It was in a hotel room in San Diego when my husband and I signed up for the biggest adventure of our lives. A few months earlier we had registered with a company that recruits teachers for international schools all over the world. We didn't really know where we wanted to go or what was ahead of us, we were just seeking adventure.
We had interest from a few schools immediately; all trying to line us up for Skype interviews. Unfortunately we were trekking our way through Nicaragua and Guatemala so didn't have access to internet speed that could necessitate such a call. However, one Principal of a yet to open school in Hanoi, Vietnam was relentless and in the end we agreed to a phone interview. As soon as we landed in the US we had booked in a call to our hotel. The call was quick and within a half hour he had us agreeing to a two year contract. So in a Motel 6 on a busy road in San Diego, I had just made a deal to move to a country I had never even been to before.
Just over 6 months later we had given away most of our belongings and packed 2 suitcases each to take with us. We liked to think we knew what we were getting ourselves into but really we had no idea.
On landing in Hanoi the culture shock was almost instant. We had travelled from a Canberra winter to a Hanoi summer.
Life zoomed past us on motorbikes and wafted in through the windows of our taxi. We spent two weeks exploring the country before starting work. Within those 2 weeks we fell in love with Vietnam and its people.
When we started work we met so many generous people. From the other teachers who came from all over the world, to the local staff who were excited that the school was finally opening. Nearly everyone was warm, welcoming and excited to be part of the exciting prospect of a start up school in a beautiful character filled city.
In Vietnam there is a lot of talk about luck and the importance of doing things to encourage good luck. We must've done something wrong in the early days because our luck seemed to disappear.
The day before we were to start at our school we found out that the Principal who hired us, who we were keen to finally meet in person, had been fired. 3 months later the next Prinicpal was fired and 5 months after that, the next one.
We spent most of the first year without any leadership besides the dictator that was the owner of the school. She was a tiny, mean looking woman who scowled and screamed at the local staff while smiling at any foreigner who she thought could advance her school's reputation.
People came and went. Sometimes through choice and sometimes not. The foreign teachers were noticeable when they left but unfortunately some of the local staff would come and go before you even learnt to pronounce their names correctly.
In our second year at the school we met Van Anh. She was a strong, intelligent woman who stood up for herself. Van Anh was highly educated and a talented artist. She was hired by the school as our teaching assistant and did an outstanding job at anything we asked her to do. However, she was a local Vietnamese hire, so treated terribly by management and considered dispensable. Due to her tendency to not tolerate this treatment she was fired. It was the end of our time at the school and a final reminder for why we were going home.
It was a long but interesting two years working there. We had been able to travel throughout Asia for next to nothing and made amazing memories of the places we had been and the people we had met.
Our dislike of the school in no way extended to the country or its people. Vietnam is an amazing place.
On returning to Australia I wanted a token to remember our time in Vietnam. I wanted it to be original and simple. Van Anh couldn't believe it when I asked her to draw me something to tattoo onto my foot. I had decided on a lotus flower and after her initial hesitation she sent me several beautiful, elaborate designs. To her surprise I chose the simplest and had it done less than a week later.
I was lucky enough to be able to show her in person when we visited Hanoi last year. She beamed with pride at having her art permanently inked on someone's skin.
I love its simplicity. It reminds me of the great experience we had. The more time that passes, the more we remember the good times rather than the hurdles. Vietnam will always be a special place to us and I'm sure it won't be long until we are back there again.