MIA

Hi Everyone,

So, obviously I'm back at home now.  Most of you have actually seen me already.  And, as you may or may not know, I ended up coming home early.  Pretty soon after my last post, the culture shock and other not-so-great circumstances finally caught up with me, and I knew that it was time for me to come home.  It's a long story, and I'd love to talk with you more about it, just ask.  

Since I've been home, almost everyone I know has asked me "How was Vietnam?"  Definitely not an unexpected question.  And unfortunately, my answer to that question has been mostly dominated by explaining the reason why things were hard for me there and why left the program and came home early.  I'm sad that I haven't really been able to tell people what an amazing experience that I had, and all of the things that I really appreciated and came to love about Vietnam.  I actually miss it quite a lot right now.  And although things were hard while I was there, I know that ultimately my feelings about Vietnam in the moment came mostly from the intense culture shock that I was feeling.  

But I want to set the record straight.  Vietnam is a wonderful country!  The people are incredibly nice and eager to talk to you and get to know you.  The countryside is beautiful, and the cities are dynamic and interesting places.  The food is incredible, and the coffee is unbelievably good (I am officially addicted to it, and am now going through withdrawals).  I made some really wonderful friends while I was there, and I wish I could have spent more time with them.  Being at Carolina in the summer, when most people that I know aren't around, I miss my Vietnamese friends so much!  The language is difficult, but beautiful.  I miss speaking it, and wish that I could find some sort of Vietnamese community here in Chapel Hill.  Vietnam is truly an amazing place, and I would love to go back someday.  

Even though things were hard, and thinking about the experience and my decision to come home is sometimes confusing, I wouldn't have traded my experiences in Vietnam for anything.  

Thanks for reading my poorly updated blog.  It was so great to get comments from all of you, and you brought a little piece of home to Vietnam.  

Until I go off and decide to do something else completely random and crazy,

Amanda