Goodbye class photo: Y12-D1303P

I haven't done a goodbye class photo in a long time, but with this recent class that ended, I knew I had to take a memory shot, because they were one of my favorite classes. I had already taught most of these students before in the past, and it turned out that I had also taken a goodbye class photo of them here, almost a year ago! I guess this is testimony to how much I enjoy this bunch!

Among the memories is the time we played a concurrent class-long game during April Fool's day, involving being on the lookout for the thumb-master throughout the class. The thumb-master is a chosen individual who, once discretely putting his/her thumb flat down on the desk, everybody must emulate by putting their thumb down too. The last person who notices and does it has to suffer the consequence, which is made up by the thumb-master every round. It was great fun, but of course it made everybody paranoid for the whole class and instead of fully focusing on their lessons, the students would be constantly peering at the current thumb-master's thumb. One of the consequences was that the loser would have to become our waterboy for the next week's class. Here is a video of the victim of this consequence!

Amongst the students who stood out, we have the comical Khoi who never ceases with his wit and sarcasm, the sweet-hearted Phuong who always jumps to his feet and tells me "Don't worry teacher, I got it!" everytime I drop something on the floor, and the good-humored Huy with his timeless laughter. Of course all students have their own unique charm, such as the always-smiley Dang, the two girls of the class Duong and Binh, quiet and reserved but extremely bright, the equally quiet Dat, who always pushes himself to break his shyness when speaking up, Hoan, gentle with great insights when he speaks up, and Duy whose confidence in games is matched by his unique talent with acquiring new English vocabulary.

A bracelet gift from Duong on our last day of class! How sweet!

What the class did one day during breaktime when I was out of the class. I had to admit that it was quite impressive! But the whole class cringed when I had to erase it all so that we could use the board...

Lotus flowers for Buddha!

In anticipation of Buddha Day, seven giant lotus lanterns have been set up on the Nhieu Loc canal, near my home, in Phu Nhuan district. These seven lotuses represent the 7 lotus flowers that bloomed under Gautama Buddha's first seven steps after birth. 

Set up by the Quan Am convent nearby, these lotuses not only represent the Buddha's birthday, but also goodwill to the masses, as well as raising awareness of non-littering in the canal that has recently been revived and rejuvenated.

On May 24th, Vesak day will be celebrated in Vietnam, which is an important Buddhist holiday commemorating Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and passing, all into one. Vesak reminds Buddhists all around the world, and non-Buddhists alike, that the best way to commemorate the Buddha is by following the Buddha's teachings of leading a noble life, developing the mind, and living in loving compassion with one another.

Canyoning in Dalat!

During the two-day holiday on April 30/May 1, we had the opportunity to travel to Dalat for a quick getaway. On our second day, we did an excursion known as "canyoning"- an extreme outdoor sport where you traverse vast landscaping by trekking, abseiling cliffs, swimming in rivers, climbing... I knew it was going to be an exciting trip, but little did I fathom the extremity that was in store for us...

The previous day, we had visited several tour agencies throughout central Dalat. When trying to decide on a company, I asked Highland Holiday Tours if they were licensed. They replied that none of the companies in Dalat were licensed (except for Phat Tire, which is very reputable and also the most expensive one), as if it was meant to reassure us. Nonetheless, they used international-standard equipment from Germany, and furthermore, I knew many people who went through this same agency, which also had great reviews online. We paid about $24 dollars each, in our group of 4 (which I would find out the next day was an UNBELIEVABLY cheap price for the trip that was going to be...).

And so our day starts...

We get picked up at 8:30am at our hotel, and get driven at the edge of the woods about 20 minutes away. We join with another group of 3 people, and we are given our safety harnesses and equipment, and get trained on abseiling on a small soil cliff. I admit that it was quite daunting for me to drop down backwards, but by the end of the trip, this part seemed like a joke.

