While nobody was super surprised by my Vietnam announcement, they did have a lot of questions. Here are my answers.
Who: Me, duh. I've always loved to travel, in fact after traveling in Europe for 6-ish months in 2007, I had planned to move home, save a bunch of money, then go travel and teach in South America. Instead life happened, I wound up finding a great job working with some even better people that sent me traveling me around the world. My wanderlust was satisfied for a while and I never ended up heading South. Fast forward to 2015, and things were finally aligning for me to take the leap. It was now or never and I chose now.
What: Move halfway across the world to a country that I've never visited and don't speak the language. Shrug, why not. I can travel, help people learn a language, and get paid to do it? Sign me up! Originally I had planned to get an online TESOL certificate (neccessary to get a legit job) and find a teaching position immediately. I had read that it is super easy to find English teaching jobs in Vietnam, and I was ready to get started. However, the more I thought about it I realized I want to be a really good teacher, and I wasn't sure I could learn enough from an online course; face to face teaching seemed like a better option. I found a month long TESOL program that took place in Cambodia for two weeks, then moved to Vietnam for the second two weeks. Sounded like a good option to me, I got to check another country off the list while working towards my goal, so I signed up for the class, bought my plane ticket and started making solid plans.
When: I departed PDX about month ago. One of my best friends is currently living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, so I decided to visit her first. My layover city on the way to KL was Dubai, so naturally I had to take a couple of days to check out that city as well. After a couple weeks of sightseeing and eating my weight in Roti Canai, I was off to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The TESOL program started May 18th, and the journey to teaching began.
Where: Vietnam! I still haven't officially decided what city I'll settle in, but I'm currently living in Ho Chi Minh City and liking it much more than I had expected to. I'm also considering Hanoi, which is in the North, is a little smaller, and has a more quaint feeling to it BUT it gets pretty cold in the winter there and I'm not sure I want to deal with that. I mean who moves to SE Asia to be cold?
Why: I think the why is really answered up above in the "who" but as far as why I chose Vietnam specifically, there were many factors. Essentially I went through the list of cities that had the most favorable ratio of cost of living vs. salary, and worked my way down from the top until I got to a country that felt like the right fit. Vietnam seems like one of those countries that has maintained its own identity, hasn't been as Westernized as some Asian countries, has an amazingly diverse mix of topography, and of course the food. I love Vietnamese food. After making my decision, "Vietnam" started popping up all around me. Radio specials on NPR, documentaries on TV, random mentions in my daily life, it was as though my choice was being affirmed daily.
In the first couple of weeks there were moments where I thought "What am I doing?? I'm not cut out for this!" That feeling has since passed, and I'm so excited to see what this upcoming year has in store.
So there you have it, my first official blog post, and a quick overview of how I got here!
Goodnight Vietnam, Good morning Portland!
Exciting!!! Wilkommen!
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