Phan Thiet Catch up

Anna and I have found a decent spa in Phan Thiet and we have now started having a massage every week. I tend to hunch over my bicycle handles and having flat pillows on my bed hasn't helped my shoulders. An hour massage costs me £3, a price I can definitely afford. Other than my massage I really don't do a lot in the week. I have had some trousers made since I've been here, which was partly out of necessity as some of the trousers I brought with me wore out.
On Friday 17th Dec the three of us teachers were invited to dinner by Stephen and Danni at Sealinks. We caught the bus to the resort and walked up to the entrance where we were stopped by security. Stephen came down with the hotel GM and picked us up in golf carts! Stephen and Danni have now moved into their villa, so they now have a kitchen and nice dining room. There was ten of us for dinner and it was lovely to sit down for a meal and chat and drink. It was a very relaxed dinner. Afterwards a few of us went to Sankara, I didn't get back to the Hoang Kim until 4am. The next day I didn't do much until I had to go to Ms.My's for beer and food. There was just the four of us until Anna arrived, it was a nice afternoon but all I really wanted to do was lie around . I had a quiet early night. Anna and I had to get up early the next morning, she had arranged to play golf with one of our boss's friends. We cycled to Sealinks and arrived in plenty of time to start, but no one else turned up. Anna decided to play only nine holes as it was just her.I had my own cart and caddy so I kept her company on the course and designated myself her official photographer. When we finished we went back to the club house and had beers with Stephen, then we went into Mui ne and had some beers at Sankara. We ended up staying all day, with only a quick trip to the Sailing Club for a change of scene. And so ended another weekend. In all honesty I was glad to see the back of the week as it had been a tough one. My students had had their first English exam and all the exams,marking and updating of grades had been time consuming. I was looking forward to a gentle week in the run up to Christmas.
Since all of my students had done a lot of review work in the run up to the exams, for a few of the classes I decided to try and finish up some topics and teach a real class instead of just letting my students play games. I think it was a bit of a shock for some of them. While school was relatively calm, Le Loi was taking off. As I said before Le Loi has a church and a fair few Catholics. People,including the Hoang Kims, started to build nativity scenes. Some of them were small, while others covered the whole front of a house. I cruised up and down the street a few times and took photos. I had to take photos or I may not beleive that I saw what I saw! I think it is a major stop on the Phan Thiet Christmas scene, there were families out cruising up and down too, with most of the kids in Santa suits! Vietnam may not be home and it is hard to feel festive in 30C heat but seeing all the Nativity scenes and all the sightseers made me warm inside. As well as outside!Plus just looking at some of them made me smile. Anna and I laugh every single day, there is always something that I have never seen before or something that surprises me. It's a good way to live.
On the THursday before Christmas,Anna,Denise and I had drinks at the Novotel in Phan Thiet. They used to have a happy hour but as they no longer did the GM Jan said he would buy us our first drink. Well I don't think that either one of the three of us is capable of turning down a free drink, we went. It was lovely and relaxed until the band started up, which was a bit sad as there was just us and another couple in the whole bar. When we finished up at the hotel Anna and I met Vien on the beach and drank beer and ate crab. The beer on top of the wine was not a good idea, although I finished drinking at 9.30 I was more than a little drunk and very tired. Luckily the next day, Friday, Christmas Eve, would be a little easier than most. Normally on a Friday I teach four periods in the morning and afternoon so I have very little free time and I always end the day absolutely knackered.In the morning I did Xmas art with my primary class, the afternoon classes were cancelled and the school had an Xmas party. Santa was played by the school supervisor, a five foot nothing Vietnamese lady in a Santa suit and sunglasses. She was great! The three of us got a present and then we were able to sit back and watch the fun. The kids played party games, took part in a costume competition and Xmas quiz. At the end they each got a present, bought by their parents. So everyone got to partake of Christmas whether they were Christian or not, including Chi, a boy who lives at the Buddhist temple on Ta Cau mountain.