After my last post about all of the photos of my life in Vietnam on my camera roll, I thought it would be nice to do a round up of all the coffee photos. I have so many! One thing that I really love about living here is all the good coffee! (And it’s not $7-10 each like I am hearing coffee prices are in the US right now!! Is this true where you live??)
While I make coffee at home to bring to school during the week, I go out for coffee multiple times on the weekend. There is always something new to try.
The famous egg coffee. I’ve only had this once since I moved here since it’s really from Hanoi not Saigon, but I really do need to find me another one soon. So good!
Classic cappuccino from Every Half. Always perfect, especially on a Saturday morning.
Some kind of kombucha and cold brew concoction also from Every Half. They make it with as much care as a cocktail and it tasted just as complex. Definitely an afternoon drink.
Coco Cloud Coffee. That’s coconut water with espresso and creamed whipped together for the topping.
Vietnamese salted coffee at a hotel pool.
Cold brew with milk on the side from A La Main.
Roasted Almond Iced Latte from Okkio. This is one of my favorite coffees and I used to order it to school as a treat sometimes. We don’t have Okkio in my neighborhood anymore, so I can only get it when I go downtown now.
Iced Latte from Dolphy in my neighborhood. What’s special about it is that they put a 30ml shot of heavy cream in addition to the milk, so it’s very rich!
Fancy citrusy cold brew at brunch.
Iced latte with a handle for takeaway.
Cold Brew Tonic from A La Main
Another popular Vietnamese drink – Coconut Coffee. The base is blended coconut ice cream and you pour the espresson on top.
One of my favorite special coffees. Mont Blanc at Brekkie. Cold brew with orange topped with whipped cold foam and nutmeg. I’m not exactly sure how they make it, but it is incredible.
This might seem like a weird addition to the coffee round up as it’s the only one from an international chain, but it’s very unique and I’m pretty sure you can only get it in Vietnam. Ruby red grapefruit slushy with cold brew served with a very fat straw. Very refreshing on a hot day!
Which coffee do you want to try?
It’s that time of year again in the international school world where the recruiting season for next school year is starting to take off. “Intention to return” surveys are slowly turning into firm commitments, jobs are being posted, and the first job fairs and interviews are happening. This year it seems I have quite a few friends and colleagues that are either committed to moving on or doing the so-called “soft search.”
It’s only my third year in Vietnam and I still really like my job, so I am not thinking about recruiting, but all this talk of leaving (and hopes of something better) does get you thinking. Especially when the people who are leaving your own school tell you about the things they aren’t happy with. You start questioning, “Am I unhappy with that thing too?” And if yes, is it worth acting on? For now the answer is no for me. When I weigh the big three of choosing a new teaching post (School – Location – Package), my school (and especially my specific job) are still enough to keep me here even if I may find other aspects lacking at times.
The thing is, I am super susceptible to nostalgia and all it takes is a little scroll through my camera roll and suddenly I am missing all of my past lives (the excitement of Bangkok, the charm and seasons of Budapest, the Mediterranean lifestyle of Beirut). And that leads to thinking that *maybe* there’s somewhere out there with greener grass.
So I thought it might be a nice little exercise to romanticize my current life a little bit while I am still here. What will I be missing in my next school posting when I look back at my camera roll of life in Saigon.
In no particular order . . .
The tropical climate. It’s easy to get dressed everyday and you never have to rotate your wardrobe. My school outfits consist mostly of maxi dresses, capri pants, and sandals. I never check a weather app. It’s always going to be hot, really hot, and possibly rainy at some point. An umbrella is always useful to keep you dry or block the sun.
Watching my bougainvillea blooming on the balcony.
The ease of getting to school each morning! The faculty bus picks me up right at my doorstep and in 10 minutes we are at school. (Getting home is the same and we have two departure times to choose from each day.)
High-quality fitness classes offered for FREE to faculty right on campus. I’ve been taking yoga and HIIT every year since I started working here.
