Takeoff time

Dear friends and other creatures !


Although I'm an Estonian, I have decided to write this blog in English so that all those concerned could keep track with my life for the following 2 months. If there are any objections, let me know !

The story goes like this: on the 27th of June I'm going to fly to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly/unofficially known as Saigon), Vietnam, and try to manage my life there until the 3rd of September. I made the decision to go because I felt I need to alienate myself from the comfort zone I've known for my whole life, and perhaps the western way of living. But that is just one of the many reasons. Although 2 months might not sound like a long enough time for me to act as a chameleon and just swap cultures (and identity), I will quite certainly experience a culture shock, get some pictures and text out of it for you, and perhaps some stories to tell to my future grandchildren :). 


Just so that I'd have something else to my image other than being a simple tourist, I looked around and found myself an aim: I'm going participate in AIESEC Vietnam's project Living With HIV. This project will be a good excuse for me to get in contact with many locals and therefore see the culture through an insider's eye. It'll mainly be dealing with HIV/AIDS prevention work and education. However, I'm not too sure yet about the exact course of events planned for the project, so I'll try to keep you up to date (with many exotic pictures) about some more interesting endeavors. 


For now, there is just this picture by Quintin Lake, which seems to best conclude what I've read about Vietnam (and Asia) thus far: it's chaotic, yet elegant. 

Quan Am Pagoda, Ho Chi Minh City

Next blog will already be written in the midst of a scorching 33 degree heat ! See you soon !