They are running around the man's feet. Some squeal and others just move curiously close to him. Some jump and turn. They are all around the man. He is surrounded. Some of them are quiet and shy. They are small. He doesn't think he needs to be afraid. But, how do he know what to expect from them? They are here and there and everywhere. There must be 12 or 14 of them. The hair on them all looks the same, some of them have long hair and some short, but it is all black, just the same. They look cute and cuddly. But, what is the man supposed to do with them? He thinks to himself, "What would Lisa do?".

It's a cool and cloudy December day . The man is sitting on the banks of the Perfume River. It divides the historic city of Hue into two parts. The city is historic partly because of the Vietnam War. This was the dividing line between North and South Vietnam.

The man is reading a 'who-done-it' book on his kindle. Behind him he hears a motorbike pull up and stop, but he does not turn around. This is a park on the river banks, but as is the case on every sidewalk or aisle in any open street market here, motorbikes are allowed to roam as they please.

The man just wants to read this intriguing book as the plot of the murder develops. Often here, and around Vietnam in general, people will approach a foreigner as they walk or sit. The older ones usually want to sell something or take you on a tour. The younger ones just want to speak English with the foreigner.

Today the man came to the quieter part of the river to avoid the crowds . So, the man does not turn around to see who has stopped on the motorbike. Maybe they will see him reading his book and just continue on.

But, no. The person walks down the bank to the small cement bench the man is sitting on and stands in front of him. "Hello". 

As the man looks up, he is surprised to see it is a woman speaking to him. She is nicely dressed and speaks good English.

What could be the reason this woman has stopped to talk to the man? She speaks good English so she is not like the University students that are always looking for someone to speak English with. She is too well mannered and dressed to be looking for a hand out. The man is curious enough to find out what she has in mind to put the 'who-done-it' on hold.

After enough small talk the woman tells the man what is on her mind!

She is the head of an elementary school . (Maybe like a superintendent in the U.S. or something, he does not understand her position exactly.) She would like him to come to her school to speak with a class of students learning English. The students range in age from 5-11.

The man agrees and asks how to find the school. She gives him a card and draws a map of directions on it. But, she tells the man, "We will come to your hotel and pick you up."

The street in front of the hotel is busy, as usual, with hundreds of motorbikes, bicycles, cyclos and an occasional car. When one of the large cars move down the street they always create a traffic jam.

But, exactly at the agreed on time, the woman arrives in the midst of the hordes of motorbikes, to pick up the man. He thought she might send someone to pick him up, but the woman comes on the motorbike herself. "I hope you are not frightened of the traffic in Vietnam", she tells the man . 

He has ridden on many motorbikes in Asia already, and tells the woman "Don't worry". It is something he has learned to say from the Asians themselves! They will always tell a foreigner "don't worry". Often, the foreigner is concerned about transportation or other things that have been arranged for him by the hotel staff or other helpful Asian.

The way of doing things in Asia is often a mystery to western tourists. It just seems so disorganized or mysterious. Maybe it's the fact that the arrangements are made in the native language and the foreigner does not know what is being said that makes them uneasy. And the fact that the Asians work on a more relaxed time table than many westerners are used to. If the transport should arrive at a certain time, it might show up 30 minutes or an hour later. So, when the foreigner asks about a room or bus or tries to find out the details, "Don't worry".
 
The man is taken to a small classroom and is introduced to the teacher . It is 5 P.M. The schools have two sessions each day. The first students have classes from 6 a.m. to about noon. Then, they leave and the next groups have classes from about 1 P.M. to 6 or 7 P.M. Halfway through the school year the groups switch the time they attend class.
 
There are lots of little people running around the small room. Some dart in and out of the door, the teacher in hot pursuit. They all wear sweaters or coats. There is no heating in homes or other buildings in Vietnam.

They are talking in Vietnamese, both the teacher and the children, so the man just stands in a confused state waiting for things to unfold, wondering what he is doing there. Then, the teacher starts speaking in English and tells the students from this point on, they need to speak only in English.

At some point, when she can turn her attention to the man, the teacher tells him to just talk to the children with simple English words.
 
Finally, the teacher gets the children seated at their desks . The desks are made to sit two students. The man goes around the room to each student and, getting close to the one he is speaking to, so he can be heard, asks the student his or her name and age. One is 5. Most are 6 and two are 7. But, they look more like 4 year olds to the man. Asian people are very small and the children look too little to be in a classroom!

