My First Tour of Duty

I met my parents for lunch in Dartmouth to tell them the news. I knew that they would be surprised and excited but I also knew that they wouldn't be too happy when they heard what had happened last night.

"I've been drafted," I joked. "I'm moving to Vietnam!"

The previous evening, I had a job interview via the internet for teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) in Hanoi. After a 45 minute conversation the woman on the other end of the conversation, and on the other side of the world, cheerfully told me that I had the job. "Great!" I replied. She then told me that she wanted me there two days after New Years. "Oh" was all that I could say.

I arrived back in Nova Scotia in the beginning of December and two weeks later I had already found another job sending me back to Asia in another two weeks.

"That's great news. Congratulations!" my parents both said. My mom burst my bubble when she added, "You just came back and you're leaving again?"

I had first moved to Asia in August 2006 to teach ESL in a private language school in South Korea. I had lived in a suburb of Seoul for two years, teaching ESL to Korean children between the ages of 6 and 14. Two years in Korea gave me a lot of time to fully explore the country, the culture and the "Korean way" of doing things; which sometimes meant doing things either half-serious, half-joking, half-awake, half-heartedly or half-drunk. Or any combination of two halves that always made for an interesting experience!

During my time in Korea, I had the chance to visit several Asian countries during school vacations and breaks: Thailand (x3), Vietnam, North Korea(aaaahh!) and three months living and traveling in China, Hong Kong and Macau. I had learned a lot from my observations in Asia and came back to Canada to share all of my encounters and adventures. Of course, with more countries means more adventures and strange encounters, the same goes with new countries.

My next adventure is one I'll be documenting and sharing. My year-long stint in Vietnam will be new to me and will be vastly different from life in Canada or Korea but I've always found regular routine to be quite boring and unsettling. So, I'll start my account in a place where all good stories either begin or end: in the airport. More specifically: Stanfield International Airport in Halifax.

My final day in Canada had come and my family were all there to see me off, all hoping that we'd be together again next year. As we were walking towards US customs and security, my dad turned to me and said,
"We're proud of you, Matthew."

"For what?" I replied.

I was getting on a plane, heading to another city, in another country, halfway around the world. I was leaving my home, my family and friends for at least a year to teach English in a foreign country. I've done this two times already! Is it such a remarkable feat for a boy from Exit 10?

I pondered this question as I left Canadian soil but it struck me as unusual. It feels like the most normal thing for me now. This is my life. I'm following my career and my passion, what's so unique about that?