On the topic of fitness – Reformer Pilates classes are very affordable here.
The abundance of good coffee shops in my neighborhood (and all over Vietnam). Whether it’s fancy third wave coffee or more traditional Vietnamese coffee, it’s hard to find a bad one. And I usually pay less than $2.50.
The ease of getting help with my dog here. One of the reasons I put off getting a dog for so long was that I didn’t feel I could take on all the responsibility on my own. Between my helper who loves taking care of my dog and doggie daycare that is affordable and convenient (they pick her up and drop her off everyday!), I find it pretty easy to manage.
Amazing fruit! I am almost never without my favorites in my fridge: pineapple, pomelo, mango, and sometimes passion fruit.
My school is in a vibrant neighborhood, so you can easily walk off campus for a quick coffee, lunch, or trip to the doctor.
A spacious three bedroom apartment. I love having room for guests and space to store my things without feeling cramped. Also, custom furniture. I got an unfurnished apartment and only brought two pieces of furniture from Bangkok. Everything else I’ve had custom made. I just show a picture of something I like online and specify any changes I want to make, and in a few weeks I have a perfect replica.
Beach holidays. I just know that when I leave SE Asia, I’ll be looking back on all the easy holiday destinations here wishing I could go back.
A few years ago when I still lived in Bangkok, I decided to join a photography group for a photowalk in the city. Part of me was probably trying to recapture some of the magic of the Flickr years with meetups and real cameras and street photography. I had an ok time on the walk but the magic definitely wasn’t there. I apparently wasn’t even all that excited about any of the photos I took as I got home, put my camera away, and never even clicked through them let alone uploaded them to my computer.
A few weeks ago I remembered the photos were there and decided to charge up my camera battery and have a look. Only the camera wouldn’t turn on even with a seemingly full battery. I took the camera to a repair shop I found online and hoped that it was just the battery, but the technician quickly ruled that out. He kept my camera in the shop for me to pick up later but warned me it would be a while as they were about to go on holiday. I waited for the results until I finally got the bad news that they couldn’t repair it to fix the problem. I sat with that news for a little while wondering if I should be sad about a broken camera that I hadn’t used in a few years anyway and before that probably a few years more. I barely remember how to use my camera anymore or how to edit photos without an easy phone app. I certainly wouldn’t go out and buy myself a new camera seeing as I can’t think of a reason to use a real camera rather than my phone anymore. As I was contemplating what to do with the camera (Leave it with the shop? Get it back and keep it in a drawer until I eventually throw it away? Sell it for parts?), my phone buzzed again. The shop’s follow up message read that they could order me a replacement motherboard and have it back to me in a week for $230. Feeling relief at this sudden turn of fortune, I immediately said yes.
I decided that if I was going to spend a few hundred dollars to fix a camera, I should probably at least think about using it. I had the SD card from the camera, so I decided to have a look at what was on there. I quickly realized that I no longer had an editing program, my old pirated copy of Lightroom long gone. I took me a while to get set up again as I had to update the OS on my laptop, get Lightroom, and remember what to do. I started having flashbacks to storage and organization nightmares with thousands and thousands of photos. (Why is photography such a stressful hobby?)
Anyway, I managed to find and edit a few photos that I liked from that Bangkok photo walk. It had me feeling really nostalgic for that city that I loved but only got to spend two years in. I find it endlessly fascinating and these photos represent just a tiny sliver of its story.
As I wait for my camera to come back to me, it remains to be seen if I will renew my interest in taking photos with a real camera again and if it’s really worth the effort. I’m a paying customer of Lightroon this time and I’ve only committed to a one month subscription.
The new school is already a quarter of the way over, and I am writing this post from my October school holiday.