After we felt comfortable with the proper techniques of abseiling, we headed deep into the woods. The hiking itself is pleasant. Then, we reach our first dry cliff. It is about 15 meters high. It was extremely scary going backwards over the edge, as you could not see what lay beyond. If it's your first time abseiling, as it was mine, it is extremely terrorizing to have to lower your body so that you are standing at a 90 degrees angle with the cliff wall. When you think you must be looking like a cool gravity-defying stuntman walking on a vertical wall, your guide shouts at you to keep lowering your body as it is far from perpendicular to the wall. So you let the hand holding the rope behind your back open up a bit so that you can slide down the rope. This loosening up of your hand grip is the most traumatizing thing you have to control- you feel like your life lays on the grip of your hand. But in reality, with the glove that you are wearing, there is a great deal of friction and grip and you can control your sliding speed in a very precise manner. After several rounds on this cliff,  I felt myself getting a bit more comfortable and trusting my body angling a bit more.

We proceeded to the next dry cliff, which was also about the same height, but it was more flat vertically, and also, it would drop into the river. The guides encouraged us to jump as high as possible while loosening up our gripping hand, as this would allow us to make great fun bounds down the cliff. Of course, the boundary between fun and terrifying is a bit blurry once you're up there. Nevertheless, I managed to loosen up my grip a lot more on this abseil, and I felt myself making great swooshing leaps down this cliff, where in my mind I felt like the amazing spiderman.

 

 

At the bottom of the cliff, we had some free time for swimming in the icy pond and bottom of a waterfall, where the guides told us we could get a "massage". We all trudged in the frigid waters which our bodies never seemed to get used to. The waterfall was thunderous and powerful at the bottom, and I finally got the courage to stand underneath, feeling its force and exuberance bear down on me. It was incredible.

Afterwards, we had the chance to "slide" down a little cascade on our backs. "Do not sit up", they warned us, as the slabs of boulder underneath could injure us. Oh really, how do you figure? The first slide frontwards was okay for me, although I was able to feel the rocky surface of the boulders underneath. My friend hurt her tailbone though, and did not repeat the backwards round. I went for the backwards try, where you actually slide backwards down the same cascade. This time, I did hurt my tailbone when my body dropped off the edge of the boulder. But it was just a minor soreness. Nobody else seemed to have gotten injured. Even though you feel like a slab of meat being washed down a cascade, it was great fun!

Our next abseil was the big one. The waterfall. It was a bit of a hike away, so this gave us the time to get our nerves ready. But when we finally stepped out onto the scene, we surely were not ready to face what we saw. There we were, standing on top of a waterfall, dropping 25 meters down into the grand abyss of the jungle. Wait.... what? Are we really doing this?, Should we rethink this, guys?, Who's idea was this again? were the questions that our group had for each other.

Since there was a large group before us, we parked here and our guides prepared our lunch. I fueled myself with bananas, two meat sandwiches, and fruits. Then we had a nice nap for about 40 minutes, lest we want our food to come gushing out with the waterfall.

Then, the climb down. Our guides briefed us through, and you can bet we were all paying attention with our eyes wide open. The first part of the abseil would be very slippery. You have to walk down extremely slowly and precariously. If you slip, do not panic. The guides showed us how we could prop ourselves back on our feet. After going over the first hump, we would be on the main cliff. We would be urged to stay in the path of the water, as this is, after all, a waterfall abseil. Near the bottom, the cliff would be too rocky, so at this point, the other guy at the bottom of the waterfall would instruct us to... let go of the rope. And propel ourselves into the water... Piece of cake, right?

I was one of the last to come down. I didn't want to be the last one up there, because I was scared to be scared alone up there. So, holding onto the guiding rope, I walked toward the guide, in the middle of the river, on top of the waterfall. He attached all of the ropes. Please note that for all of the climbs, there is always a safety rope to which you are always attached. So, you cannot just drop down and die.

I got positioned into place. This moment was one of the most terrifying of my life. I am on the edge of a large waterfall, going backwards into space, on an extremely slippery rocky surface. I inched down, bit by bit, all the while muttering to myself that everything was okay. The trick is to keep moving. When you stop, you give yourself the time to think about the situation, which is just so wrong in all ways. So you keep inching down, down, down. I finally make it over the small hump, and now, the main cliff. I slowly ease my way down, my heart pumping, adrenaline at an all-time high. The guide calls out to me, telling me to move myself back into the way of the water. Gosh, this is insane. So I stay in the path of the gushing water, which doesn't fail to hammer down on my face and body. You can put your head to the side to prevent the water from rushing head-on into your precious moneymaker. My contact lens started to become blurry and moving out of their place. Oh no, this is not good. I kept my eyes partially closed and kept going down. Finally, I reached the part where I was supposed to jump off. The guide at the bottom counts for me, and on 3, I let go and push myself off the cliff. I crash into the water and when my head resurfaces, everybody at the bottom cheers. Crazy, but wonderful.