Sometimes when the man asks one student a question, another knows the answer to it and leans over the shoulder of the one being asked and answers the question. "her Name ___, or his age __".

Some of them throw their hands toward the ceiling or spin around as they answer, some look shy and the man can barely hear their answer. The man thinks it is both hilarious and difficult to try to talk with them. But, he realizes already this is not a career path for him.

Then the students get to ask the man questions in English. Most ask two questions . 'What is your name' and 'How old are you?'

He tells them his name. They look confused. They have probably never heard the name before. He tells them again and then writes it on the blackboard. Then, he helps them pronounce it, over and over again. They never get the pronunciation exactly right, but that is okay. The man never really understood most of their names either.

When he answers the question about how old he is, they look even more confused. They probably have not learned their English numbers that high yet!
 
Then, the teacher stuns the man with her request!

"Do you know games to play with them?" 

She wants the man to teach them a game or song from America. The man is panicked. What does he know about 5 or 6 year old games or songs? He thinks about Lisa, a relative teaching about this same age kids in Michigan. She would know some games or songs . But, the man does not! He usually sees this age of kids running and yelling a lot, but is that a game?

The man must appear not to be too rattled. He is an American. America is loved among the young in this country! The American must look strong!

The game or song the teacher wants should be something to help the children with their English words. The man points to things and asks the children if they know the English word for it. He points to a book. His hat. A scarf. A backpack and a few other things in the room. He pronounces the names of the ones the kids do not know. He spells the word for them. H-A-T. They repeat.

Now he puts the boys in one line and girls in another. The boys team is called "Dragons". The girls team is called "Princesses".

The first one in line gets to identify the objects the man has collected and placed at the front of the classroom . The man says the name of the item and the boy or girl first in line races to the item and puts a finger on it. The first one to choose the correct item earns a point for their team. The teacher keeps score on the blackboard. 

Then, the Dragon and Princess go to the back of their team's line to wait for their next turn. But, it seems the young Dragons have not yet got the concept of getting behind the 'last' one in line. Often they hop or jump or run back to their team's line, but get behind the very next Dragon that is up to play, not at the end of the line!

After a while the teams scores are close. So, the man has an idea. He looks at the backpack while he says "coat". Sure enough, both the Dragon and Princess race to the backpack and put a finger on it. The man smiles to himself, proud to outsmart the 5 and 6 year olds! He says "No" and repeats the item name, "coat". They try other items until one of them choses the correct one and gets the score .

They seemed to enjoy the game. It included the two things they seem to like best, running and yelling. (But those things were not really a part of the game. They added them on their own!)

The dragons won the game by 3 or 4 points.
 
The man just cannot think of a song that would work. So, the teacher has the students line up and sing a song for him! They sing a song where they use both hands to point at their head, shoulder, arm, legs, or feet as they sing the name of the body part in English.

After some effort, the teacher gets the children to sit at their desks for a photo. Then, they line up at the front of the room and the man snaps a photo quickly, before they decide to leave! 

Next the man is taken to another class. This class only has a few students. They are between 9 and 11 years old. They stay seated and He talks with them and they talk back in English . The last class is little guys again. They are 4 and 5 year olds. They want to touch the man and a few want a hug. 

The man regrets he didn't take photos in the last two classes. Maybe he was just too overwhelmed by this time!

At the park, when the man agreed to come to the school, the woman said he would be paid something to come. But, the man refused. He would come to the school as a goodwill gesture. Any money should be used for the school and the children.

Nevertheless, as the man finished with the last class, the woman from the park handed a wrapped gift to the man. It made a nice souvenir!

The man had a great time with the children. He enjoyed the opportunity to visit the Vietnamese school and meet the adults that work with these little packages of energy everyday! 

And, as he thought of all the parents, teachers and care takers of them the world over, he marveled at the energy they must have, their tenacity to keep with it, and their patience . Oh my, their patience!

The American man will always remember this December afternoon in Vietnam. It was a whirlwind 1 1/2 hours with little things flying and bouncing around. But, it was GREAT FUN and the man left the schoolyard grinning like a man with new teeth!

I know these things are true because . . . I AM THAT MAN!