It's been a few weeks since I arrived in the big city of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. I still haven't gotten used to the humidity yet. It's so heavy it sort of wraps it's arms around you and embraces you as soon as you step off the plane. I came here to teach and got this opportunity from a program in Queens College. I was excited and nervous! 

Hello class, I am Mr. Thanasoulis!

For the first few days, I observed my co-teacher who was Vietnamese. She was incredibly experienced.  Her name was Ms. Kim and she has been teaching for 20 years! That was almost the same age as I was. The class was full of sixth grade students. I was nervous to teach them at first but I quickly began enjoying it!

Oh look, a new email!

All was going well! A few weeks went by and I loved my new job. I also loved my new apartment, it was incredibly luxurious and would probably cost a fortune back in New York City. It had a view of the Mekong Delta and loft area. That all changed though, one day while I was in my apartment I received an email from my principal. 

"Good evening Mr Thanasoulis. We have chosen you to create a school play in our summer closing ceremony! We really enjoyed watching the plays you put on in your classroom and thought this would be a great addition to our dance performance. Also, you will be required to give a speech along with the other teachers! 

Have a great night, 

Thung Hoic (My boss)" 

I panicked! Sweat started pouring down my forehead like it was monsoon season in the country. I am an introvert at heart and I am not fond of preforming in front of big crowds! My hands started shaking, my face felt flushed, and my mind was racing like it was trying to win an Olympic gold medal. Then I took a deep breath, told my self to stop and ensured my self that I can do it. Naturally, my next step was to go to work and dig deep! 

I am so tired. This coffee isn't even helping! 

I worked on the script night and day. Until my eyes started talking to my brain! Just close us for 10 minutes they would whisper. But I refused and continued working on the script. I got help from my co-teacher as well! My plan was to adapt the play "School Daze" by Lindsay Price to fit into a Vietnemese school setting! "School Daze" is a play about the tricky transition between childhood and being a teenager.  

What do you think about this class!? 

This is really cool Mr. Thanasoulis!

We read the play as a class the following few days and began making small edits to better fit the student's experiences and language. Then we began rehearsing! 

They're doing great!