My adult life, until now, has followed very closely a pattern of odd years being good and even years being bad. I've known this now for at least five years and have helplessly watched as some mysterious, oscillating force in the universe has determined the happiness of any given year based on whether or not it was divisible by two. If I were forced to, I could justify this pattern all the way to 2001 or so - but it really started getting eerily predictable in around 2005. Even my on-again off-again dedication to this blog follows the even year/odd year rule. 2011 and 2013 were great years, full of adventure and satisfaction. 2012 was a trying year of figuring out how to fit into the world.
Maybe I unconsciously stopped updating the blog in 2014 because I was anticipating the drop after a 2013 filled with living in China, traveling through SE Asia and getting into a great graduate school program that let me live in Bologna, Italy. Maybe the mysterious, oscillating force is just my own weird attempt to impose equilibrium in the world. Regardless, 2014 broke the streak. Within the past twelve months, Bryn and I got married; moved to DC; found out we'll be moving to Vietnam in April, 2015 with the State Department; learned as much about the Civil War as one could during a summer and then I finished my masters five months ahead of schedule. Any low-points were relatively shallow and only served to provide a little contrast to the high points. Granted, one exception doesn't disprove a rule, but 2014's good outcome restored a little of my faith in the flexibility of the universe.
Luckily, 2015 is shaping up to be a good year, too. I finished my M.A. early so that I could start focusing on the transition to Vietnam and maybe even line up some job opportunities there. As of now, Bryn and I are scheduled to leave towards the end of April. That gives me about four months to do three things: 1) learn Vietnamese; 2) talk to potential employers; 3) get all of the training that I can to increase my job prospects. Luckily, the State Department provides language training to spouses, so I'll get about six weeks of all-day Vietnamese training starting in late February. Bryn has been in language training since September so I already have a head-start by helping her go over her vocabulary lists and learning how to count. By the way, two new tricks I learned in 2014: counting to 100 in Vietnamese and touching my toes. I've never been very flexible.
As for potential employers, I already started talking to people in the fall and so I at least have some resources to use in my search. One cool project I found was the Provincial Competitiveness Index, a USAID funded outfit that measures Vietnamese provinces' ability to economically develop. I'll figure out a way to at least talk to them before I land in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). There are also the multitude of foreign companies that are either just opening or expanding their operations in Vietnam. I'm not exactly sure what I could do for them or why they would need me, but I hope to figure that out over the coming weeks. Teaching is also an option in HCMC - either at local schools or leading online classes.
The State Department also hires qualified spouses to work in the consulate and I'm doing everything I can to open those doors, as well. I just took a test on Friday that, if I pass, will qualify me to take another exam in the coming months which, if I pass, could potentially qualify me to apply for certain positions at the HCMC consulate - but in no way guarantees me any job. I'm not too optimistic about finding work down that avenue, but at the very least I'm getting a good lesson in navigating the State Department bureaucracy. I have a feeling that will be a valuable skill to have over the coming years. Regardless of those exams, though, I'll be able to get training in consular affairs. I'll start the class in just a few weeks and, assuming I pass, I'll be a much more competitive candidate for consular jobs that open up in HCMC. It'll also be a great introduction to how a consulate works, so at the very least, I'll understand Bryn's job much better.
I think that most of my fate will remain undetermined until I land in HCMC, start meeting people and see what's going on there. Of course, the more prepared I am, the better, but I don't think it is realistic to expect to have a job when I land there in late April or early May. Of course, there's always my back-up plan. If absolutely nothing pans out, I'll learn as much as I can about the Ho Chi Minh trail that supplied the Viet Cong in South Vietnam and then try to re-trace its path forty years after it facilitated Hanoi's victory against the U.S. and South Vietnamese forces. Regardless of what happens professionally, expect more blog posts on that topic in 2015.
I think that what I'm most excited about coming into 2015 is that the slate is pretty clean. When I started grad school, I did so with the intent of going on to work for the Department of the Treasury on countering illicit finance. That's still in my long-term professional interest, but it won't be quite so linear as I imagined. The opportunity to go live in Vietnam for two years is just too good to pass up and I am unbelievably proud of Bryn for making this opportunity for us. Now, I get to go over there and create a life for myself. That will be challenging, in a lot of ways, but challenging in a way that makes for great experiences and great life-lessons later on. I'm also pretty confident that it will provide plenty of good excuses to write, so stay tuned.