I almost didn’t book anything for this school break. I have been a little bit indecisive about where to go or what to do on holidays this year for some reason. (And also, just a little lazy to do research and plan anything, if I’m being honest.) I did go to India last February to visit friends during the lunar new year here in Vietnam, but the last two long weekends we had I haven’t booked anything. This break was shaping up to be the same as I went back and forth with the idea of a city break to Hong Kong but then as the break neared I still hadn’t booked anything. At the last minute, as I was facing a whole week of staying at home and not doing much of anything, I decided to do a two night stay at the An Lam Retreats like I did for our Spring Break back in April. (I am under budget in the travel category for this year due to my indecision. lol)
Lack of inspiration for travel planning does not carry over to summer holidays, however. This past summer I had a VERY full schedule with travels in Ireland, Spain, and of course, Italy which I started booking in back in December. One of the highlights of the summer was introducing two of my best friends and travel partners, Lauren and Sophia, for a girls week in Lago di Garda. I also returned to my beloved Puglia for two weeks of beaches and language study. And of course there was plenty of time in Florence with my aunt, among other side adventures. While I can’t seem to get it together to plan and immediate vacations, I am already dreaming of next summer. (I think I miss Europe!)
While I truly was being indecisive about booking something for this break, in the end something came up that I let be my “excuse” for not doing anything. I got the worst possible news that I could get related to my life in HCMC and that was that I have to move out of my apartment in 60 days. Apparently this is a fairly common occurrence here: my landlord sold the apartment and the new owner wants to move in. This is so devastating for me since I spent so long looking for the right place (my wants and needs are not at all in line with what is available on the market!) and put a ton of effort into setting it up and making it home. And since I fully furnished the place myself, including having custom furniture made for essentially every room in the apartment, now I have a house full of furniture that probably will not fit in any other place that I am likely to find. Just as recently as a month ago I had another new piece of furniture made to add extra storage to the bathroom. My agent has showed me a few places already, but so far I don’t have hope that I’ll find something I like as much as this place, for this price, and in this location.
Another reason that the thought of this move is weighing heavily on me is related to some GOOD news from this year. After years of wanting to get a dog, I finally decided that now was the time to do it. My reasons for not getting a dog have always been that a dog would be so much work for one person, not to mention all of the travel that I do. I didn’t want to commit to that extra responsibility. BUT, since I haven’t been traveling much lately and here in Vietnam it is very easy (and cheap) to get help with things like this, I decided to take a chance and do it. So far I don’t have any regrets at all!
Meet Lulu . . .
It’s been such a joy to have her. I’ve even gotten used to walking her multiple times per day. The lady who cleans my house weekly is such a help. Not only does she walk her on cleaning days, but she stops by on the off days to walk and spend time with Lulu. This week she’s even staying overnight while I’m away on my staycation. Which brings me back to the idea of moving. My cleaner can’t stay over Christmas because she travels back to the Philippines to spend time with her family, so instead I booked a Trusted House Sitter to come stay with her. (You see where this is going.) So, not only do I need to find a new place and move before the Christmas break, I also need to have my place ready for guests.
Another thing that I am reflecting on a little over a year into living in HCMC is that I have been feeling a little bored here lately. The first half of last year was so busy getting settled in, and every weekend was full trying to get my apartment set up, that it made the second half of the year feel like a relief just getting to enjoy some down time on the weekends. I do truly enjoy the peacefulness of my neighborhood–especially now having a dog–but I have to say that I miss Bangkok a little. Looking back on my time there, it seemed like there was always something interesting to do or somewhere new to discover. Each neighborhood (or mall!) in Bangkok seemed unique and worth exploring. Also, the city just feels so magical with all of the temples, golden Buddhas peeking out above the buildings, the river lit up at night, and of course my favorite, the khlong boats. HCMC really doesn’t compare. And really, when I think about what I am missing here, it is not Bangkok that I am longing for as much as it is Europe. When I expressed this to my sister back home a few weeks ago, she got excited and said, “Ooh! So where to next, Linds?” The thing is that I really love my job. I am excited to go to work everyday, I am learning a lot, and doing some really exciting projects. I definitely don’t want to move anytime soon. I guess I will just have to find a way to make life more interesting here. Getting Lulu was part of that but maybe not enough.
