Herron heads to Vietnam to teach English

By Dean Rhodes

Smoke Signals editor

Editorial Board member Monty Herron became the ninth Grand Ronde Tribal member to live overseas on Tuesday, May 21, when he boarded a plane in Seattle bound for Vietnam.

Herron, 46, accepted a position teaching English at a language school in the Mekong delta city of Vinh Long, which has a population of about 150,000.

Herron is now the Tribal member who is the sixth farthest away from Grand Ronde.

Two Tribal members live in western Australia, two live in Qatar and one lives in the United Arab Emirates, which are all farther away than the approximately 7,500 miles between Grand Ronde and Vinh Long.

Herron said he decided to accept the positon in Vietnam after a series of unfulfilling jobs he has worked at since graduating from and teaching at Portland State University. During his last job, which involved making potato chips, he injured his hand and now has a permanent partial disability.

The teaching position in Vietnam is for one year, with a four-month escape clause for either himself or employer in case it does not work out.

Herron said he found out about the teaching position from a close friend who found him English teaching positions in either Japan or Vietnam with the latter position paying better.

Herron started preparing for the move about a month ago, including getting vaccinations for numerous diseases. He already possessed a passport.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” he said.

Herron does not speak Vietnamese, but was told that should not be a problem.

“They said, ‘You’re here to teach English, not learn Vietnamese,’ ” he said. “There is a huge push there to learn English.”

Herron’s job will include teaching English to elementary school-aged children in the mornings and then teaching high school-aged students and adults in the evenings.

Herron said he is looking forward to the adventure, from trying the cuisine to adapting to the heat and humidity of Southeast Asia.

“I’m a big fan of pho,” he said. “I’m excited for the adventure. I want to go teach again because teaching is what I am really passionate about. I just wish I could take the people I love with me. That’s the rough part.”

Herron also plans on keeping up his responsibilities as an Editorial Board member, participating in meetings through Skype despite the 14-hour time difference. Herron has been a board member since June 2017.

“It is my hope since I was just reappointed and it would be a bad deal for me to bail,” he said. “I was one of the people who pushed for us possibly having a member at-large on our board because I think it speaks to us really serving our mission of serving Tribal members everywhere.”