Maybe I unconsciously stopped updating the blog in 2014 because I was anticipating the drop after a 2013 filled with living in China, traveling through SE Asia and getting into a great graduate school program that let me live in Bologna, Italy. Maybe the mysterious, oscillating force is just my own weird attempt to impose equilibrium in the world. Regardless, 2014 broke the streak. Within the past twelve months, Bryn and I got married; moved to DC; found out we'll be moving to Vietnam in April, 2015 with the State Department; learned as much about the Civil War as one could during a summer and then I finished my masters five months ahead of schedule. Any low-points were relatively shallow and only served to provide a little contrast to the high points. Granted, one exception doesn't disprove a rule, but 2014's good outcome restored a little of my faith in the flexibility of the universe.
Luckily, 2015 is shaping up to be a good year, too. I finished my M.A. early so that I could start focusing on the transition to Vietnam and maybe even line up some job opportunities there. As of now, Bryn and I are scheduled to leave towards the end of April. That gives me about four months to do three things: 1) learn Vietnamese; 2) talk to potential employers; 3) get all of the training that I can to increase my job prospects. Luckily, the State Department provides language training to spouses, so I'll get about six weeks of all-day Vietnamese training starting in late February. Bryn has been in language training since September so I already have a head-start by helping her go over her vocabulary lists and learning how to count. By the way, two new tricks I learned in 2014: counting to 100 in Vietnamese and touching my toes. I've never been very flexible.
As for potential employers, I already started talking to people in the fall and so I at least have some resources to use in my search. One cool project I found was the Provincial Competitiveness Index, a USAID funded outfit that measures Vietnamese provinces' ability to economically develop. I'll figure out a way to at least talk to them before I land in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). There are also the multitude of foreign companies that are either just opening or expanding their operations in Vietnam. I'm not exactly sure what I could do for them or why they would need me, but I hope to figure that out over the coming weeks. Teaching is also an option in HCMC - either at local schools or leading online classes.
The State Department also hires qualified spouses to work in the consulate and I'm doing everything I can to open those doors, as well. I just took a test on Friday that, if I pass, will qualify me to take another exam in the coming months which, if I pass, could potentially qualify me to apply for certain positions at the HCMC consulate - but in no way guarantees me any job. I'm not too optimistic about finding work down that avenue, but at the very least I'm getting a good lesson in navigating the State Department bureaucracy. I have a feeling that will be a valuable skill to have over the coming years. Regardless of those exams, though, I'll be able to get training in consular affairs. I'll start the class in just a few weeks and, assuming I pass, I'll be a much more competitive candidate for consular jobs that open up in HCMC. It'll also be a great introduction to how a consulate works, so at the very least, I'll understand Bryn's job much better.
I think that most of my fate will remain undetermined until I land in HCMC, start meeting people and see what's going on there. Of course, the more prepared I am, the better, but I don't think it is realistic to expect to have a job when I land there in late April or early May. Of course, there's always my back-up plan. If absolutely nothing pans out, I'll learn as much as I can about the Ho Chi Minh trail that supplied the Viet Cong in South Vietnam and then try to re-trace its path forty years after it facilitated Hanoi's victory against the U.S. and South Vietnamese forces. Regardless of what happens professionally, expect more blog posts on that topic in 2015.
I think that what I'm most excited about coming into 2015 is that the slate is pretty clean. When I started grad school, I did so with the intent of going on to work for the Department of the Treasury on countering illicit finance. That's still in my long-term professional interest, but it won't be quite so linear as I imagined. The opportunity to go live in Vietnam for two years is just too good to pass up and I am unbelievably proud of Bryn for making this opportunity for us. Now, I get to go over there and create a life for myself. That will be challenging, in a lot of ways, but challenging in a way that makes for great experiences and great life-lessons later on. I'm also pretty confident that it will provide plenty of good excuses to write, so stay tuned.
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