🏆 Morning Life Capital of the World 👑

+ the hardest part about living abroad with a toddler

With just a week left in Vietnam,¹ I feel like I’m in the last mile of a marathon. Not that I have run a marathon, but I imagine the last mile is a rollercoaster of emotions.

After 4.5 months here, I’ve come to feel very much at home. I will most miss how safe and affordable it is here. I will miss living at the beach, fresh tropical fruit, our incredible-out-of-this-world daycare, and wearing elephant pants every day!! In other words: I don’t want the race to end!

On the other hand, after metaphorically running for 25 miles, I am out of breath. Ie. I have literally only breathed toxic air for months, and I cannot wait for a breath of fresh air again. The race needs to end. NOW.

There are really only two things I wish we had over the last half year: a leaning tower for our toddler, and fresh air. There are also really only two things that have been difficult: the abundance of strangers wanting to touch/pick up/pet my son (as kind as they can be, and as nice as it is to be based in cultures that are so enamored by babies…no.), and fresh air.

Have I mentioned I miss fresh air?

I also miss sidewalks, parks, parks with fresh air, working out in fresh air, and working out in parks with fresh air. Maybe you thought I’d say I missed my friends the most. Of course I miss seeing friends (in fresh air). But I’m also used to not seeing friends, even good ones, for months at a time. I’m not used to breathing toxic air day after day. It gets to the point (around mile 25…) when you can think of nothing else but your (and your baby’s) poor lungs.²

After I finished the Tour d’Afrique, I never again took a paved road for granted. Now, I will never again take at a beautiful, deep blue sky, unobstructed by hazardous fumes, for granted.³

I also think it will be nice to be able to engage in small talk again, without so many language barriers, though I’m not convinced I’ll remember how. We have met many sweet parents through daycare or digital nomads at cafes, but whenever we chat, it’s just so, so painfully awkward. Is it Vietnam? Is it me? Is it what happens when you’re writing a book and you have your head in the clouds? I guess those of you who will see me soon can be the judge…

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Before we leave Vietnam, in particular Da Nang, I have to give a shout out to the morning life here. I’m talking packed beach and boardwalk, before 6a.m. every single day of the week. My type of people 😎.

You think I’m exaggerating? This is 5:49 am.

I’m talking hundreds of people showering at the beach clubs, already done their morning swim by the time I run by at 5:45 am, sidewalk cafes with every chair taken and large groups hanging out together, people playing foot badminton in parking lots, dance troupe after dance troupe, rowdy beach volleyball games, plus plenty of people still in the water and playing in the sand, the whole length of the 2-3 mile stretch that I’m familiar with.

6:07am

6:12 am

There are as many expats out running/swimming/cycling etc as you’d expect to see anywhere else at this time, proportional to their population. But there are tons of locals. Like, tons and tons. It’s unlike anywhere I’ve been. The city that never sleeps doesn’t come close (though I do appreciate how sleepy New York is before 9am). Neither do warm coastal cities with otherwise great energy like L.A., Cape Town, Miami, Barcelona, and Rio.

The first two months we spent here, we weren’t staying near the beach, so we’d arrive at 8am after breakfast to find a quiet, peaceful beach. As busy as you would expect for the time of day and city’s population. It wasn’t until we moved to a building next to the beach that I learned we were arriving after the party was over! What a pleasant surprise. It just goes to show how much can be happening right under your nose without you even having a clue.

9:25am, just us and some early surfers

Until I hear or experience otherwise, I am crowning 👑Da Nang👑 as morning life capital of the world!

Anyway, that’s a wrap on Vietnam! For anyone considering spending time abroad (whether with a baby, or toddler, or child, or partner, or job, or even none of the above!): I have thoughts (good ones! With what I think are words of wisdom…). Hit me up or feel free to share your questions in the comments.

1. This isn’t the end of our adventure! We’re off to Seoul (do they have fresh air there? I really hope so!!), then Winnipeg, then NYC for the month of June, then we’re making our way south. The plan is Mexico City for July & August, then….?!

2. Dear lungs: I’m so sorry!!

3. What’s maybe more sad than the unhealthy air quality here is that I have more hope that Vietnam can solve this problem than I have hope that America can solve school shootings among other problems). I continue to feel conflicted about living there again. It sometimes feels as if basing myself in the U.S. is akin to a vote of confidence in the current state of affairs. I love my American friends (hi friends!!), and understand why they’d stay and fight for their country. There’s a lot worth fighting for. And plenty of strong arguments for staying. But it’s not my country ya know? And there are other battles in the world that I feel either more responsible for, or better equipped to fight. Anyhoodle, enough ramblings about being an ex-expat / former ”resident alien” 🙄.