Looking ahead to the rest of the school year, I am excited to have my first two visitors to Vietnam after the new year. And as always, I am percolating on some fun plans for the summer holiday when I can go back to Europe and be in my natural habitat.
So much has happened since I left Bangkok and started my new adventure in Vietnam, but I’ll do my best to give a recap. As usual, photos tell the story best.
June Travels
As soon as school finished in June, I hopped on a plane to Milan, and when I landed I rushed off to my first meetup of the summer with my old Flickr pals Kelly and Pete. I spent the next few days exploring Torino on my own, and was then joined in Genova by Sophia. It was a city that both of us had been wanting to return to, and I love being able to revisit a place through her art historian’s eyes. Next up, Lauren joined me for a week in Liguria. I was so excited to be able to show her one of my favorite parts of Italy since she had only seen the Cinque Terre. At the end of the week, Lauren decided to change up her plans and go with me to Florence to visit Aunt Kelly for a week. We had a chill week avoiding the busiest parts of the city and a magical evening at the Società Canottieri with my aunt and some of her Italian friends.
July Travels
After Lauren left, I took a quick detour to attend the wedding of my Bangkok friends Eric and Charlotte in England. I also got to see Manchester for the first time. Back in Italy, Cat flew in from Barcelona and I spent a day trying to convince her of the awesomeness of Naples before taking her to Ischia where she really wanted to go. Kelly met us there with her dog Riley and I got to show them another favorite place of mine in Italy. For my last few days in Italy, I was back in Florence soaking it all in. I ended the trip by chopping off my hair to start my new adventure in Vietnam with a new look.
July and August in Saigon
My first week in Saigon was a lovely orientation week put on by the school. We have an incredible cohort of about 30 new teachers, probably the best incoming group of any school I’ve worked at. From the orientation week to the first week with the full faculty back on campus, I knew that I had found the right place for me. I continued the apartment hunt that I started back in May, and finally found my perfect apartment. Well, almost the perfect apartment; the landlord agreed to a bunch of renovations making it everything I had been hoping for. I was so happy that I held out and didn’t settle. I got a mostly unfurnished place, so I spent most of the month hanging out in my bedroom while waiting for my shipment and looking for furniture to buy. I finally got a patio table so at least I could sit down to eat dinner. In the first month I also got to explore Ho Chi Minh City a bit. Our school (and my apartment) is in District 7, a quieter part of the city, so getting into the downtown area is a weekend adventure. I ended the month with my first holiday in Vietnam traveling to Mũi Né with some other newbie teachers for some much needed R&R.
September
I think I spent most of my free time in September trying to get my apartment put together. This is the biggest apartment I’ve had abroad (3 bedrooms with a full living room and dining room) and the most unfurnished. I had a couch and cabinet coming in my shipment from Bangkok, but I needed to furnish everything else (other than the two beds that came with the apartment). That is what I wanted, though, because I wanted the place to feel like my own and many of the apartments I had seen that came furnished had a very, let’s say, distinct style. I also went plant shopping deciding to have another go at keeping some plants alive (so far, most are still living!). My shipment came on September 25th, the earliest of any move I’ve made so far! On the work side of things, I quickly got acclimated to being back in elementary school. I also love the teams that I work with (EAL team and grade 5 team) and just the school in general. At the end of the month, I did an art adventure exploring some new-to-me areas of the city and learning how to do a live sketch and water color. I had been wanting to try this for a while, and I would really like to get better at it!
