Mark’s Visit
Xin chao
(hello)!!!
My name is Mark Smith. In January 2014 I
have returned to Danang to meet with the
LOVE
organization for the second year in a row.
Last year I worked with Phuong and other
volunteers to repair homes of some poor
families.
This year I have contributed some financial
support with that of another sponsor and
LOVE to
build a new house for a needy family. This
project was promised years ago but never
enough money was at hand to start and
complete the house. It is now nearly
finished.
When I was in Danang last, I noticed how
many students wanted to talk English with
me. I found that Vietnamese children are
taught English in school by Vietnamese
teachers who themselves have trouble
pronouncing English words. Most have quite
good English grammar just poor
pronunciation. Vietnamese students in
general are quite shy and do not feel
confident to approach foreigners to talk in
English.
I have talked to Phuong many times in the
last 12 months and suggested I would like to
make myself available to sit and talk
English with university students.
When it was posted on Facebook we had a very
good response from friends of Phuong. In
total I sat and talked with about 12
students, most of which came back at least
twice. I am sure that many more would have
taken the opportunity but many students were
sitting exams and preparing to return home
for TET.
I have to say that taking the time to speak
with these young people gave me great
pleasure. All were very keen to improve
their English skills. I am not an English
teacher so there were no formal activities,
just a very casual chance to speak about
themselves and Vietnam.
It was great fun for everyone involved (I
hope). I even received an invitation to
visit the home of a student. It was an honor
for me to travel to an isolated village and
meet her mother.
I wish to thank all the students who took
their time to meet with me.
If you are coming to Vietnam I strongly
recommend that you set some time aside to
speak with the students. You will find it
very rewarding and it will give you an
insight into the lives of young Vietnamese
people.
Once again I am thankful to the people at
LOVE for their support of the less fortunate
people in the community.
Chuc mung nam
moi (Happy
New Year) |