"We must maintain an open channel."

As I prepare for my journey as a Fulbright-er in Vietnam, my mind keeps going back to a book I read in my first year of university: THE MEANING OF IT ALL, by Nobel-prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman. Normally I wouldn't pick up a book from the science section, so many thanks to Prof. Gary Deaton, who assigned it. A transcript Feynman's 1963 lectures series about science, religion, and society, the book offers an insight that I think every 20-something (and perhaps everyone) needs: That uncertainty is valuable, necessary, and the only mechanism for moving forward. Feynman says

"Admitting that we do not know and maintaining perpetually the attitude that we do not know the direction necessarily to go permit a possibility of alteration, of thinking, of new discoveries for the problem of developing a way to do what we want ultimately, even when we do not know what we want."

I loved the book instantly upon reading it, and I have since given it to virtually everyone I know for various holidays and gift-giving occasions. This summer, it has been the first book I've (re-)read for my pre-Vietnam book list, because I needed to be reminded of the value of uncertainty--what Feynman calls "the open channel". I can hardly do justice to how he defines the open channel, but it has to do with the quotation above. With the opportunities you create by not closing yourself up with "certainties". Moving to Vietnam, leaving behind my friends, family, and the life I've known--it is full of uncertainty. And it would be quite scary without my "Feynman goggles" that allow me to see this unknown journey through the lens of "an open channel" that opens to me all possibilities....

Despite the fact that my program starts in less than two months, there still remain a surprising number of uncertainties regarding the technical and logistical details of my trip. For example, I have no idea what part of Vietnam I'll be living in. They've said I'll either be in the north or the south (but that's pretty obvious given the geography of the country) and that I'll most likely be in a city. I don't know what school I'll be working in. I don't know what my housing situation will be (maybe student housing, maybe private). I don't know if I'll be the only Fulbright-er in my town, or if we'll be paired. I don't know what kind of work attire to take, what shots I need, how I'm going to survive as a vegetarian.....

But I do know a few things. I have to be in Hanoi on August 2nd, and I will stay there for 4 weeks of orientation and training at the local university. The nine others who received the same Fulbight will join me. After orientation, I will work at a university, college, or teacher-training school, where I will be teaching English. I'll receive a modest stipend each month, which should be enough given the exchange rate of 16,141 dong per dollar. (It's OK--I giggled too. And made a lot of "dong" jokes.)

While I patiently wait for more information regarding my fate for the next year, I'm trying to navigate my way through the (very circular) process of applying for a VISA. (Can't the State Department just get it for me? They're getting 7 Fulbrights out of Gaza, so they can certainly take care of my Visa, right?).
I'm also keeping myself entertained with throwing graduation/going-away parties (one with my KY family/friends, another with my Nashville family/friends), reading multiple books at once (The Meaning of It All, To Asia with Love, Lonely Planet Vietnam, Lonely Planet Southeast Asia, America's Longest War, Eat Pray Love), watching movies (Hearts and Minds -- a must-see doc about the Vietnam War, Anthony Bourdain), playing board games, drinking honeydew bubble tea, buying an awesome North Face raincoat, and jumping on an occasional rock tour with Sam. In the summer heat, I've also been reminded that I hate hot weather. Good thing Vietnam is tropical.

I've started this little blog to document my trip, my thoughts about it, my preparations for it. This is an important journey for me, and I am happy to share it...