life – Perry Truong

A Year In Review

September 14, 2018October 8, 2018Leave a comment

This month marks my one year anniversary with Vietnam and wow has it been a wild year. I made amazing friends, traveled around south east Asia, gained wonderful new experiences, and learned a lot about myself and the world around me.

In the beginning, when I first moved here, I essentially came with three other people, arrive all within a month of each other. And for the first 6 months of living in Vietnam, those people have given me unparalleled support to try new things and have pushed me to live outside my comfort zone. We were all stuck together; living in this city with no English capacity. We relied on each other and that’s what cultivated such strong relationships. These once strangers have become one of the main reasons I have profoundly loved my experiences so much. We call ourselves a family because we have become one. Sometimes it really isn’t about where in the world you go, but it’s more about who you had surrounded myself with.

The bitter time came; one-by-one we all needed to say our farewells and take our leave in order to continue on our incredible adventures. The day when Raychel decided to leave me, I don’t know what happened, but I cried. It was eye opening to see how fond I have grown for these people, the center, and absolutely wonderful city. Then a month later, as I was leaving and headed off to the airport, I was crying as well. And not the type of crying where you look cute as you are seeing off some friends, the type of crying that is unexpected and takes over: can’t talk, can’t walk, all you are is a babbling idiot. Over this year, I am so grateful having made everlasting friends that I adore and continue to connect with. Every person that I have connected with has all taught me something valuable.

Being in a new country, knowing that time is limited, there is an silent, yet strong urge to capitalize. And, for me, that means exploring as many new places as time (and money) allows. There are too many highlights to share and with so many incredible people. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been able to travel around the whole Vietnam & even more outside the country. I get nostalgic thinking about all the wonderful (and miserable) trips I had.

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These last 12 months, I have been looking for any opportunity to travel and see more. Now, I’m looking through my photo albums and remembering all that I’ve seen: lanterns with Raychel, went hiking with Ngoc, cleansing temples with Sydney, endless meat sticks with Kyle, frigid waters with Mom, and squirt guns with Tammy. What amazing memories that will last a lifetime. These memories? I wouldn’t trade for anything. I realized that traveling is more about gaining experiences rather than taking photos of landmarks.

Through thick and thin, teaching has made it possible for me to continue exploring. It has been a cornerstone and foundational throughout my time here in Vietnam. I couldn’t write a year in review without mentioning teaching. For me, teaching is a new experience and wildly different than what I thought it would be. I thought how hard could it be: I already know English. Boy was I wrong. I have a huge new found respect for teachers. Lesson planning and cutting things up for an hour only for a 10 minute activity. In the beginning and first classes, I remember how nervous I would be for every class and how I would stress about going up to present.

In hindsight, I clearly overthought the gravity of the situation. I believed that everything I that I said and did had a direct impact of student’s life. While I was right… it ain’t that deep. I was too concerned with how the students thought of me and less concerned of how and what the students were learning. I started off teaching lessons that were teacher-based, now moving toward student-centered. What I realized over the past week is that I really do care about my students success and their growth with the English language. I take pride in being a teacher (which is hard because I am not properly trained to be one). I am happy to be a teacher for these next few months, but it’s not a job that I will be doing say 5 years from now.

Next for me? That is something that is still to be determined. I’m not sure what the future holds exactly, but I know one thing for sure is that I am still mobile and not ready to settle down yet. Maybe I’ll be a city near you next.

Cheers to another great year, wherever I am.
Perry

Realizations of Living Away

July 27, 2018August 24, 2018Leave a comment

1237208_561591543895153_1925881661_o — first week of university

When I was first moving out, I so strongly remember the feeling of excitement. I was happy to be on my own for the first time. No rules, no regulations, and no more sharing a room. And what we are blinded by, at that age especially, is the flashing lights and a conglomerate of emotions. Often what is forgotten is all that we have and that which is given up on our exit out of the nest. For most, like me, that was experience occurred when taking the journey to college.

I was reminded of that exact feeling when I left America to continue my adventure, post-graduation, in Vietnam. Excitement and nervousness; filled to the brim with giddy feelings and butterflies. (Exhibit A: my first few posts here.) And I was blinded by my own emotions — like I often am. To be clear, having excitement about a new adventure is never a bad thing. The mistake is allowing the feeling to completely take over. And that’s what happened. Caught up in the bliss of expedition, I lost sight of what I was leaving behind.

