2017-03-04
Living in Senegal, nothing bugs me more than the word chinois. As I walk across Kédougou City on my way to work, the horror starts when I cross the elementary school’s territory. There would always be large groups of kids running around, playing ‘Spot the Chinois.’ Rather than stopping to greet them, I instinctively speed-walked through the playground,...
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2017-01-17
Before coming to Senegal, I never liked being with kids. People have always told me that I’m good with them, but I still didn’t enjoy spending time around those evil little creatures. Going into my host family, however, I was faced with what I thought was my worst nightmare: 18 kids running around and screaming....
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2016-11-08
When the teacher walked in through the front door, the students in a second level high school English class all stood up, all reciting, “Good morning, sir.” As an observing student-teacher, I, too, do the same. This particular action has reminded me of my elementary education in Vietnam, among many other cultural similarities that are...
Read More2016-08-19
As I sit in the airport at 5 AM and await for my flight to San Francisco for pre-departure training, I still don’t know how to feel. My mom often told me that it’s okay to cry, and I have done so in the past couple of days, but right now it’s just a jumbled...
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