When living in Vietnam as an expat, I found the city of Hanoi to be a wonderful mix of old and new. From the Old Quarter with French influenced architecture and egg coffee to the neighborhood of Tay Ho where nearer businesses were known to take shape. My experience living in the city was highly … Continue reading Explore Hanoi: Off-the-Beaten-Path Attractions
Vietnam is a gorgeous Southeast Asian country! By all accounts, the country boasts mountains, lakes, waterfalls, cities, towns and more! During my stint as an English teacher living in Hanoi, Vietnam, I found ways to continue traveling even amidst work. Here are three of the best day trips from the capital of the North. En … Continue reading 3 Day Trips From Hanoi, Vietnam
A place you stay eventually becomes the place you are living. Then, it becomes a home. In some cases, it is one of many homes. From my experience as a backpacker, this can happen in as few as 3 days or take years to occur. Recently, I have found myself wondering what home means. I … Continue reading Teaching in Vietnam Express Memo
"The mountains are calling and I must go" ~ John Muir Through the field of psychology, we learn how to understand people - a shortened statement often used to describe the purpose of our degree. We learn to empathize with pain of the homeless, the anger of the drunken man, the internalized shame many, to … Continue reading Teaching in Vietnam: #4
Pho with duck, garlic and extra red chili peppers (Hanoi, Vietnam) Human perception can be a funny thing. Specifically, given how one understands their reality can be used to expand one's own perception. Pho with duck (pictured above) turned out to be the perfect motivator for a needed perspective shift in the right direction. Following … Continue reading Teaching in Vietnam: #3
In my CK8 class, we welcomed a new student. As usual, I asked my students to introduce themselves by sharing their name, age and an interesting fact about themselves. During this activity, one of my students blew me away. She stated her name, age and proclaimed 'I'm gay!'. The vulnerability of this statement, even if … Continue reading Teaching in Vietnam: #1
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