Earth and Water : Encounters in Viet Nam

The author's personal experiences as an English teacher in Saigon. She emphasizes the uniqueness of adapting to a culture that she knew only from war movies and from one-sided history books. Paper edition (unseen), $16.95. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or. Born In The Early 1960s And Having No Direct Experience Of The Viet Nam War, Edith Shillue Arrived In Ho Chi Minh City (saigon) In September 1993 From Her Native Massachusetts To Begin Work As A University Lecturer In English And American History. This Book Is A Lively Rendering Of Her Time There And In Nam Ha Province In Northern Viet Nam, Where She Later Taught In Village Schools. Living And Working With The Vietnamese, Shillue Became Acquainted With Their Language, History, And Culture Through Circumstances That Range From Comic To Heartbreaking. Her Memoir Provides The Reader With Sharp Observation And Thoughtful Commentary, Whether She Is Portraying Her Home Life With A Vietnamese Family, Recounting The Joys And Frustrations Of Teaching At Both The Grade School And University Levels, Or Journeying To The Mekong Delta, Hanoi, Or The Killing Fields Of Cambodia. Edith Shillue ; Foreword By Kevin Bowen. 'Born in the early 1960s and having no direct experience of the Viet Nam War, Edith Shillue arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in September 1993 from her native Massachusetts to begin work as a university lecturer in English and American history. This book is a lively rendering of her time there and in Nam Ha Province in northern Viet Nam, where she later taught in village schools.''Living and working with the Vietnamese, Shillue became acquainted with their language, history, and culture through circumstances that range from comic to heartbreaking. Her memoir provides the reader with sharp observation and thoughtful commentary, whether she is portraying her home life with a Vietnamese family, recounting the joys and frustrations of teaching at both the grade school and university levels, or journeying to the Mekong Delta, Hanoi, or the killing fields of Cambodia.'--Jacket This account of the author's experiences of living and working in Vietnam provides an insight into Vietnam's history and culture. It portrays Shillue's home life with a Vietnamese family, the joys and frustrations of teaching in Vietnam, and her journey to the killing fields of Cambodia.