The Plan

June 1st I will be flying farther than I've ever gone before, Viet Nam. After taking a one month CELTA language certification course at ILA Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City, I'll begin a year of teaching. After I've completed my contract I will...well, I don't know yet. I'm certainly not short on ambitions, but I've yet to find my path, so for now I'm taking it one step at a time. Maybe I'll stay in Viet Nam and teach longer, maybe I'll stay and do something else, I could go teach somewhere else if I so desire. Or perhaps, after a year of fresh experience that will be unequal to anything I've done so far, I will have new ideas and new dreams to pursue.

Before I get ahead of myself, Ho Chi Minh City won't be my port of entry when I arrive in Vietnam on the 3rd. In fact, the program doesn't start until the 22nd, giving me almost three weeks. The way I see it, I'm not going to have much free time the first couple of months between getting certified and adjusting to my role as a teacher. That's why I'm taking the first week for leisurely pursuits in beautiful Ha Long Bay.

I'll be staying on Cat Ba Island and doing some rock climbing, kayaking and relaxing on the beach. And no, I'm not going with a fully organized tour that tells you where to eat, where to sleep and where to buy your souvenirs. I'm freestyling the whole operation! Well, not everything. To start out I'm going to climb with SloPony, a rock climbing troupe that basically set all the climbing routes in the Bay. I'm hoping to make connections from there and plan climbs with other visitors.

After about a week on the Island it'll be back to Hanoi where I will catch a train/plain/bus[not sure yet] to Ho Chi Minh City. Where I will be staying at **** Hotel[I don't know this either yet:)] until I can find my own place. Two weeks should be enough for me to adjust to Saigon before courses begin. In my past travels, by the time I've stayed in a place for almost two weeks it begins to feel familiar and comfortable. But the differences between those times and now are huge. This won't be with family, or friends or an organized group, this will be entirely by myself. I'm going through independence boot camp.