October
October was more settling in at home and school. I started cooking more and stocking up my freezer and pantry. My couch arrived damaged in my shipment, but luckily things like furniture making and repair are really cheap in Vietnam. In addition to getting my couch fixed, I ordered custom furniture for nearly every room in my apartment. I went on my second holiday, this time a short flight away to the island of Phú Quốc. I traveled with one friend, but we met up with others from our school who had the same idea for the October break and were also on the island. I ended the month with a little Halloween trick or treating. It was so adorable that my building organized this event for the “Halloween Festival,” so I of course signed up to pass out candy. I even dressed up for the occasion.
November
Christmas starts early in Vietnam. Even though everyone might not celebrate, the decorations start going up around town in early November! The month was also full of celebrations with Teacher’s Day at school, a boat cruise and night out organized by our school’s Sunshine Committee, a friend’s birthday, and of course, our own Thanksgiving dinner with the newbie teacher cohort. My apartment continued to come along with the furniture I had ordered finally arriving, and I started having some cozy evenings on the couch. In November, I also explored the city some more and watched the election results from my desk, much like 8 years ago in Budapest.
December
December was a busy and festive month before we finished up our first semester on the 18th of December. My building went all out with the Christmas decorations; it took them nearly a month to get everything up. The mall was also very festive with a snowy London scene. I had people over to my place for the first time for a holiday/birthday party. I spent a week cooking and getting ready for the party. It was so fun to have enough space to properly host a get together. There was a Christmas bazaar and tree lighting at school, and then we ended the festive season with our school Christmas party. I don’t know how we did it, but somehow at the end of the night, we managed to gather nearly all of the newbie cohort together for a photo booth picture.
Looking Ahead to 2025
I am so happy that I made the move to Vietnam. The school is a much better fit for me, and I’m just feeling really settled and content overall. I thought that I would miss the hustle and bustle of Bangkok, but I’ve been surprised to find that I really appreciate the slower pace and calm vibe of District 7 in HCMC. I feel like I’m growing so much professionally and like I could stay at my school for a while. With my apartment finally set up and all of the investment I’ve put into it, I definitely don’t feel like I’ll be wanting to move any time soon!
And just like that, the end is here. After all of the weeks and months of backward planning and making lists (what to do two months out, one month out, two weeks out, one week out, final days . . .), there is nothing left to do! All of my household items have been shipped (10.32 cubic meters!), my final responsibilities at work have been completed, and we’ve had aallll of the goodbye parties, dinners, and coffees. For my final day in Bangkok, I ticked off the last and final errands and then headed straight to a fancy hotel pool to relax and kill time before my midnight flight. Let the summer holidays begin!
I haven’t done a “Day in the Life” photo journal since my first year in Budapest! With only three weeks left in the school year, I was running out of time to capture a regular day here in Bangkok.
6:58 a.m. Pulling back the curtains. | My morning always starts with this view that I love! I live so close to school, that I’ve allowed myself to get up later and later. One hour to get ready and get to school.
7:28 a.m. Dressed and ready to go. | I have this full length mirror at the top of my stairs, and I always stop to take an outfit pic before I go downstairs, and always with my pink house shoes! It’s an unbreakable habit at this point.
7:44 a.m. Waiting at the pier. | I recently wrote about my journey to school and how taking the khlong boat to school is absolutely not necessary (it’s a short walk), but it’s a very enjoyable part of my morning! Today I have cold brew coffee that I made at home, but since it’s in my reusable Starbucks cup, it’s guaranteed that at least five people will stop me and say, “Ooh, Starbucks today!”
8:39 a.m. Homeroom. | Every day we have homeroom advisory from 8:30-8:45 to start the day. This isn’t my classroom but a random room that we meet in for advisory. This morning, the students are working on a reflection for their end-of-year report cards.
9:11 a.m. Quick trip to the embassy | This is where my day veers off into the atypical. I had first block free, so I hopped on a motorbike to the Vietnamese embassy to drop off some paperwork for my entrance visa. This task was surprisingly efficient and I made it there and back in under 40 minutes. Plenty of time to make it to my next block.
