Those were the days ...

Đã có một thời (composed by a famous songwrtiter and sung by a famous singer)

Biển xanh rờn và cát trắng dịu êm
Đã có một thời em yêu anh như thế
Ngọt mía lau và mùi hương quế
Em yêu anh, như kẻ lần đầu đến với đại dương...

Biển rất xanh và cát trắng dịu êm
Con sóng ru, lời hát ru bình yên
Và từng cánh buồm lộng gió khơi xa
Đã có một thời em yêu anh như thế

Và trái tim thổn thức bao chờ mong
Và ước mơ về những bến bờ xa
Biển chợt dâng trào ngàn nỗi khát khao
Khi ánh mắt anh trao cho em niềm thương mến

Nhưng anh đi xa rồi
Nơi chân mây cuối trời
Chỉ còn mình em với nỗi đơn côi
Những tháng năm xa dần
Giấc mơ xưa phai tàn
Em như kẻ chài mòn tay với biển
Rồi những ngày giông bão tràn qua
Biển thét gào giận giữ cuồng điên
Làm sao
Làm sao
Em giữ được tình yêu?

Đã có một thời
Và phải có một thời như thế
Sẽ nối bước theo ta những lứa đôi tuổi trẻ
Những lỗi lầm và những xót xa
Nhưng mãi còn trong trái tim ta
Dẫu là biển của một thời đã mất...

Son doing housework

Since we moved to the small flat, I have asked my son to help me with housework. Principle: if he can do something, let him do it even not as well as mum. I ask him to prepare vegetable, throw away the rubish and put away his toys and books after playing time, and fold the laundry. He seems to be fine with the chores except the thing with rubbish. He says it is dirty. But I still force him to do it. A bit cruel :-).

Swimming lesson

For many people swimming is something easy. For me it is so difficult. When I was a child, there was a small pond near my house, but I never learnt to swim there. My brothers could swim very well, they could teach me but I was afraid of being in water, I mean totally in the water. That is why I can not swim.
I did not want my son to step in the same situation as his mother and I think a boy/man should be sportive, so I sent him to a swimming class last summer. I took him there almost everyday. But after 8 lessons, he could not dare to swim. He did not tell me why at that time and I was busy with something (I don't remember). The swimming lessons stopped. This summer I decide to learn to swim with him. And he was brave enough to tell me the reason. He said he was choked with water once and afraid of dying. What a boy.
On my vacation in Hochiminh city, we went to Dam Sen. I dared to put my head in the water for 10 seconds. I did not know why I could do it. Maybe I wanted to prove with my son that I could do it. No need to be afraid of water. Maybe my son could do why I could not. After the vacation and the entrance exams I went to the same club and registered for both of us. The first day was 13rd July. But overslept and my son had to go school. On 14th the pool closed for cleaning. On the 15th, son went to school. I think we could have managed to go to the pool but not ready. I still felt afraid. But if we did not go, I would waste money and we could not swim. This morning the first lesson must be learnt. So at 6.45, I woke my son up and went to the pool.
My son learnt better than me because he learnt before. I had to learn how to float. After some minutes, I could float. Whoa, so wonderful. So fantastic to be able to float in the water. I was not afraid any more. My son was also more active than last summer. He swam more. Even he encouraged me to practice. Other people said that I was lucky when my son did that to me. Mum and son both swam (no, floated) together. When I saw him swim, I had more braveness to practice. When he saw me in the pool with him, he would feel more confident and more comfortable. Nothing to worry when mum is there. There was a little girl learning to swim too. After 7 lessons, she could not float. Her mother was on the bank. The teacher said the girl was not brave enough. Swimming was her burden. I told her mum to learn with her. Children need encouragement and motivation to do hard work.
Anyhow, I felt satisfied with the first lesson, my big breakthrough. I defeated myself. I felt happy. I told my son if I had know it was so wonderful to be able to float I would have learnt with him last summer. But never too late to learn.

OUP Workshop

My colleague got an invitation by OUP Vietnam and she asked me if I liked she would register for me to take part in this workshop. Of course I liked. Moreover, I was on holiday, not busy at all. The workshop took place on Monday and Tuesday morning, from 8.30 to 11.30. The presenter was Grant Trew from Oxford Univeristy Press, author of Toeic Tactics. He was really good at giving presentations. All of participants felt interested in his presentations.

On Day 1, Mr Trew focused on the needs of professional learners and the ways International Express (coursebook) could be used as part of a standardised test preparation course for tests such as TOEIC. (When the presentation was over, it was raining heavily in Hanoi, affected by Storm number 4. Some of the roads were flooded). On Day 2, he talked about 5 keys ways to motivate students and essential elements of a business English course. What he provided us was really informative and useful.

