Last week our partners from Vietnam visited the Goducate Training Center (GTC) in Iloilo. The first thing they did was to give us a lesson in resourcefulness. We had been misinformed about the time of the arrival of their flight, and so were not at the airport to meet them. With no fuss, they just checked on Google Map to find out where we are located and were able to direct the taxi driver to GTC.
The goal of their visit was to look for potential English teachers for Vietnam. They were able to observe the kind of training that GTC provides. They also watched how the trainees performed in delivering speeches during the English class, after which they interviewed those who performed well. They were amazed to find out how Filipinos just love other cultures and are willing to adjust to new environments. They were also able to visit the city and some of the campuses where our trainees do their practical work.
From their interviews our Vietnamese partners think that our trainees could make a huge impact on the lives of the Vietnamese, so they have requested for 5 teachers of English by September. Our challenge now is not only to get the trainees ready to teach English, but also to help them understand Vietnamese culture, acquire a survival level of Vietnamese language, and how to get about in Vietnam—on motorbikes, which is the main means of transport there.
We have lost no time in rising to the challenge. The motorbike has been bought!
