Life in Sa Pa
Can you spot the human?
8 Months In
No scooter yet lies beneath me, but I am suddenly aware of becoming just a little bit Vietnamese. After 8 months here in Da Nang, Vietnam, the previously weird begins to morph into the vaguely familiar. Although Home with a capital H remains Michigan, little guy h home has become right here. The view off my balcony – of five karaoke bars, two lit up neon bridges and the newest Dragon Bridge that really, actually breathes fire – is somewhat normal. I’m comfortable packing my own toilet paper anywhere I go and don’t ever consider drinking water from the tap, even when I’m thirsty and half asleep. Chopstick by chopstick, I’m adapting.
90% to 30
30, the exciting and formidable age of becoming a grown up, is just around the corner. At age 27 I am 90% of the way there. By then I should manage to have a respectable career, respectable bank account, respectable repertoire of amusing life experiences, a push up bra and a toolbox. But what about just before? Where “should” those of us in our late twenties be?
Answer: anywhere.
The beauty of our generation is that the definitions have broadened; the expectations become more second-guessed; the white picket fences more grey. So lads and lasses – take advantage. We are the pioneers of “the twenties”. We are among the first to be gifted a decade with little requirements other than to find ourselves and experience life. So, let’s do our best and do our worst, our sloppiest and our most outrageous. Do it now before babies, mortgages and 401Ks demand otherwise. But let’s do it with a purpose – our own purpose. As my step-mom has told me since we became great friends twenty years ago, “You can do anything you want, but you can’t do everything. So choose wisely.”
For those of you trying to figure out how to spend the remainder of your twenties, here are a few recommendations.
…And We’re Back
Happy Year of the Snake!
Leaving on a Tet Plane
No, don’t be fooled. This is not a real blog post. This is simply an excuse to be a happy pup. Life is good at the moment, Fine Friends. Today we move into our brand new mega house. It would be way out of our range anywhere else in the world but, since we are in Vietnam, it will only set us back a banana and a kiwi. Then, quick, quick, it’s time to pack up again and head out to ring in the Lunar New Year in style – two weeks in Malaysia, Baby! On top of all this, my students rocked their exams – well done, kiddos!- and JD is already good pals with Vietnam.
On that note, Happy Tet to you all. May the Year of the Snake be a good to you!
Ain’t Nothing Wrong With Nothing
And hella then what?
Suddenly you’re more tired than rested and you’ve missed your favorite show for the last half season, lost your spot in that book you were reading and haven’t bothered to blog or tweet or facebook, email, pinterest, text or do any noun that we now consider to be a verb. But turns out you don’t give a what. Sorry, Imaginary Audience and Facebook Newsfeed. I’ve been too busy out there living life to remember to document it with copious blurred photos and drunkenly insightful posts. And, sorry to say, but don’t look like nothing’s bout to change no time soon. The world is calling and this computer screen can only hold me just so long before I succumb to sun and sky and scooterly life.
So off I trot…
Happy Togetho
It’s great to be happy.
In the six week hiatus since the last post I have jetted off to America, had an incredible three weeks with my family, struggled through a round of goodbyes that was no less than devastating, and emerged on the other side with one great, big, silly grin. Why? Because the day after I arrived back in Vietnam a present landed on my doorstep…JD.
Hearting Michigan
Here’s a little more love for the mitten state in my most recent guest post: Finding Adventure in Michigan. The countdown ’til home has begun!
Home Sweet Far Away Home
In case you haven’t guessed by now, I love to travel. It’s a passion that has dictated several moves, many flights and countless bus rides over the years. So, as a self-proclaimed travel addict, my next statement might seem strange: there’s no place like home (insert eye roll).