Love messages

Read the 22 following love messages (collected from the internet and somewhere else) and smile happily. They are so sweet and wonderful.
1. Hello my queen. This is the best that could happen to me: Getting your message! Of course I am free, I make myself free. Coffee only, or lunch? Where will we meet? I'll be there!!! You can recognize me easily, wearing a yellow shirt. And my hair is short these days. And you, any special items to recognize you, beside your shiny appearance?
2. I can't sleep. It's you. I love you. :-*
3. I hope that this message does not wake you up. But I can’t close the day without saying good night. We do so for as long as we know each other good. You’re part of my life, like sleeping, eating and loving. I miss you my love. Good night.
4. I can see through your eyes the love that you hide for others and stored for me.
5. If Love & Friendship could be brought or sold as if they were Stocks & Shares.those wise enough to invest in you SEXY would all be millionaires!!!
6. If water was a kiss, I’d send you the sea. If a hug was one leaf, I’d send you a tree. If love was forever, I’d send you eternity!
7. If I wrote your name in the sky wind would blow it away. If I wrote your name in the sea waves would wash it away. But your name is engravd in my heart where nothing can touch it!
8. If you love me like you told me please be careful with my heart- you can take it just don’t break it or my world will fall appart.
9. If a kiss was a raindrop I'd send was showers. If a hug was a second I'd send you hours. If a smile was water I'd send you a sea. If love was a person I'd send you me!
10. You are like the sunshine so warm, you are like sugar, so sweet... you are like you... and that's the reason why I love you!
11. If you love someone, put their name in a circle, instead of a heart, because hearts can break, but circles go on forever
12. You must be a good runner because you are always running in my mind, you must be a good thief because you have stolen my heart, and I am always a bad shooter because I Miss You Always...
13. I am opening an emotional bank account for you sweetheart, so deposit your love in it and you will get the interest
14. My love for you is a journey, starting at forever and ending at never
15. When the night comes, look at the sky. If you see a falling star, don't wonder why, just make a wish. Trust me, it will come true, because I did it and I found you.
16. Words however special... could never even start, to tell you all the love I have for you within my heart. xXx
17. I feel something in my heart, it's like a little flame, every time I see you, this flame lights up, this flame is special for you, because I LOVE YOU!.…
18. Somewhere, someone dreams of your smile & finds your presence in life so worthwhile. So when you are lonely, remember it’s true that someone, somewhere, is thinking of you.
19. Looks may capture the eyes, but it’s the personality that captures the heart.
20. Lonely? No, how can I be lonely when you are always in my thoughts. I wake up with you and go to sleep with you. I love you!!
21. If you read this message, you owe me a hug. If you delete, you owe me a kiss. If you save, you owe me a date. If you reply, you owe me all but if you ignore it, you are mine. Choose one
22. Our love is the most beautiful and precious thing in the world, and I'll treasure it all the days of my life. Love you forever.

Entrance exams finish

The entrance examinations to our university have just finished. They are divided into two periods. Period one (3,4,5 th July): students do tests belonging to Group A: Math (180 minutes), Physics (90 minutes) and Chemistry (90 minutes). Period two (8,9, 10th July) : students do tests belonging to Group C: Literature, History and Geography, each lasts for 180 minutes, and tests belonging to Group D: Math (180 minutes), Literature (180 minutes) and a foreign language (English in our university) (90 minutes). On examination days supervisors have to get up early. I myself got up at 5 am this year's exams. It is really tiring not doing anything during the tests but give examination papers, sign the papers and keep an eye on students. Easy to fall asleep if the weather is cool (luckily I have never fallen asleep because I drink coffee but sometimes yawn) and terribly exhausted if it is sunny and hot (for example, yesterday afternoon I sweated a lot). Finally, they were over today. We have our summer holiday, officially from this afternoon.

Son's world

I have got a small desk in my son's room. In fact we share this desk. When I work here my son often plays behind me (like the time when he was a small baby, playing near mummy and letting mummy work). A good boy. While I am writing this blog entry he is playing behind me. I took this photo some days ago, and just looking at it you will know something about him and his world. The bookcase used to be mine but now nearly full of his stories and toys. The fan is always his friend, even there is his name on it. He likes assembling things (building things he can imagine) and drawing (the book I bought for him when we were in Saigon) and reading Doremon and Conan stories (they are in the bed).