We don't really say hi here.

A few notes to start. Contrary to the name, this won't be primarily a blog about Vietnamese food. A week from now I will traverse the globe and land in a little land of Vietnam (or Việt Nam as the locals write it), where I will muck about and learn new things for the next four months (longer if I find myself with a summer job). And this little blog will [hopefully] be your gateway in.

I don't have a great track record with blogs, and considering my real life should be full of experiences, I'm not sure how far I will get along before recounting my sordid tales (I jest).

I did start packing today, which may be earlier than I need to, but I've been running around buying little knick knacks all week and wanted to finally get some of the mess that is my room cleared up. I still have plenty of space, however I think I will end up over-packing. The curse of wanting options when I dress, I suppose. I will be the one paying the price when I have to lug everything with me every few weeks, but that's why I bought a backpack luggage bag (marketed for the adventurous traveler), or when I forget something, someplace, as I am apt to do.

As I prepare for this little journey, reading and getting everything together, one thought pervades me; Americans see Vietnam as stuck in the past, but the country has gone on, has flourished. It's quite narrowing to believe an entire country is still living in the 1960's, literally. I read in a book (that I will figure out when it's not three-thirty in the morning) that it's the difference between only having a memory of something and living it everyday. Things, people, place, are constantly changing, but memories are static (to a degree, ask any brain specialist). But I do hope that more people are open and aware of the (dare I say) progress that the country has undergone in the past fifty years. (And I am wary to use any positive or negative words in relation to ~development; it's an issue I've been mulling over for the past few years - the separation between Western values, and true, independent well-being of a society, but I'm sure I will have lots more to mull over after these four months.)

I hope most of that was coherent. I should go to bed now. Much more rambling thoughts soon.