Left a piece of my heart in Hanoi

I decided to leave my comfort zone the autumn of 2015, go somewhere I have never been, do something I do not really have any experience in, meet people I have not met before. I expected that it would be difficult, that I would feel lost and homesick. Never did I expect it to be the coolest 90 days of my life. Well, it was not easy, I did feel lost and a bit homesick at times, but I would go back and do it all over again and again.

I taught English in a primary school and lived in a volunteer house in Hanoi with volunteers coming from all over the world. For me, thinking back, that is the ideal way of exploring a new culture and city. I worked with local teachers and learned how the Vietnamese way of teaching works. I got to meet the most amazing students and some of them will always put a smile on my face even though I am not longer there with them. Together with the other volunteers in the house where I lived, I got to explore an amazing city, Hanoi. To be honest, when I first arrived in Vietnam, Hanoi was not a city I thought I would be very comfortable in. I was wrong, now I’m leaving the city with a piece of my heart left in it. Hanoi is a busy, sometimes overwhelming city with a lot contrasts. It’s a city with controlled and stuctured chaos. My favorite memories from Hanoi are all those hours we have spend in our favorite cafes, all the weekend trips we did to escape the busy traffic and polluted air, trying foods that I thought I would never like that I ended up being obsessed with, falling asleep in a taxi while passing through the city by night, seeing my students smile every morning and coming home to my favorite people in Hanoi every afternoon. Somewhere I remember a quote saying “life begins at the end of your comfort zone”. I don’t know who said that, but it is true. Never have I been happier to leave my comfort zone. Life did begin when I got lost in some random streets, being an english teacher or going trekking in the mountains while it was pouring rain and we all needed to go through a waterfall. Now I am filled with the most amazing memories, coolest experiences and funniest stories. Thank you Vietnam for having me. Thank you Volonteers for Peace Vietnam for taking care of me and supporting me but first and foremost thank you to all the people that made my stay here the greatest, you will forever be in my heart.