Becoming and English Teacher in Saigon, Vietnam

A little about my Grandma:

My 90yr old grandmother decided it was cool to try skydiving for the first time in her life. 

Mind you she has never done anything out of the ordinary life people live in the USA she has never even left the country ever... she told me the furthest she has been from California was Boston, MA. She loves Boston and American antiques. She especially loves dogs and all dog related objects she even has some ceramic dogs as decoration in her home, she is the best and has always been very supportive with me and kept up with my life, she knows me better then most of my friends do!

Last week I wrote my Dads Mom (Grandma Bev) a letter talking about my experience so far moving to Vietnam:

Dear Bev,

How are you?? I miss you.

I was thinking about you today! I was discussing the way we communicate today around the world and how sending letters in the post is now considered slow but romantic. It seems to me that many of us not just my generation but yours as well have found out how easy it is to stay in touch on the Internet. Maybe Andy or Gwen could help you set up a small laptop or device that you could easily use to send emails or messages on the internet to all your loved ones. I hope you received my postcard that I sent to you in December. But for now Mom and Dad can print off my emails and relay them to you. 

Heres my update; I am currently living in Saigon, Vietnam alone in my own studio apartment. The same as the one I was occupying in San Francisco except it is brand spankin' new! Its very modern and even has two little windows inside that separate the bathroom and living room/kitchen, like a little house inside a bigger one. I also have begun an English teacher program called AVSE:TESOL which is an Australian certified program that will give me the opportunity to show schools and teaching centers out here that I have what it takes to be the best English teacher money can buy! I have already observed 3 classes with a wide range of ages from children to adults and it is reminding me of my education and how rusty my basic English skills are! So embarrassing but it is good to remember and re-learn some of the foundations of the English language. 

I also have a lightweight girlfriend named Kim and she is very supportive and beautiful. For now we are good for each other but I don't know if she is the one yet. I have been meeting so many people from around the world but my favorite have been the Vietnamese because of their open minded attitude towards those who wish to understand them. They even think I am Vietnamese here and cant tell the difference between Korea and their people but I find this to be good for me it makes me feel very welcomed. 

I thought teaching English would be easy but it looks like I am going to have to do some hard work over here training to become TESOL certified! I will make my own lesson plans and design my own classes to cater to all different learning styles. I hope to incorporate some creativity and the arts to my lessons as well.

The children's hand writing over here is surprisingly better then some of my adult friends back in the USA, which is funny! 

I cook my own food for myself and its mostly rice and noodles with vegetables. I drink less and smoke more so im sorry if you dont like this but its what I need to compensate for the lack of drinking, other then that I am very healthy and plan to skateboard and rock climb at a location near my house called Saigon Outcast (I just signed up for a monthly membership). It is an outdoor climbing wall and mini skatepark with a bar that serves food  in the back area, its a huge space! They even have colorful murals and graffiti on all the walls so I love it. 

Its been a long day and I am sitting in a place called Wrap & Roll I just ate deep fried samosa over cold rice noodles with all kinds of herbs and spices and some peanuts it was delicious. The food here is pretty amazing! 

Ok for now I will end my rant here. 

My favorite place in Vietnam (Ninh-Binh) and I am in an old grave yard with the large rock formations covered in vegetation, supposedly this place was once under the water and part of the ocean. The landscape here and the rivers filled with lotuses that run underneath all the mountains make this place like a dream.

​
Love,

Cam

Her response: