. Speed: All of the words are single syllable but one English word might take two Vietnamese words to say (Ex: bánh mì = bread). So when it's spoken, it's spoken super fast I guess because the syllables don't slow you down. . . . My brain DOES NOT process that fast. . . . Yet. I'll get there but I'll be saying làm ơn lặp lại (please repeat) A LOT. But on the plus side, I do think I've gotten a good grasp on the structure of the sentences and over all grammar. With school winding down, I've got plenty of time to work on it every day. Between Duolingo, my flashcards, the Pimsleur audio lessons, and people I know who actually speak Vietnamese, maybe I can have a conversational grasp of the language by the end of July. *Fingers crossed*
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I've accepted a job teaching Secondary Math at St. Paul's American School (SPAS) in Hanoi, Vietnam. I don't know what exactly I'll be teaching yet ... something between 6th and 12th grade (except statistics, I told them I don't want it). I don't know where I'll be living yet (though it will be paid for). I don't know the language or the culture. This will be the most terrifying adventure of my life so far. But I'm so excited to take this on.
For those of you that don't know, I originally had a position in Maturin, Venezuela . . . until shit hit the fan way harder than expected. The country defaulted on their debt and now even the rich are struggling to keep up. Foreigners basically have to hire armored cars and body guards to travel across the country and not be robbed and/or kidnapped. I wanted to survive my 2 years abroad so I expressed my concerns to the administration and luckily they understood and released me from my contract. So here I am now, going to Vietnam. There's so much to do before I leave. The school is handling visa paperwork so that's been a blessing. I've started downsizing my stuff - donating books and clothes, giving knick knacks to my students as prizes. Most of my stuff at school will get donated to various teachers ... whoever wants it. Grace is inheriting my apartment contents (furniture, etc) and Crystal is getting my car. Unfortunately, the ferrets will have to go back to the rescue where I got Sharice but I'm trying not to think about that until at least May. I have started learning Vietnamese which has been a fun challenge. Duolingo kind of throws you in the deep end and leaves you to figure out the grammar structure so that's been interesting. I've found it to be a great puzzle though. So far, there are 8 pages of notes in my notebook with vocab, grammar structure, and questions about things I think are true of the grammar but not sure. A wall in my bedroom just became dedicated to learning Vietnamese (I needed a bigger space for my thoughts and my whiteboard isn't big enough). I hope to keep this blog updated at least once a week (especially once I actually get to Vietnam in July). That being said, I've always been awful at keeping a journal (and not the best writer) so we'll see how it goes. I'm thinking the next post will be about the school and the people I've met so far. Keep an eye out for it!! |
ShannonMath Teacher living and working in Hanoi, Vietnam Archives
February 2022
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