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30 Lessons I Learned as a Vietnam Expat

October 19, 2009 16 Comments »

expat vietnam lessons

I love to reflect upon my time in a place, so it’s fitting that after a year as a expat in Vietnam I sat down and actually thought about what I’ve learned about Vietnam, Asia, and myself. It wasn’t an easy road, and until I met some local friends about 6 months in did things […]

Coming Full Circle

October 13, 2009 11 Comments »

I spent the weekend going back to square one; back to where I started my life in Ho Chi Minh City. Let me back up a bit; I’ve been living out in a ‘suburb’ district for the last 6 months. Even though I have to come into the ‘city center’ (District 1) a few days […]

Motorbike Diaries – Vol. 17

October 10, 2009 17 Comments »

Rush Hour Start from the Beginning – Motorbike Diaries Vol. 1 Resistance is Futile – Assimilation I’m not sure how it happened, but I’ve become one of them. I wear a jacket (which I’m boiling in), a mask, a poncho, ….I’m a Vietnamese motorbike driver. I’ve become used to being squeezed into small places and driving […]

The Motorbike Diaries – Vol. 15

September 25, 2009 7 Comments »

Start from the Beginning – Motorbike Diaries Vol. 1 What’s in a Name? I’m going to state the obvious – I’m a girl. What I mean by that is I can exhibit typical girl traits at times; especially when it comes to my knowledge of cars. As long as I can remember, I’ve never really been […]

The Dust Bowl

July 23, 2009 17 Comments »

I often wonder how many months the pollution and dust in Saigon will take off my life.  For this reason, I can’t imagine living here long term.  Hell, I imagine that living here long term is akin to smoking a pack of cigarettes a day! That may be an exageration, however no one really knows what […]

Leaving on a Jet Plane…Tonight!

July 16, 2009 4 Comments »

Just a quick update  – I’m on the move once again; I’m taking a vacation….yeah!  Ever since I made the decision a year ago to come back to Asia and live in the area, I knew that one of the things I wanted to accomplish was to round out my Asia travel experience.  There’s one […]

Adventure Eating

July 15, 2009 5 Comments »

After 8 months here I finally found some Vietnamese friends who have taken me on as their ‘foreign friend project’. Meaning – they are helping me to see and experience the Vietnamese culture from a local perspective. It’s easy to experience the touristy side of Saigon, however I have found it hard to really integrate […]

Renewing a Passport Overseas

July 8, 2009 10 Comments »

I decided to start the process of getting my passport renewed as many countries won’t let you enter if you don’t have more than 6 months left on your passport validity. I certainly didn’t want to be turned away at the border of Mongolia! Plus, I’ve learned that working through the American consulate while you […]

Durian – The King of Fruits

July 5, 2009 31 Comments »

There are many hard things about living by yourself overseas…I may write a book about it someday if I can ever force myself to slow down long enough. However, this July 4th weekend highlights one of those many challenges; missing family. It’s my mother’s birthday, and my parent’s pending 50th Wedding anniversary, and my family […]

The Price of Being a Foreigner in Asia

July 2, 2009 19 Comments »

I was out with a friend today shopping for camera equipment for my upcoming trip to Mongolia. I went to a local little camera ‘stall’ near/in The Tax Department Store (I won’t even get into what a terrible name that is for a store…that could be a whole post on it’s own). I was looking […]