Living abroad (part I)

I spent three years living abroad. I lived overseas from July '95 to July '98. As with most any experience in life, there was good and bad. But it was an experience that I wouldn't give back for the life of me.

I moved overseas for a number of reasons. Chief among them was the "travel bug" I had caught while studying in Paris for a semester during my junior year in college in the spring of '93. Basically I wanted to learn about other people and cultures. I wanted to learn about both the differences and similarities of people. I wanted to taste their food, read their newspapers, learn their language and experience the sights and sounds of a foreign land.

I wanted to go somewhere that was as different as possible from Euro-American culture. I figured I had two choices: Africa or Asia.

The geopolitical instability of sub-Saharan Africa ruled out that part of the world (although I've visited since). And the economic uncertainty of central Asia ruled out that part of the world (I've yet to visit).

Having studied up, I quickly concluded that the action was with the "emerging tigers" of Southeast Asia. However, I also concluded that there was too much action (their economies were already humming) in those four countries. So with the impending normalization of trade coming down the pipeline, I packed my bags, bought a one-way ticket and jumped on a plane to Vietnam.

I landed in Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon) in southern Vietnam. My goal was to stay for 2-3 years and to experience life. The things I learned and saw there had a significant impact on my worldview.

Tim White