10:08 a.m. About to start class | The students will be coming in a few minutes and I’m booking a massage at the Onsen for Friday evening.
11:51 a.m. Lunchtime | Lunch starts at 11:35 a.m. If it’s not too hot (all relative!), too rainy, or too polluted, I like to eat my lunch outside at the picnic tables. Passion fruit has become one of my favorite fruits since moving to Bangkok, and I still marvel that I can get them at the school cafeteria.
12:26 p.m. Getting ready for third block | My co-teacher and I have a quick chat about the day’s lesson before the students come in. Today we’re having them prepare for a class discussion on sustainability and fast fashion.
3:45 p.m. Heading home | Forgot to take a picture of the last block of the day which was a team planning meeting. Here, I’m headed out the side gate which is located near the Early Years Center. I don’t take the boat home in the afternoon.
3:50 p.m. | This veggie stand is right outside the school gate on my way home. It’s so convenient because I always need more veggies for dinner. Today, I’m getting some lemons for a cocktail I’m making for a party.
4:15 p.m. Couch | This is probably the most typical picture of this entire day in the life journal. Pretty much every day after school, I come home and plop down on the couch in the a/c and scroll on my phone for a bit (or a while!).
5:51 p.m. Another outfit selfie | Outfit change for a Thursday night party. My friend Amanda has organized a Ladies Wine Club in the last seven countries she’s lived in. We get together about once a month on a Thursday night.
7:58 p.m. Wine Night | This month’s theme is saying goodbye to the leavers (me! and four other friends). Amanda does such a great job of organizing a theme night.
8:57 p.m. Party snaps | I love bringing my Instax Mini to a party to capture little moments from the night. I take one photo at the end of all the pictures and then let people take home the ones they want.
10:49 p.m. Drenched | Took a motorbike home in the rain. Thankfully, the unfortunate weather happened at the end of the night and not the beginning. I took a quick shower before hopping into bed. Goodnight!
In the world of international teaching, joining a new school is often a surprise package – you usually don’t get a chance to see the school you’ll be working at in person before you sign a contract, and sometimes you may not have even visited the country you’re moving to until a week or so before work starts. When I moved to both Beirut and Bangkok, I had visited the cities before as a tourist, but when I accepted the job in Budapest, I had never even visited the country before. I remember the first taxi ride from the airport when I arrived and looking out the window as we drove through the city center thinking, ok, this really is Europe. I had no idea what to expect.
Now, while preparing to go to Vietnam, I actually had the chance to visit the school and the city I’ll be living in before arriving. There were a couple of reasons for my visit. The first one was to bring over two big suitcases of stuff that I’ll need when I first arrive and am waiting for my shipment. Last time when moving to Bangkok I didn’t have to do this because I was able to leave my two suitcases in Budapest and pick them before heading to Bangkok, but this time I planned on coming to my new home straight from my summer holiday in Italy. (Basically, if I didn’t bring the bags early, I’d be living out of my holiday suitcase while starting work!) I also took the opportunity of the visit to do some paperwork at the U.S. consulate in HCMC. I could have waited until orientation week in July, but since I was there, it was worth a trip to get everything sorted in advance. Another thing I wanted to get sorted out was an apartment. I thought it would help me with knowing what to send in my shipment if I knew what my apartment looked like and how big (or small) it was. Finally, making a trip before the end of the school year meant that I was able to visit the school, meet people I’d be working with, and get a better sense of what my work life would be like next year.
The EAL Coordinator for the elementary school planned my visit for me, and I felt so welcomed by everyone at the school. My visit started out (by pure luck of timing with my visit) with a “Showcase Celebration” from the EAL team where each member of the team presented about their work over the year and the collaboration with their grade level teams. I was almost in tears as this is everything I had been hoping for in my new school and missing in my current one. Then I got to visit different parts of the school, chat with the teacher that I am replacing (but who I will still be working with next year!), and have lunch with the whole EAL team. Over the next few days, I came back to the school a few times for a HR visit and a luncheon organized for me to get to know some more colleagues. I even got to catch up with some old friends: Phil who I knew in Beirut and is now the Middle School Associate Principal, and Shawn who I worked with in Budapest and is now one of the ES counselors. It was so good to see familiar faces!