Over the past three weeks, I returned to America for the first time in nine months. It was definitely an interesting experience. When coming back home, the place felt like nothing changed. Everything was just on pause while I was gone. Same old buildings, same old people working at the same old restaurants. While at the same time, there was so much of that city I have yet to explore. My realization of living away dawn on me when I went on a hike in the fresh mountainous air. I remembered how much I love being with best friends, how much I missed the stability of a life in America, how much I missed living close to family, and (most importantly) how much I adore cold weather and sweaters. At this point I was questioning: should I just stay home?

It’s ironic to hear; numerous of people have said when they live abroad that they couldn’t imagine returning to a nine-to-five work week in the stale town they grew up in. That’s exactly what didn’t happen for me. When I came back, and I saw how much I craved the things that I don’t have. Reality struck. I guess the grass is always greener, huh?

It’s amazing the perspective you gain while going abroad. While the town I grew up in hasn’t changed, I have and my outlook has. Bringing in this new mentality gives me a whole new meaning to being at home. Now, as I reevaluate where I want to be, with all that I have discovered (and to answer my own question), I continue to recognize that Vietnam is the place I want to be. I have said it time and time again, it’s not traveling to new places that excites me, its experiencing different cultures and people. I’m not done with these unique interactions. This time, as I have returned, I have not and will not forget all the great people and places of the past. While I will always keep in contact with people I love, I’m staying here in Vietnam… but I’ll be back soon.

Updates will come more frequently (at least I hope),
Perry

Living Your Own Life

June 3, 2018June 4, 2018Leave a comment

What’s stopping you from doing what you want to do?

In the last eight months, I’ve heard repeated comments and compliments of what an incredible journey I am experiencing. Absolutely, I am having a marvelous time exploring Vietnam and getting a taste of the culture here. But I also hear comments about how others envy my life and are jealous of the path I have chosen to explore. Comments like ‘Wow Perry, I am so jealous of your life. I’ve always wanted to do something like this.’

I had a moment to reflect about this (… in the shower, naturally). And it prompted me to think about whether I am envious of anyone else’s life. Am I happy with where I am and what I’m doing? The abbreviated answer is a resounding yes. I couldn’t imagine anywhere else that I want to be – at least for now.

The purpose of this post is to not convince you to sell all of your stuff and book a one way to a foreign country (although I support that decision), the point is to ask yourself: Are you living your own life?

Loaded question, many meanings, complicated and confusing; I know. To answer, self-reflection is required. It’s easy to get lost in the illusion of happiness and stuck in routine – coasting on the comforts of the past and riding on the coattails of previous successes. Day in. Day out. And ultimately day lost. Tara Branch says “The way you live your life today… is the way you live your life.” In other words, your life is not only the compilation of days you choose, it’s everyday. If you spend today dreaming and lusting after someone else’s life, who’s life are you really living?

This isn’t a one and done kind of mentality; it’s constant. Constantly thinking about what you’re doing, if you’re happy, and where you want to be. Without a doubt, there are barriers to following these worthy desires. These are the few questions I had to ask myself when I wanted to make a change. Be forewarned, they can’t be simply answered with yes or no.

Do you have the means? AKA the dinero; can you afford this decision? Saving up for a big adventure sometimes isn’t always realistic. Set something up where you can make money as you are pursuing your passion (or get a daddy). While money isn’t everything, it plays a role in you eating. So make sure that you have the ability to eat.

Is this something you want or just like the idea of? Often I get caught up in the fantasy of the unknown. It’s exciting and it’s perfect. But reality has a stark difference in opinion. Don’t blindly make a decision and hope for the best. Do your due diligence and research. Be prepared… And hope for the best.

What’re leaving behind? Regardless of what you do, there is some cost. If you seek a new job, you have to let go of the last. If you want to move, you have leave behind people you love. If you want to get out of a relationship, don’t ask me for advice. There will always be an opportunity cost for any decision. It’s not only about what you leave behind; remember, you will gain something from your pursuit.

So I ask you again: what’s really stopping you? Don’t live vicariously, simply live.

Ready, set, go.