Back at it...

Well, it has been a while and I apologize for being a slacker. I will try and get things up to date, which technically should take seven straight days of writing...

Let's see, ha ha, well to end the year off with a story I will explain my appearance on the Reunification Palace.

In June I became very concerned with the grade 8 graduation (even though I was just the 'music and art' teacher last year, I still had a special place in my heart for the grade 8's and I wanted to make sure they had a proper graduation...I didn't quite succeed...but that is not the story I am about to tell).

I took time to have them work on individual projects of self-reflection to post at their grad, I worked with the grade 8 teacher to plan things out, we discussed a 'grad day' and hoped to emulate what would be a day similar to what grade 8's in Canada would experience... Keeping it simple, focusing on the students...things did not really go as planned.

First, the day was changed and we were told grad must be on the weekend and that it must involve all students, not just grade 8 students but ALL STUDENTS...you can see where this is going, several hours of torture and no glory for the grade 8's. Well, that is exactly what happened. Things spun out of control and it was horrible on many fronts but despite that, there were a few funny things:

Funny thing number one: The location of the graduation was the Reunification Palace. Yes, an actual palace! How crazy is that?

Funny thing number two: The decorations were giant banners and I was on one of them. Yup, just me. Okay, so I feel like a giant in Vietnam anyway...but a banner...really? Larger than life - in all senses!

Funny thing number three: I wore the exact same outfit the night of the grad that I was wearing on the banner...And no one even warned me not to wear the same outfit - how embarrassing!

Needless to say there were some laughs to be had and now there are the residual jokes, "Hey Cheratien, remember that time you were on the Palace?"

After graduation there was some concern as to what might be done with my banner. I could make a large shelter out of the expansive tarp, or maybe drape it over my home as a decoration, or it could be used as a slip and slide. Yup, you read that correctly a 'slip and slide'. My banner is now renowned as the slip and slide, kids soap themselves up and launch themselves down the expanse of my giant banner body at any appropriate occasion...like water day, open house, any excuse will do. This has created a whole new level of residual jokes but I wont go there, you can fill it in I'm sure.