I had two conversations yesterday with two different people about the psychological difference between Vietnamese and Canadians (Nguoi Viet and Nguoi Nuoc Ngoai).

As a Canadian citizen, I was given a birth certificate upon entry into this world. Granted an individual identity and then cared for by my parents until I was old enough to take care of myself, I believe in independence and self-reliance. I was born into a family, but they were also all individuals with their own certificate and independant expectations of what life would offer them.

In Vietnam, children are born into a family. They are not granted a single certificate of birth, but rather entered into a book of the family. It lists the parents and all of the children born to the parents and part of the family. Children are cared for by their parents, and when they are old enough to take care of themselves, they are expected to also help to take care of their parents.

This difference is the one of the most staggering differences I have noticed between cultures.
However, dispite this, we develop and share the same general ideas about our hopes and dreams. We have desires and needs but find different ways to achive them or to fulfil them.

Nelson Mandela once said "We are not different people speaking different languages, we are the same people speaking different tongues".

"Isn't it interesting how we don't seem to fear while we are in a situation, it's only after when we look back and give our heads a shake and say 'wow', what was I thinking?"

Six months less six days ago I arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I first landed. I had literally just gone through the biggest whirlwind of my life. The four weeks prior to my departure from Canada I had quit my job - broke up with my boyfriend - left all of my personal posessions in storage in Ontario - packed my dog, cat and big screen tv into my truck - drove through a snowstorm back to the folks' house for Christmas in Nova Scotia - found a job in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - accepted the job in Vietnam - decided to start researching Vietnam - and then left the country with no intentions of looking back.

I'll be honest, the first six months were as overwhelming as the previous four weeks had been. I met my first four thousand cockroaches. Saw a few rats that were as big as my cat - and then ate a cousin. I learned to cross the streets of Saigon, then learned to ride a motorbike in the same insanity that made my heart stop when I first laid eyes on these streets. Learned to be comfortable with myself while I was surrounded by a group of people and not understanding a single word of what was being said around me. Learned how to accept that millions of people are doing things this way because it works. Learned what it feels like to be a visible minority. Made a ton of fantastic friends, some who have stayed and some who have since left for their own homeland. Fell in Love. Quit the job I came here to do and found a new job.

Which leads me to the title of this blog. A year in Vietnam. The new job starts on July 31st, and is a one year contract. Three days ago signed a one year lease to move in with the boyfriend that loves me and makes me feel better and more special than a lone star would if it were the only one to exist.

So after a six month 'trial period' I've decided to give it an honest shot. I've decided to give up the luxurious EXPAT lifestyle that so many foreigners live when working overseas, mostly because I want to save money and the easiest way to do that is to live way below my means. (my father would be so proud to hear me say that). However, giving up Expat ways will mean life will be more difficult. I won't have a maid, or a washing machine for that matter. This means hand washing and hanging up to dry. Cable TV is a luxury we have decided against and instead will opt for books and language studies, exercise and music in the background. The daily beers leading to sloshing drunks are a thing of the past, minus very rare & special occasions or events where work requires I attend for 'networking' in which case, will be expensed. Trips will be via local bus and weekends will be spent helping the boyfriend's family sell coffee at the family coffee shop in Phan Thiet. Food will be bought at the market and then cooked at home.

Maybe I'm crazy. Maybe I'm not. We'll see how things go over the next year. It's my life here I am... living every moment of it. I used to think that I couldn't write about life because things kept happening and changing, and that things needed to finish before reflecting. I realize that with a daily blog, this is not the case, and it's an interactive journal that someday may serve as a draft for my first book, a novel of my life.

If not, then it'll be fun writing and looking back later when I'm old and grey saying... "I did that? What the hell was I thinking?"