Friday was the last day of term and my class took me out for Chè after the lesson. I'm still trying to decide if I like it or not - some seem quite nice but others are very strange. It is made with some kind of liquid produced from things like rice or taro (?) that is then sweetened and then a whole bunch of other stuff is added to it. Some of it works well (things like jellies, coconut or caramel) but things like kidney beans or corn seem like such a strange thing to put into a sweet dessert!

This is what it looks like

We have it sometimes at work for special occasions and they tend to get the more basic versions with just two or three ingredients but my students ordered one for me that had a little bit of everything in it. With each mouthful I was changing my opinion about it as one mouthful was nice with coconut and jelly and then the next one would have lychee and kidney bean which is not something that should ever go together! I might have to take the family for some when they come and visit and see what their opinion is.

Yesterday I met a friend for a drink in the evening and we decided to get dinner from the restaurant next door and I rediscovered my love for La Lot so i also plan to take the family there for another fix. The version we had yesterday was chicken, but it is also available in beef and it is AWESOME!

You could even make it for yourself...

One more week at work then it's holiday time!!!!

I shouldn't neglect this so much! I shall try to make more of an effort to write this, even if I'm not doing anything exciting! 

As always work is chugging along. My contract has 24 hours teaching out of my 40 hour week so I spend most of my time teaching, planning or marking. One of my classes consists of several students I taught on their last course and they were so excited to see me again which was nice. They even called up several of the students who hadn't signed up for the next course and convinced them to come back to study as I was their teacher which made me feel nice and competent as a teacher! That class is super lively and is an evening class so the time flies by which is great, as a sucky class in the evening can really make the class feel like it lasts forever. Another of my classes has some old students I taught a few terms ago who are super enthusiastic and love to have a good chat in their lessons so they're quite fun. Unfortunately my last class is a bit lame but I only see them for 2 days so it's OK. I think they're glad to see the back of me after two days as I'm mean and confiscate mobiles if they use them in class and by the end of most lessons I have a pile of phones on my desk that they're all looking longingly at and desperate to get their hands on! 

Other than work I don't do a whole lot else. There is a nice rooftop bar close to work that we go to for drinks after work sometimes which is fun, and then the weekends never consist of all that much. Now it isn't so hot I'm going out and about a little more but it is pretty bog standard stuff. Today, however, on my way into the Old Quarter I encountered a rare Hanoian creature - a polite bus driver! I was running to the bus stop to try and get there before the bus but I didn't make it. I fully expected him to slam the doors shut and drive away with a big smile on his face as I've seen that happen on many occasions when I've been waiting at a bus stop and other people have been running for a bus. However this guy pulled over and waited for me and even said hello when I got on the bus! Unheard of! Never fear, Hanoian customer service returned to its normal standard at the post office. They tried to convince me that my nice padded good quality envelope was no good and it would instead the better to put the stuff into a random bit of cardboard and tape it up at the sides. It then took three of them to check all the paperwork I had to fill out and each one wanted it completed in a different way, then one of them was adamant I had to put my passport number on it despite the fact I've never had to do this in the nearly 4 years of sending stuff home. I finally got it all sorted and then went to a stationery shop to buy pens and the crap service continued. It is impossible to just pick up the pens you want and go and pay for them. Instead you have to try and wave someone over to take them out of the display case and fill in a receipt that you then take to another cashier who takes your money and gives you another receipt. What is particularly dumb about this is that the pen cabinet is literally right next to the checkout. There is no need for the multiple pieces of paper, especially as each piece must be obtained from a sour faced woman clearly resenting being at work on a Sunday night.

After that I headed to my fave cafe for some coconut cake because it is awesome, then tried out a new spa for a foot massage. I do like a good foot massage and this place did a nice one with a coffee scrub so I imagine I'll be returning many times in the coming months. I may even take the family there when they arrive in a couple of weeks. These last few weeks I've just been looking forward to my holiday as it has been aaaaages since my last one. My parents are coming out with my sister and we have a couple of days before going up to the mountains, and then to an island in the south. They're both palces I've not been to before and it's been a while since I've been to a new place in Vietnam so I'm looking forward to that. After that I have a couple of days in Bangkok to go shopping. I'm so excited to finally be able to buy books, shoes and pants!!