Viet Nam. I am here. Welcome to my blog chronicling my (mis)adventures and experiences in this fascinating country.
For Americans, the word "Vietnam" is fraught with imagery and history. Jimi Hendrix. Hueys. Kent State. Jungles. Oliver Stone. Napalm in the morning. But that was 30 years ago. The reality today is totally different. Motor scooters. Internet cafes. English and accounting lessons. Five star hotels and restaurants. I love the irony present in the picture to the left -- ah, the empty economic promise of communism (you can tell by their uplifted faces) juxtaposed with the bounty of capitalism.
I arrived this morning, not sure how I would react to actually being here. Well, it feels pretty much exactly like I expected it to feel -- great. I was ready to bust a move and make a change. I crave adventure and new experiences. So I just did it. It wasn't so hard, really. The toughest part is coming to the point of making a leap -- making the leap is actually pretty easy. It's a lot like standing on a high dive, trying to summon the courage to jump. The worst part is the moments before you jump where sometimes you can be seized with fear (I have a thing about heights). But the act of jumping and falling is actually rather exilarating. "Hey, that's not bad at all!"
The purpose of this blog is to share with my friends and family some of the color of my life in this country. Oh yeah, and to write. Writing forces me to think, which I generally avoid doing. So maybe I'll have some great, pithy entries about the meaning of life and fulfillment. Or maybe I'll just race to the lowest common denominator and start a celebrity blog about Brad and Angelina. Or maybe I'll just tell fart jokes. Stay tuned.