This is it!

(I tried to post this before I left, but my internet cut out. I'm in Singapore! The airport here is amazing. My internet access right now is totally free. And on the way back I'm planning to take the free tour of the city that they offer. I'll probably go take another nap, maybe in the transit hotel cause I have about 7 hours til boarding. I'll update more when I get to Hanoi.)

I'm leaving to get on the plane. Right now. My next post will most definitely be from a different country. Vietnam has a block on Facebook, so I have to say goodbye to that for the next two months. A forced vacation from my favorite form of social media.

I found my camera so I will be taking tons of pictures and trying to record what they all are (two notebooks for whatever, including keeping track of pictures!). And I have two 4GB memory cards, one 128 MB memory card (I'm so amused by this... it's about 3 years older than the other two memory cards), and 3 1GB flash drives. Presumably, even if I can't find a way to upload photos, that should be enough storage space for everything. But hopefully there will be photos coming throughout my time, and not just at the end. Not having my own computer with me will make that more difficult.

Ok, that's it! Hope you are all having a wonderful Memorial Day! I find it interesting that I'm leaving this country for one we had a war with on Memorial Day. It certainly makes me thoughtful about the actions our country has taken globally.

Love,

Jen

Preview Pictures!

I give up on predicting and planning when I'll post.

UBELONG cofounder Raul Roman was over in Southeast Asia recently and took a bunch of pictures in Hanoi! So I thought I'd share the link. I found the pictures very helpful for me in easing some of the stress I was feeling about the trip.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.129183970463655.18652.127245993990786

Addresses

I lied. I have one more quick update. I'm asking for addresses of anyone who wants me to try to send them a postcard from Vietnam. The best way is to email them to me at jennifer.du.mond@gmail.com. If you don't email me an address, even if I know what your address is, I most likely won't try to send a card. It's the best way to remind me and let me know that you want something.

That being said, I hear the postal service is pitifully inconsistent. So I will try but I can make no promises.

Love,

Jen

Pre-departure update

(Tuesday, May 24)

It's update time. It's currently 2:20am east coast time and I'm so excited for everything that has and will happen that I can't sleep. It's kind of frustrating. Anyway I got my visa after much holmesing - 2 trips to San Francisco, 2 stops at the same ups store, 1 totally useless stop at a post office, forgotten passport, stop at kinkos to scan the then collected passport, and got to the consulate so that by the time I left it was only 5 mins 'til they would close the window. Also realized after the first time I started to walk away that I had probably just requested a 1-month visa, which wasn't gonna cut it. But, after 4 hours of driving up and down the peninsula, I got it all done. And it even made it back to me earlier than expected and is ready for me at home.

I also had some shopping I needed to do - my dress code is "business casual" but since I've been working in a lab (and before that, a toy store) my wardrobe wasn't really up to snuff. But, I'm trying to save money for the many unemployed months ahead, so I did some thrift shopping, and it was amazingly successful! I also anticipate that I'll pick up some more things in Vietnam, but for now I know I have at least a week's worth of suitable outfits.

I also picked out my travel insurance and took care of the remaining health things and now I just need to pack! I still am kind of in shock at how soon this is all happening. In just over a week I'll be in Vietnam. Why didn't I spend more time with that expensive Rosetta stone software? I don't even know how to say hello... But I'll learn. I like languages and I tend to pick them up well, and I plan to take lessons while I'm there.

I'm slightly terrified because I feel like there are still a lot of unknowns, but I like adventure and I'm mostly really excited to get there and settle in.

And speaking of settling in, this has nothing to do with my trip to Vietnam, but I found a place to live in New Haven and I'm super stoked to settle in there and have a place to call my own (with roommates) and decorate and have dinner parties and all that jazz.

My future is too exciting. My head is buzzing imagining all the fun times in my future and I can't sleep. But I will try again now...

(continued, May 26)

The next big step is packing. I have photo copies for myself and my parents of all of my important documents. I have a (hopefully complete) list of all the things I still need to get, like stuff for my first aid kit and a watch (why don't I have one already??) and a new hard-case suitcase that I can feel secure about locking and leaving unattended.

I had a brief freak-out today when I saw a sign for the Winchester mystery house. I've been meaning to go but I haven't gotten around to it. And now I'm leaving California and I probably won't have a chance to go for quite a long time. Maybe ever. And there are a bunch of other things like that that I'm sad I'm going to miss. But I guess I can't experience *everything* life has to offer, I do have to make some choices. And right now I'm choosing Vietnam. And then Yale.

My going away party is on Saturday. Not everyone I wanted to attend can make it, and I'll be very sad to not get to say goodbye. But, given that everything and everyone is online now, it's not like anyone is totally out of touch. And I know there will be lots of great new people in my future, too.

But ultimately, I'm excited. It's going to be great. Hot and humid as hell (literally?) but great anyway. I think I'm not actually capable of imagining what this experience is going to be like, so I'll just have to let you know after I get there! And I will try to post lots of pictures, too.

Signing off until I get to Hanoi!

Love,

Jen