 

When we thought that we had overcome the climax of the trip, our guide beckons us over. He says there is a surprise. Um... at this point, I don't like surprises, sir. There is one more waterfall cliff. It is the most popular one, called "The Washing Machine". Why do I already not like the sound of it? But alas, how did I forget. I had already heard tales about this famous waterfall. Something about dropping down because there is no wall.

But before we start hiking there, there is another surprise. There is a cliff jump into the water, 11 meters high. Some of us do it, but I chicken out. I was barely getting over the last cliff, my body could only take so much adrenaline.

We start hiking out to the legendary last cliff. At this time, it starts pouring down rain, making us feel like we're in some kind of crazy survival-in-the-wild show. We floated downriver on our backs, we hiked and climbed boulders, we traversed wet, muddy, wild terrain. We finally reach the destination - a piece of land jutting out into open air. That is all we see. We hear the roar of a waterfall nearby. It was pouring heavily, adding to the dramatic effect of this crazy next feat. The guide starts setting up the ropes on a tree at the edge of this cliff. I couldn't believe my eyes that we were going to do this. All of us were extremely frightened and also laughing. You know, one of those nervous laughs that are meant to make us feel better.

The guide explained to us that this cliff was a bit tricky. Bit was a little understatement here. The cliff would jut out a bit, but then it would concave drastically, leaving us no more wall to abseil down. We would have to slide down the rope. But this rope runs through the waterfall chute that rushes down to the pool below. So we would have to make sure that we don't stop sliding down the rope, otherwise you risk getting your ropes tangled in the middle of the waterfall. I should have just stayed home and studied, I told my friends.

My turn comes, I get set up. I die of fear at the edge of the cliff. I propel myself in body-defying positions, slowly walking down backwards from the edge, letting my body plunge into freakish uncertainty. The space underneath me doesn't seem to terminate. I stumble my feet around the extremely uneven surface of the cliff; I seem to be climbing down all over the place. The scene is vertigo-inducing and the prospect of what is to come has your heart pumping beyond control and your soul hanging in your throat. Finally, I reach the end of walkable cliff, and the guide yells at me to start sliding down. Beneath me, all I see is a powerful waterfall chute dropping between two rocky surfaces, and a narrow passageway leading out into the pool. Here goes nothing. I hang, and I slide down my rope, slowly, eventually entering the heavy waterfall chute. I am pushed down with the force of the waterfall until I plunge into the water underneath. The powerful water current washes me down through the passageway, and along the way my body gets slammed on the side wall. I am completely submerged under the water and I don't know when I am gonna come out next. The current continues to rush me somewhere, and about 7 seconds later, I emerge from the water at the pool, taking a huge breath of air and pronouncing my sense of exaltation to the world. THAT WAS CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I yelled out to the others that were already at the bottom. HOW IN THE WORLD IS THIS LEGAL???!!!!?!!!!!

I swam to some boulders at the end of the pool, and plopped myself down and looked up at the scene that I had just conquered. It was extreme insanity. I could not believe I had just abseiled down that cliff. It looked like something only left to the professionals. I watched as my friend climbed down her turn, and I nodded in understanding when she emerged from the water and iterated how insane that was. One girl from the group chickened out from the climb, and I do not blame her.

Unfortunately, since it was pouring rain, we were not able to have any pictures taken. However, because this must be seen, I have found some pictures on the internet of this very cliff. Here they are.

 For the rest of the trip, we could not believe the craziness we had just done. I especially couldn't get over the fact that we as beginners were allowed to do all of that. This was certainly the wildest and most exhilarating thing I had ever done! It surely did NOT disappoint, and any beginner who wants to try out canyoning for the first time will get an insurmountable bang for their buck in Dalat.

If you are looking for extreme nature adventure, try canyoning in Dalat. But beware, this trip is not for the faintest-of-hearts! You have been warned!

Rain on me!

The rainy season is now in full-force! Every day we can now expect rain to pour down in the evening as we enter Saigon's rainy season, which is typically from May to December.

This season brings much welcomed air freshening and cooling down! Hoorah to leaving windows open to let in cool air, and to saving money by not needing to use the AC!