The Student Canteen

The name of this blog is "Going Places", and as I've said, this doesn't just mean going places far away. It includes things near by. The purpose is to use movement (going places) as a way to learn more English and to share ideas about the world. And this movement doesn't have to be just to famous places like Ho Chi Minh City, Halong Bay, Paris, or Tokyo. It can also be about going to ordinary places that we visit every day.

It's now 12:12 PM, and that's about time for me to go somewhere important, although very nearby. I mean the student canteen. I live on Campus 1 here at Tra Vinh University, and I'm lucky to be living in a beautiful new building made for visiting teachers, specialists, and volunteers. Out my window right now I see the sports field where students come to play soccer and volleyball and, just behind that, I see a group of trees. To my left, just 2 minutes walk away, is the student canteen. And that's where I'm going very soon for lunch. I hope to have cơm tấm ("broken rice") which is a dish that combines broken grains of rice with some meat and vegetables on the side. It almost always comes with nước mắm ("fish sauce"), a small bowl of soup, and often a glass of iced tea. At canteen it's tasty and cheap, and when I'm busy in my apartment or in the office, I like to go there, instead of riding my bike into town.

Today, I have a special goal. I want to take some photos in the canteen and then come back here and post them on this blog. I don't think it'll be hard, but I'm still interested trying out this new technology. I think that the combination of image (photo and video), text (words that are written), audio (sound files) and also feedback (ideas, suggestions, criticisms) from students, friends, and readers can help make this a useful tool for learning English.