Anticipation

This crazy idea of quitting my job and taking time to do the things I've always wanted to do probably started when Matt & Amber told us of doing the same except they were literally traveling around the world for 9 months. At that time, it was more of an admiration for what they were going to do and not really a distinct possibility for me.  Months flew by, and I was exhausted from working with folks in three regions across the world. Somewhere in there, one of my training buddies said she was going to take 3 weeks to tour around Vietnam. So, I slowly lost the will to work and gained this desire to see more of the world. Now here I am, starting the first leg of the journey towards 'the motherland.'  

I don't know what to expect. A lot of the other Vietnamese kids have gone with their families to visit family. I am going without my family, like any other tourist, except I speak the language.  Well, 'speak' is relative.  I understand Vietnamese, and I have a decent vocabulary thanks to all the dubbed kung-fu soap operas I watched with my grandmother when I was growing up.  I have a Northern accent made worse with an American accent, and  I'm afraid that when I get to Saigon, no one will understand my Vietnamese.  

Well, at least I finally get to resolve the question of whether or not I look Vietnamese.