A few years ago I told myself that at the age of 30 I should be out of my country and into the world. That was when I knew Manila was starting to get to my nerves - traffic, eating at the same old restaurants, getting drunk at the same old bars, hair cuts at the same old salons...Ugh! Work was starting to burn me out and life felt like a trap. I was a hamster running in circles in this wheel inside a cage. The self loving side of me was nagging if I don't get off I would die of exhaustion. A little too dramatic but I am sure you get my drift.
Mama always said that I was reckless. I think what she really meant was - restless. As a child I was always running around with friends and hardly at home except for meals and sleep. A summer spent with friends would look something like:
6am Jog to airport and sprint in the tarmac
9am Climb big old Acacia tree
12nn Lunch
1pm Siesta or sneaking out my window to go to a friends house to play jackstones
2pm Biking around the neighborhood or playing Chinese garter
5pm Home to help mama cook
7pm Dinner
8pm In bed reading
I was happiest outside my house and exploring the neighborhood or the city alone or with friends. Even in the evenings I managed to get away as I curled up in bed to read a good book. Nancy Drew and Sherlock Holmes were favorites.
So yes. I liked running around, moving places, finding out new things, new people and new ways to have fun, make fun and play.
So when, at the age of 30, a friend called and said, "Anne, do you want to work in Vietnam?"
I looked up, smiled, mouthed a big Thank You God! and said, "Yes."
Zoi Oi! Vietnam... "OMG! Vietnam..."
This blog is my effort at making sense of and sharing this current adventure... aka keeping my sanity in this oh so wonderfully crazy country.
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