Nowhere in Hanoi is more symbolic of historical change in Vietnam than the Hoa Lo Prison. Nicknamed the Hanoi Hilton by the POWs kept there during the American War, it was built as a prison for nationalist natives by the French colonisers. Now all that remains is a small museum, overshadowed by Hanoi Towers, where expats can have a serviced appartment, office and a western supermarket under one roof. In short, never be confronted by Vietnam.

Having tea in a cafe by the Cathedral today, I overheard Mr "I used to work for the World Bank", ranting about the need to educate the Vietnamese in jazz. This caught my attention as I, in fact, went to a Jazz bar last night. I had asked a Vietnamese friend to take us to see jazz, and she took us to Minhs - where she was the only Vietnamese person apart from the waiters. We had all wanted to experience Vietnamese jazz, of which there is apparently, a lively scene. But like all the Vietnamese I have met, she thought, thanks to the inhabitants of Hanoi Towers and the like, that foreigners want to stick together.

This makes me appreciate teaching even more. I spend all day every day with Vietnamese people, and I never come home without learning something, however small. This week I have learnt among other things, that there is a Ho Chi Minh youth organisation that all teenagers must join at 14, that they are celebrating there 75th anniversary on Sunday which is why I was subjected to three hours of my students singing and dancing with kids from "the Vietnamese version of the Mickey Mouse club", and most importantly that if the lights don't work in the classroom try the switch next door...