I'm Moving To Vietnam
My last year of college was filled with one awful question, "What are you doing after graduation?"
I find myself asking my friends the same question. As though their careers are the most important part of who they are and what they are "doing" with their lives is only constituted by their jobs. But it did make conversation easy so I fell into the trap as well. For the first semester of senior year this question was a major source of anxiety not only when others asked me but when I asked myself. What did I want to do? What could I do? Was I even good at anything?
I now have an answer to that awful question that I can breezily say because it sounds so adventurous and yet just like me (however, I am not the most adventurous at heart). On June 14th I'm taking 4 planes that will move me and my 100 pounds of luggage to Vietnam. In case you don't know it's the country that touches Laos, Cambodia, and China. I'll be living in Hanoi, the capital. I know very little about Vietnam except they are basically over the war, they love Americans, the main food is soup with noodles or pho, and it is usually 90-100 degrees with 90-100% humidity.
Everyone then follows up with why Vietnam. It's a perfectly reasonable question as I bet you don't know many people who have moved or travelled to Vietnam except for someone maybe in the war (which they are basically over). I have a myriad of answers for you as to why Vietnam but I'll be honest and start with the most important one: a man. Feel free to roll your eyes and say I would never have done that two years ago. And maybe that's true. But I met a wonderful man in Costa Rica and we've been long distance since returning from study abroad. We have been seriously discussing our futures since the day we started dating and in senior year it was no different of a conversation, expect it was real. He wanted to teach English to make a real difference and positively impact people's lives through teaching them a language that can greatly advance their position in life. I didn't have any real plans and wanted to do some type of work outside of a long term job for a time. I've said for a while I wanted to take a year or two and do work completely unrelated to my future profession (what that will be I have no idea). So I began looking into teaching English as well because why not? It looked like good money, lots of travel, and low hours. Maximum reward for minimum effort; sign me up!
We saw immediately that Asia looked to be the best place to start teaching as they pay the most and include benefits but they also respect their teachers an incredible amount. And then he suggested Vietnam. Why? He liked the food. Really? Yes. However, he did visit over Christmas and fell in love with the country and the people. So we booked two one-way tickets to Hanoi. In case you're wondering, I plan on teaching kindergarten age after I take a certification class for teaching.
There are other reasons for teaching and moving. I love little children. They fill my life up with so much joy to see their innocence and unique and unfiltered perspectives on life. I think we have much to learn from children. I also wanted to firmly plant myself in a community and grow into a more humane, gentle, and caring global citizen. I don't feel any particular place is my one home and so the idea of being able to move to a place so foreign and so unknown to me sounded like exactly what I needed after being in Columbia and Greenville, South Carolina for the past 22 years.
I also wanted to start my real life in the most fulfilling way I knew how: to immerse myself in a place so deeply that it becomes where my heart is. I'm terrified but anything worth doing should make you a little bit scared. There are many anxieties I have like what will I eat, will I make friends, how will I speak a language I don't know, and what if I hate it? I don't have any solid answers to these anxieties but I'm so excited to begin a life that I create all on my own. I feel like for a while I've been following along with what is expected of me. Now I get the chance to pursue things that make my heart sing. Moving is one of those things. I'm not sure how long I'll be gone. One year, two, maybe even three. I'm not crafting too many plans as I've realized reality is never the same as my expectations so why try to force anything when I can follow the path laid out for me as it comes. I'll be coming back to visit if anyone is willing to pay for my ticket back (any takers?) But please come and visit. I'm willing to go anywhere in Asia to see friends and family! I'll be homesick at some points I'm sure, but that won't stop me from making a new home for myself. It's time.
I'm ready. My parents have greatly prepared me for the past 22 years for this exact opportunity and my friends have taught me that you must go out and create the life you want to live. I look forward to growing, loving, teaching, and making a new home in Vietnam.
I find myself asking my friends the same question. As though their careers are the most important part of who they are and what they are "doing" with their lives is only constituted by their jobs. But it did make conversation easy so I fell into the trap as well. For the first semester of senior year this question was a major source of anxiety not only when others asked me but when I asked myself. What did I want to do? What could I do? Was I even good at anything?
I now have an answer to that awful question that I can breezily say because it sounds so adventurous and yet just like me (however, I am not the most adventurous at heart). On June 14th I'm taking 4 planes that will move me and my 100 pounds of luggage to Vietnam. In case you don't know it's the country that touches Laos, Cambodia, and China. I'll be living in Hanoi, the capital. I know very little about Vietnam except they are basically over the war, they love Americans, the main food is soup with noodles or pho, and it is usually 90-100 degrees with 90-100% humidity.
We saw immediately that Asia looked to be the best place to start teaching as they pay the most and include benefits but they also respect their teachers an incredible amount. And then he suggested Vietnam. Why? He liked the food. Really? Yes. However, he did visit over Christmas and fell in love with the country and the people. So we booked two one-way tickets to Hanoi. In case you're wondering, I plan on teaching kindergarten age after I take a certification class for teaching.
There are other reasons for teaching and moving. I love little children. They fill my life up with so much joy to see their innocence and unique and unfiltered perspectives on life. I think we have much to learn from children. I also wanted to firmly plant myself in a community and grow into a more humane, gentle, and caring global citizen. I don't feel any particular place is my one home and so the idea of being able to move to a place so foreign and so unknown to me sounded like exactly what I needed after being in Columbia and Greenville, South Carolina for the past 22 years.
I'm ready. My parents have greatly prepared me for the past 22 years for this exact opportunity and my friends have taught me that you must go out and create the life you want to live. I look forward to growing, loving, teaching, and making a new home in Vietnam.
Comments
Post a Comment