I had a plan to remain in Vietnam for at least 2 years before I even returned home to the US for a visit. This was not just an arbitrary timeframe. When I left my childhood home of Wichita Falls, Texas, for the first time to attend college 3 hours away in Lubbock, Texas, I struggled to feel comfortable. I was not a fan of dorm life. I had never even shared a room, let alone a whole building! When the summer after my freshman year came, I moved all of my belongings back home with a plan to transfer to the local university. At the end of that summer, I decided that living at home with my family and attending my local university was not the direction I wanted for my life. I returned back to Texas Tech and by the end of my sophomore year, I finally liked myself in Lubbock. With that experience in mind, I decided that 2 years would be a fair amount of time to have Vietnam feel like home.
I live and appreciate life in the present but typically operate with at least some sort of loose long term plan. Should the climate here remain favorable, in my long game I can see myself calling Vietnam home for possibly the next decade or more. With that in mind, I wanted to make sure I felt comfortable in my new home.
I have always had a maximalist attitude — More is more! Less is a bore! I had done so much downsizing while I prepared for the move. I had far fewer possessions than ever and felt so much lighter as a result. However, I found it very hard to part with most of my closet and wanted to take as many of my clothes with me as possible. I may be the only person who has ever been able to rationalize bringing a pair of silver sequin pants the 8,795 miles from Austin to Da Nang, but what can I say, I’m a trailblazer! In addition to the fabulous items in my closet, I wanted to move a few small key pieces that over the last 20 years of living on my own have always made my house feel like a home: magnets, kitchen knickknacks and a few special books. I also wanted to make sure to bring some items for my future classroom that I was not sure I would be able to find in Vietnam.
About a year earlier I had mailed a box from the US to Peter in Vietnam using FedEx. The pricing was outrageous! Over $100 for a very small lightweight box. I knew that mailing things to Vietnam would not be a viable option. Anything that I wanted to have with me would have to be brought when I came. Knowing that I set out to plan my maximalist moving adventure. Making sure I had what I both needed and wanted on the front end was a big job.
I recruited my friend, Carley, who was in between jobs to travel with me and join me for the first 5 weeks of my transition. She packed all she needed in her allotted personal item and that added an additional 2 checked bags and a carry on to my count. I am a silver member of United airlines flight perks and my baggage allotment is extended as a courtesy to my traveling companions. This meant her 2 checked bags, like mine, could weigh up to 70 pounds each. In addition, I also paid for 2 additional 50 pound checked bags at $100 each. This gave me a total of 4 checked bags weighing up to 70 pounds, 2 additional checked bags weighing up to 50 pounds and 2 carry-on bags. Weighing of carry-on bags happens infrequently when departing the US, so I packed my heaviest items in my carry-ons mostly books and the important teaching supplies I wanted during my time here. I didn’t travel light!
On the morning of September 3rd after dropping her son off at school, Rachel and I loaded my massive collection of bags from her garage to her car. She dropped me at the airport to pick up the rental car I had reserved, and we met back up at my old apartment complex. There wasn’t anything there for me anymore, but they did have a nice large free parking lot. We moved the bags from her car to the rental and set off to spend one last day in Austin.
We stopped coffee at Buzzmill, my favorite coffee shop in my old neighborhood, and the same spot I had picked up coffee with Peter on the morning I took him to the airport when he left for Vietnam. It just seemed fitting. We ran some errands picking up a couple of last minute items I had decided I needed before leaving. We connected with my friend and yoga teacher, Shelby, for afternoon mani/pedis and lunch. After lunch Rachel and I spent a bit of time reminiscing, shed some tears and then she left in time to return home for after school pick-up. There wasn’t much left to be said. We had just spent the last week together. Just like that, another goodbye was marked off the list.
The flight departed at 6am and the standard time for arrival before an international flight is a recommended 3 hours. This is for passengers without an outrageous amount of luggage. I decided that an airport arrival time between 2am and 3am was ideal. This put the need or rather the likelihood of actually sleeping before the flight in question. So, naturally, in an attempt to delay my departure as much as I could I made dinner reservations on Rainey Street and planned to go see my friends and favorite local band, The Michael Hale Trio featuring Mac Macintosh, one last time. I had been watching them play Half Step on Rainey every Tuesday night from around 11pm to 1am for the last few years, so finishing up the night with them then heading straight to the airport just seemed right. It also sounded far more enjoyable and realistic than getting a hotel close to the airport and wishing for sleep, that with the mounting excitement, I doubted would ever come.
When the show wrapped up, Carley and I made our way to the airport. We arrived right around 2am. Like nearly everything else in the past year, exactly according to plan. We unloaded the bags from the rental car at the airport and with Tetris like precision placed them onto rolling carts. Our early arrival allowed for a low-stress check-in. We were first in line at the empty airport and removed the bags from the carts while we waited for the airline attendants to man their counter stations for the day. The baggage all seemed a bit overwhelming and excessive once it was lined up to be weighed and checked. Honestly, I was a little embarrassed by the sheer mass of things.
Once the bags were tagged and on the conveyor belt, I didn’t have to worry about it again until I reached Da Nang and quickly pushed the embarrassment out of my mind. We made our way through security and to our departure gate stopping for one final Austin treat of Tacodeli breakfast tacos along the way.
As we were settling into the gate and about to savor our tacos, I realized that I had left a couple of items in the console of the rental car. Most importantly, the photo of Rachel’s face attached to popsicle sticks that she had made for me so I could carry her with me on my travels. I left my belongings with Carley and raced back to the rental car drop-off all the way across the airport entrance and past the short-term parking lot. I had worn some of the heaviest clothing items I was taking rather than packing them so racing through the airport in corduroy pants and cowboy boots was a bit amusing in its discomfort. Luckily, the items were still in the console, and I made it back to the airport from the rental car return, back through security a second time and back to the gate with a sweaty brow and still enough time to enjoy my taco.
The flight was fully booked and just before boarding the flight crew asked for volunteers to check their carry-ons all the way to their final destination with no fee to allow for more space in the overhead bins. Carley and I quickly jumped at the offer to not have to worry about rolling our small but very heavy bags full of books and teaching supplies through our two connecting airports.
Part of my thought process and desire in moving to Vietnam was to downsize and learn to be content with less. I did that in my own way. Being here now, I wouldn’t have done it any differently. Having these extra luxuries has resulted in an “at home” feeling very early in my transition. A feeling that I could not have imagined coming so quickly and easily when I made my decision to relocate. I have added a few things since I have arrived. A couple of rugs to make sure I don’t drag the sand on my feet into my bed, a toaster, a few food storage containers, but for the most part, I found I already had everything I needed — and more! If anyone finds themselves in Da Nang and needs a pair of silver sequin pants for the disco, you know who to call!
