so after several years of talking about it, i'm actually springing into action on this one.
now that i have citizenship and a passport (10 years after i find my parents, oops, forgot to naturalize me) i am finally able to go and live abroad. so i stumbled across a yahoo post on VAN *Vietnamese Adoptee Network* and saw an opportunity to volunteer to teach english in vietnam for a year under a ford foundation fellowship. so I applied in feb. and got one of the four that were up for grabs!

i leave june 25th and am so excited to sell all my stuff and clear room for a whole world of new experiences. it's a bit intimidating, as i don't know vietnamese and the classes i've had will not prepare me for total immersion. yet i just know that it will come in its own time, and a helluva lot faster than taking class once a week here for like, an hour and a half.

emotionally it's been a bit of a rollercoaster ride, as i'm sure you can imagine. as far as searching for birth mom...i don't have a clear intention yet, we'll see...maybe i will feel stronger about it one way or another when i am there. for sure it would be good to know some vietnamese in case i do track down some family. just returning to my roots is something i've always dreamed about doing and now i feel like i am living that dream. questions abound, like how will people view me, treat me? how will i adjust to the weather? will i love it so much i'll never want to return?

my family is supportive, although my mom is really sad that she won't get to talk to me every week or see me a few times a year. it's like her kids just keep moving farther and farther away.

anyhow, i thought i would share with you my journey. at some point i will have a blog up for people to follow if they want. in addition i will be doing a service project for orphanages in need of repair and maintenance work, so if you feel like contributing and adding to the $1000 that the fellowship is providing, just contact me personally.

hugs,
tiffany
duong thi my chi