Vietnammed: Easter Confessions

Happy Chocolate Bunny Day ya'll!

I have a confession to make and as a former Catholic, I think it's important to hold on to some semblance of tradition (Although, if I remember correctly, I'm supposed to be confessing at a much higher frequency). Instead of leaving this proverbial Easter egg behind the couch to gather dust, I thought I should find it and bring it to the table for you. Here it is: Living abroad isn't always sunsets and coconuts. Sometimes it's motorbike drivers on speed and rats chasing you down the alley. Despite what my Instagram may be telling you, living in a different country is challenging and frankly, can suck the life right out from under your bones. Please don't be alarmed, this is not a cry for help. I am simply attempting to come clean and spill my guts about the non-Facebook worthy occurrences in life. Social media can be a scary place if we are constantly comparing ourselves to others. For example, over the past two years, I could have posted statuses such as these:

The problem with statuses like these is that almost no one wants to hear them. They are super whiny. Whenever I scroll past statuses such as these, I mutter, "suck it up," to myself. However, I think it's essential that we understand the implications of omitting these morose posts. Our lives become a sunset, coconut filled dream world on display for our friends, family, and random people we met once at an underground, Rasta warehouse party in Barcelona.

The sunset-coconut effect even applies when I talk to my friends and family from home on the phone. Most of the time, the conversations had are nestled between bed time and work meetings. There is a 12 hour time difference separating me from some of the people that I love the most. When I talk to these super humans, I want to hear about their lives. Usually, there isn't enough time to discuss the negative aspects of each other's lives, and maybe that's OK. Phone conversations, along with social media posts, start to build a false sense of prosperity.

Living in Saigon has changed my life and most of the time I am beyond grateful to live here, but it's not always easy. When people from home talk to me about my life over here, they say things like, "Do you even have a job? You are always at the beach" or, "You are so lucky. Everything seems so amazing over there." While there is some truth to those statements, it is important to understand that it can be physically and mentally taxing. I just wanted to put it out there. I am a real person who isn't on an eternal spring break. I simply choose to leave out the nasty bits from my public profile. I think we all do this to a certain degree, it's ~~robot~~ nature.

P.S. I want to leave this blog on a positive note so I will say this: I have the most amazing friends in the world here in Saigon. My birthday is coming up and I had a party on Friday. These stinkers surprised me with a cake, a ukulele, and most importantly a card signed by everyone who chipped in on the uke. I have been wanting a ukulele since last year, and I was very slow to make this dream a reality. It was the best present that I have ever received and I couldn't be luckier to call these guys my friends. Much love to everyone involved.