Viet Lives Life Abroad
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I've not talked to many of the people in the photo I've listed for awhile. Once upon a time, I couldn't imagine visiting Vietnam without the company of my mother. I couldn't imagine how to be in the lands of my fore(mothers)/fathers without a family.
I could dwell on all that has changed and all the people I no longer have in my life. But, I want to exert some agency here to figure out what Vietnam means to me as an adult without a family, but with a head full of stories of what Vietnam was like for my grandparents and my mother. I want to undersatnd what it means to be a Vietnamese American. I want to earn my namesake of being a Nguyen/Phan who is always (Hoai) Viet(nam). I want to write my own stories. I want to speak the language on my lips. I want to feel the humid air and the steaming hot sun on my skin.
In the limbo of medical school, I feel more lost than ever and am hoping to have time in northern Vietnam, in the land of my ancestors, to discover what matters to me and what I hope to do with my life. It is cliched, but I want to find myself.
I'm hoping to take the longway to Vietnam, by travelling through London, Paris, Seville, the Italian Alps, Istanbul, and Ha Noi. Somewhere during my 10 months abroad, I'm hoping to visit Cambodia, Thailand, some undecided part of India. On my adventures abroad, I hope to think, to connect, to mourn and grieve, to redefine who I undersatnd myself to be and who I hope to become.
I'm inviting your financial support, because I do need a little help. I am living on loans. I've never had a trust fund. I don't have a family cushion upon which to rely. And I don't think I need much, save for morale and emotional support. But having some extra cash to figure out what to do with my belongings in the US, to spend on buses and trains, to spend on a Kindle to read will my trip. It may mean one less tutoring gig to pick up in Vietnam. It may mean more time to take photos, or play the ukulele, or to write you a postcard.
So, as my birthday is coming up and I am one year older, I invite you to buy me a virtual drink or cupcake online. If you feel it is within your ability, please share with me the equivalent an over-priced coffee. Of course, if it's not within your ability to do so, know that I'm happy to share my story with you anyways.
I am deeply grateful for your presence in my life. I will keep writing. Until next time, sending you all my love.
I could dwell on all that has changed and all the people I no longer have in my life. But, I want to exert some agency here to figure out what Vietnam means to me as an adult without a family, but with a head full of stories of what Vietnam was like for my grandparents and my mother. I want to undersatnd what it means to be a Vietnamese American. I want to earn my namesake of being a Nguyen/Phan who is always (Hoai) Viet(nam). I want to write my own stories. I want to speak the language on my lips. I want to feel the humid air and the steaming hot sun on my skin.
In the limbo of medical school, I feel more lost than ever and am hoping to have time in northern Vietnam, in the land of my ancestors, to discover what matters to me and what I hope to do with my life. It is cliched, but I want to find myself.
I'm hoping to take the longway to Vietnam, by travelling through London, Paris, Seville, the Italian Alps, Istanbul, and Ha Noi. Somewhere during my 10 months abroad, I'm hoping to visit Cambodia, Thailand, some undecided part of India. On my adventures abroad, I hope to think, to connect, to mourn and grieve, to redefine who I undersatnd myself to be and who I hope to become.
I'm inviting your financial support, because I do need a little help. I am living on loans. I've never had a trust fund. I don't have a family cushion upon which to rely. And I don't think I need much, save for morale and emotional support. But having some extra cash to figure out what to do with my belongings in the US, to spend on buses and trains, to spend on a Kindle to read will my trip. It may mean one less tutoring gig to pick up in Vietnam. It may mean more time to take photos, or play the ukulele, or to write you a postcard.
So, as my birthday is coming up and I am one year older, I invite you to buy me a virtual drink or cupcake online. If you feel it is within your ability, please share with me the equivalent an over-priced coffee. Of course, if it's not within your ability to do so, know that I'm happy to share my story with you anyways.
I am deeply grateful for your presence in my life. I will keep writing. Until next time, sending you all my love.
Organiser
Viet Nguyen
Organiser
Somerville, MA