One part of the trip that was not fully successful was the apartment hunting. I looked at a ton of places over four days with a very efficient agent, but none of them was quite right. I don’t think I am asking too much but it’s been hard to find the right place . . . Basically, I am looking for an apartment that has white walls (not some highly designed place with built in cabinets, wall paper, and weird lighting), a living room that’s big enough to not feel claustrophobic, and ideally a decent kitchen (I’d prefer an oven, but know that I can add that later). So in terms of what’s available in the area where I’ll be living, that means and older building (because they are more spacious) that has been well maintained or renovated rather than one of the brand new condos that are nice but too small and too decorated. (It’s generally the same situation as in Bangkok.) I have a few leads, but I also know that if I don’t get one of them in the next few weeks, I still have all summer and orientation week. Since I now have a lay of the land and have seen a bunch of options, I feel like I can see a video tour and be confident in choosing the right one if it comes up over the summer, or I’ll know where to start looking again in July. So, definitely not a waste!
I, of course, did some neighborhood exploration mostly walking around the Midtown area where I hope to find an apartment. There are a lot of cute cafes, WIDE sidewalks, and pretty trees and flowers. This area of HCMC is very peaceful and so quiet compared to Bangkok! Once I’m living here, I’ll venture further to Districts 1 and 2 where there is more action, but I can already tell that living here is going to be very different than where I live now. HCMC isn’t just the Vietnam version of Bangkok.
Finally, I did a little recon at the grocery stores to see what’s available. These two pictures are from the fancy gourmet grocery store, but it’s nice to know I can get a lot of the things I’ll need to stock my cabinets. I also checked out the local mall and was surprised to find a few American stores that we don’t have in Bangkok such as Old Navy and Banana Republic. The layout and design of the mall also seemed to be very American-style to me compared to the many malls we have in Bangkok.
Now I’m back in Bangkok and ready to close out this school year. Summer hols in Italy can’t come soon enough!
Recently, a fellow educator wondered aloud on Twitter if it was too early to decide if she liked her new school or not, being that she’d only been there for a month. I replied, “When you know, you know.”
I certainly had that same feeling starting out at a new school after eight years of being happy in my old school. Last March I wrote about how those feelings had been creeping in. It had started out as this little nagging thought in my mind, and then as time went on and I talked about it more with others, it became more real. Or was it just feeling more real BECAUSE I was talking about it? I wasn’t so sure at first.
But as it turns out, when you know, you know.
I ended the school year ready for vacation and with a freshly polished resume, but also with high hopes for the fresh start of a new year.
The new year really did start off great. I still had some of them same lingering reservations from the previous year, but in my personal work, everything was exactly what I had hoped for. I had four great co-teachers (two that I had worked with the prior year, and two that were new partnerships this year), and I was building on the work I had started in my first year. I even started getting into more instructional coaching work and school-wide conversations on the topic which is exactly what I want to be doing professionally, so I started to feel better about how things might be different than last year. When HR asked us to submit our initial intentions to stay or leave by the end of September, I marked “undecided” but felt 95% certain that I would stay.
Then something happened in October that just made it really clear that this was not the right place for me. Obviously, I can’t share the details here, but it made me realize that even if I am happy in my personal work, if it is not aligned with the goals and philosophy of my department, my professional life is never going to be fully satisfying. So with that knowledge, combined with the other “big” things that were making me unhappy at work, I decided to officially change my “undecided” to “not returning.”
