The First Day of School...

...was canceled.  And really we should have known.  Our welcome back to school e-mail from our principal included a cryptic line about us maybe, possibly, hopefully having computers at inservice and how we would have to carve out some time to go over our new floor plan. When we arrived at school (a week before we were slated to begin), it looked like we were driving into a construction site.  This is because we were, in fact, driving into a construction site.  Our soccer field had been ripped up, the elementary school (which was supposed to be done over the summer) was/is still missing walls and a roof.  Our own building - which was actually looking pretty good by the end of last year - was completely re-done.  The rationale - they're building for five years worth of growth.  This is ironic because our school is built on a marsh and will sink in ten.  (Or, if it somehow defies our expectations, and history's many examples of why you should not build on marsh, projected sea level rise sinks it in 20.) 

Other construction/planning related highlights that came up during our first few days of orientation: our black box theatre, which was supposed to open last October (and every subsequent month after), is still not ready due to a 400,000 dollar miscommunication about lighting; the flooring on the gym is not here because it was ordered special from Hungary (obviously you can't get floor here); and the laptops for teachers, which were promised at last years orientation but unavailable because they were in customs are, unfortuntely, still in "customs."  At least we have coffee machines.  These only break once a day so we're good.    

Front of our elementary school and our lovely soccer field

Orientation proceeded despite the rebuilding taking place around and on top of us, and optimism about finishing held out for three days.  Finally, through, they had to admit defeat. Funnily enough, it was not the obvious construction that caused the delay.  Rather the basement/cafeteria - which we had been walking through daily to enter and exit the school - was deemed a health hazard due to dust and overpowering paint fumes.  We, of course, have still been coming to school to finish up our planning.   We're slated to start this Monday, and while we can't see how it could possibly be done in time it is Vietnam and this does seem to be how it goes here.   And speaking of how it goes here our internet has been a little slow because a typhoon cut the cable that connects us to the US.  This happens with some regularity, but it's usually blamed on sharks (ligitimate), pirates (ligitimate), and the Chinese (racist).