I Moved to Vietnam and Life Met Me There

GOOD MORNING VIETNAM

One year ago, my friend, Joy and I landed in Ho Chi Mihn City, Vietnam.

Not with nerves.

Not with second thoughts.

But with the kind of certainty that doesn’t need a speech—just a suitcase and a yes.

A year in, here’s what’s true: Vietnam didn’t just change my location—it changed my life.

YEAR OF THE SNAKE

We arrived right as the Year of the Snake began, and honestly? That timing was personal.

2025 was a full-on shedding year for me.

I’ve been peeling off old ideas, old hurts, old habits, and tired thought patterns like, “thank you for your service… goodbye.”

My heart feels lighter.

My mind feels wider.

And my gratitude? That thing is growing so fast I can practically hear it stretching.

YEAR OF THE HORSE

Now we’re walking into the Year of the Fire Horse—bold change, big energy, transformation—and yes, I feel it.

It’s like the weight I carried forever didn’t just lift… it finally released.

And I’m ready.

Ready to move.

Ready to live deeper.

Ready to tell the story.

CITY BY CITY - MOMENT BY MOMENT

Since coming to Vietnam, I’ve traveled to eleven cities all over the country. I've climbed to the top of the Christ the King Statue in Vũng Tàu, visited the Golden Bridge in Ba Na Hills, and motorbiked for four days on the Hai Giang Loop.

I've fallen in love with each place and its distinct character and personality.

But the truth? My favorite moments aren’t the “big” moments.

They’re the everyday ones:

• Aunties dancing together in the mornings like it’s their job (and they’re crushing it)

• Vendors serving hot pho and banh mi like they’re handing out love in a bowl

• Men gathered at coffee shops, talking like time isn’t chasing them

• Kids in uniforms heading to school on the back of thier parent's motorbike.

I can say all of that… but that’s still only a small part of daily life here.

Vietnam isn’t just somewhere I’ve visited.

Vietnam has been something I’ve felt.

THE WHISPER

My life in America was good. Truly.

I was comfortable with the familiarity—the knowing of friendships, the comfort of favorite places, the feeling that I could go anywhere and run into someone I knew.

I adored that.

But I also felt a fire inside me that kept saying: you have to move.

And eventually it stopped being a whisper.

I didn’t leave because I was unhappy.

I left because I knew—deep down—that I would never become who God intended me to be if I stayed where I was.

I needed a life very different from the one I’d lived for the past 49 years.

I thought Asia might be the place.

And through research, happenstance, and what I can only describe as signs from God and the universe… Vietnam became my destination.

PLOT TWIST

I came to Vietnam to teach.

And yes—I taught a few classes.

But ultimately, I ended up becoming a karaoke host a couple nights a week, which still makes me laugh when I say it out loud.

And somehow, along the way, I made a few thousand friends on TikTok… a platform I never, ever imagined I’d care about.

A LESSON

Here’s what I’m learning:

We can have a plan.

We can have an idea.

We can even have a whole vision for our lives.

But once we start moving—once we take a step toward the thing we feel called to—life starts meeting us there.

Opportunities show up.

Doors open.

People appear.

And suddenly you have choices you never would’ve had if you stayed still.

CLEARING THE NOISE

Living in Vietnam has made it easier to clear the noise.

Maybe it’s the affordability.

Maybe it’s the scenery.

Maybe it’s the kindness of the people.

Maybe it’s the slower pace.

But something about being here has helped me get the trash out of my mind—the stale thoughts, the pressure, the “this is how life is supposed to look” script.

Life here doesn’t revolve around the same markers.

It doesn’t revolve around how big your house is, what kind of car you drive, or where you go to dinner.

It’s different.

It’s slower.

Kinder.

More grounded.

And it has been really, really good for me.

DO YOU

So here’s what I’ll say, one year in:

If there is something burning inside your soul—something you can’t ignore, can’t squash, can’t stop thinking about—do the thing.

Take the chance.

The worst thing that happens is - it doesn’t work out.

But so what if it doesn’t?

You will have seen things, learned things, and done things that change you.

People told me I was brave before I came here.

I never felt brave.

I felt like I didn’t have a choice.

I HAD to go.

And now, one year in, I can say this:

I love this country.

I love these people.

I love what I'm learning and I can't wait to share it with you.