It was easy to get started on the job search as I had prepared everything at the end of last school year (resume, recruiting profiles, digital portfolio). I applied to 10 schools and had some really great interviews. In an interesting turn of events, one of those schools had been one of my top school choices from the last recruiting round. Back in 2021, when I had to make a decision about which job to take, it was between two schools, and of course, I ended up choosing the school in Bangkok. Last year, when I started to realize that the job wasn’t what I had hoped, I started to get this nagging feeling that I made the wrong choice back then. Now I was being presented with the opportunity to have a second chance to make that decision right. To cut to the chase . . . I was offered that job and accepted it in November. So, I guess this is my official announcement that I will be moving to Vietnam in July!
One big thing I learned from this experience is that it doesn’t matter what the reputation of a school is, or even all of the amazing facilities and programs on offer. The department that you will be working in is the thing that affects your professional life the most, so it’s really important to make sure that it’s a good fit. (To be clear, I did think that there would be alignment between my professional interests and this department, but looking back, I do have to admit that there was nothing about it that REALLY got me excited. It was more the school and the city that I was attracted to.)
As far as my new school goes, there ARE some things that I am really excited about. First of all, they have a great EAL department and an amazing team leader. I can’t wait to be a part of this team. Second, I am moving back into elementary school and working with grade 5! I do love middle school, but I think it will be fun to go back to where it all started with my teaching career and to be able to apply what I know now that I didn’t know as a new teacher back then. I also think that there is so much for me to learn about elementary school, so I am looking forward to that. Third, this school has a big emphasis on middle level leadership which tells me that it’s a place that values teacher voices, developing leaders, and school improvement and growth. Lastly, I know that you can’t know for sure until you are in a place, but this school just seems like a place that has good vibes. From all of the communications from the school from social media posts to personal emails, it just feels like a friendly and warm place. And that feels so important to me right now!
And so . . . here we go again. Six weeks left of school. Organizing. Planning. Packing. Goodbyes. Transitions.
In my last months living and working in Budapest I wrote a post about my morning commute. Back then, I drove thirty minutes to school in my red Mini Cooper while listening to podcasts. Now, that I am almost two years into my life in Bangkok, I thought I’d share how my morning journey to school has changed.
My hope for living in Bangkok was that I would find a place within walking distance of school so that I could avoid the notorious traffic here, and I managed to do just that! I can actually see the school from my balcony, but because I am on the other side of the Khlong (canal), I am actually in a different neighborhood and feel removed enough from the school. My total travel time to school is now under 15 minutes!
The journey starts when I exit my building and step out into the sauna that is Bangkok on most days of the year. My apartment building is a high rise on a really busy street, but usually I don’t notice that because my apartment faces the back of the building.
Most mornings the sidewalk is packed with people on their own morning commute and most of them are stopping at one of the many street vendors to get their breakfast and/or lunch. Depending on how late I’ve left my house, I sometimes have to dodge people just to make it to the corner.
After I turn the corner, I need to cross the Khlong. Last year I used to cross the bridge and then walk along the Khlong to get to school. This year I decided to try taking the Khlong boat. I only have to take it one stop (and I CAN easily walk!), but by hopping on the boat, I can both cross the Khlong and zip right down to Soi 15 where my school is in one easy step. On weekdays, the boat comes so frequently, that I almost never have to wait. And, as a bonus, I arrive at school much drier than I would when it’s rainy or super steamy from humidity. 🙂 The ride costs 12 THB ($0.33).
Once I hop off the boat (and you do have to move quickly as the boat waits for no one!), I just have to walk down this little stretch of road before I arrive on campus. On the left you can see a white building which is our newest building on campus and opened a year ago.
And then I’m at school! I take the escalator up one floor (hello, new building) and tap in through the gates. Today I arrived at the exact time that the King’s Anthem was playing (7:50 a.m.), so I had to stand still with everyone else until it was over. Luckily, it’s just a shortened version, so it only lasts a few seconds!
Love a short commute!
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