My first book in more than four years has been published on Amazon. If you’re curious about what it’s like to start a new life in a developing Asian country as a single expat woman of a “certain age”, this book will tell all, including: – what it’s really like to live in Vietnam – expat jobs, particularly freelancing – problems of living in Vietnam – pros and cons of living in Vietnam – cost of living in Vietnam – whether Vietnam is safe for expats. Part diary, part memoir and part travel guide, Vietnam: It Seemed Like A Good Idea
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In my last post waaaaaaaay back at the beginning of November, I mentioned that I would be in Vietnam for at least three months, volunteering at KOTO, a social enterprises that trains poor and disadvantaged youth in hospitality. My reasons for being here have been well documented, but for those of you who want the Reader’s Digest version, it goes something like this: I visited Vietnam in 2010, and as part of the tour I was on, we ate lunch at KOTO. I was so impressed, that I vowed to come back one day and volunteer. That day is now. I
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This post was originally posted on WFA.Life. The Freedom Road series documents my transition to a more freelance, less corporate working life. It’s been a while since my last post. Two months, in fact. (Sorry, Andy.) But I haven’t resting on my laurels, licking my wounds, thinking woe is me. I’ve been taking action, and making decisions, and damn it feels good. Two months ago, I applied to volunteer at KOTO in Hanoi, Vietnam. Within a week, I had my response. They wanted me. To say it was one of the happiest pieces of news I’d received in a long time
Continue reading...One of the things I regret (and I really don’t have many regrets at all) is that I didn’t travel when I was younger. Instead of partying it up in the 80s, I should have back-packed my way around Asia slumming it in cheap and cheerful hostels, before moving to London or New York for a year or so to work. I know there are all sorts of parallel universe, Sliding Doors arguments as to why things have panned out as they have (my daughter, for one), but I do kick myself every now and then for not traipsing around
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