Gareth on Bike

Becoming a yes man – Driving in Saigon

If you talk to anyone who’s visited Vietnam, one of the first things they will mention is the traffic (just type ‘Saigon traffic’  into YouTube and you’ll find countless videos). To say that traffic is mental would be a bit of an understatement. There are motorbikes everywhere, on the sidewalk, inside houses and on the Read More

Beano Class

Becoming a yes man…teaching English

Becoming a yes man is part of a series of posts that will take a look at some of the things that we have said ‘YES’ to that we would normally have said ‘NO’. I’ve always been the adventurous type and usually pride myself on trying new things. This is especially true when it comes Read More

Crikey

An attack of the reverse culture shock

When we first set out on our trip, I was looking forward to having my first real culture shock.  To a certain extent, our first stop Hong Kong was our first experience, mainly with the food. We had somewhat naively expected the food to be like our local Chinese takeaway at home. This was not Read More

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Best bits in pics – Part 2

This is wee Buddha bum. All the kids in Vietnam were cute (although after teaching them for four months I can also say slightly annoying at times too) but Buddha is one of my favourites. Everytime he ran into the water his shorts would fall down round his ankles… giving us a different type of Read More

listening-skills

The Secret Diary of a Call (Centre) Girl

Ok so my job might not be as exciting as the TV show title it rips off but it’s worth a mention on this blog. Yes it’s a secret that I’m blogging while I’m in work…but to be honest I don’t think it’s that big of a deal really. That’s where working attitudes differ between Australia and the Read More

Saigon Traffic

Working in Saigon – A day in the life

Saigon (officially known as Ho Chi Minh City) is Vietnam largest city with a population of around 8 million people and over 5 million motorbikes. Anyone that has visited this city will agree that it is crazy busy, making crossing the road a bit of a gauntlet and finding a quiet area even more difficult. Read More

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Stalking is the key….

….to getting a job in Saigon. No, I’ve not gone all Glenn Close on the Vietnamese employers but believe me, a bit of assertion and dedication is needed to get a teaching english job in this town. Before we started looking for an actual job, we were told A) “It’s really easy  to get a Read More