Vietnam: Day 1

Three and a half months ago, I had my tarot read. In tarot, the first card chosen is the most important because it is what the entire reading is based upon. My first card was an illustration of a woman leaping from a cliff. I didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. Three days from then, I would be boarding a plane to Vietnam. I had given up my job, apartment, and the majority of my clothes and shoes. I gave up my Bongos! More importantly, I had made the decision to leave a community filled with close friends and many memories—a place that had become ‘home’ to me for the first time in my life. I was taking a leap of faith and trusting that the universe would provide me with everything I needed.

On September 18^th, I arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, tired, jetlagged and definitely a little lost. I spent my first day searching for a cheap hotel that would be clean and comfortable for the duration of my CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) course. The heat was oppressive, the streets impassable and the sidewalks weren’t meant for walking. In Vietnam, the sidewalks are for cooking, eating, peddling and motorbike parking. Walk at your own risk! By late afternoon and after having little success, I was feeling frustrated. I decided to buy a cell phone. I needed to hear a familiar voice and was determined to give my friend, Jessica, a call.

I’ve known Jess since 2001. We served in AmeriCorps*NCCC together and had stayed in touch throughout the years. It was a coincidence that we were both in Vietnam. In March, I received an excited phone call from her that went something like this:

Me: “Hello?”

Jessica: “Guess what?! Guess what?!”

Me: “Umm…I don’t know…You’re finally going to Chile?!”

Jessica: “No,” she said, “Vietnam!”

Me: “Me too!”

Six months later, we shared in that excitement and disbelief again on my first day in Vietnam. Sure, she was in Hanoi and I was in HCMC, but close enough. At least she was in the same country as me. Hell, she was on the same continent! I only spoke with her briefly that day, but that was all I needed to make it through Day 1—to hear a voice of a longtime friend who wasn’t so far away.

Thank you, Jess (and the Universe).