Regardless of how you ended up here, welcome.
Allow me to more formally introduce myself for those readers
who don’t know me personally. I was born in Rochester, New York on August 23 in
the year proceeding the fall of the Berlin Wall (if you want to know find a history book and do the
math...it's my gift to you).
I went to Brighton High School and then to Philadelphia University located
in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
At PhilaU I earned my Bachelor of Science degree in Science
and Business with a minor in Pre-medical studies. I graduated as a
distinguished honors scholar and with summa cum laude Latin honors. My love of
travel was sparked during my year abroad studying at the University of
Melbourne (pronounced melBIN, not Melbourne, there's no r sound…it drives me crazy). Needless to say
I fell in LOVE with Australia – who wouldn’t – and had the chance to travel all
over the continent from the north, south, middle and west and managed to see very little
of the continent given its vastness.
My trip down-under, an incredible honors director, and
academic advisor encouraged me to apply for a Fulbright Grant to take place during my gap year between
undergrad and medical school…and I did, which is how I ended up here.
During my time in Philadelphia I worked as a teaching assistant for the school of science and health and
university tutor in a number of science and business subjects. I also undertook
a year and half long extracurricular research project quantifying polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) residue levels in third-hand smoke. Beyond studying, research and conferences my other interests include reading, running, architecture, figure
skating (which will come in real handy in a tropical country…right?!) and music
including classical, jazz, opera and Broadway.
This blog will contain my observations, thoughts, and
opinions (including some cultural frustrations to be sure). My hope is that
this blog is above all else honest and that it can provide reader’s with a sense of what it’s
like to be a tall, light, blue-eyed fish out of water in a land where I
currently don’t speak a lick of Vietnamese (hopefully this won’t last). Some
moments will be funny, some will be lonely and some will be victorious as I
grope my way toward being an English teacher in Vietnam. On a larger scale (if one would allow me to wax even more...but its my blog so I can wax if I want to) I
hope that the stories and information contained herein will be useful to other
students or perspective Fulbright applicants.
One note, the Internet connections in Vietnam are not always
reliable, so I will make every effort to try and update this blog weekly, but
please bear with me.
Thanks for reading and now I will finish with my favorite
quote (with some minor updating) one, which is so very befitting during this
last month before I go…
“Twenty
years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So
throw off the bowlines [or buy a plane
ticket and pay applicable baggage fees]. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails [or
board your plane]. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
– Mark Twain
Get out there and go for it!
Sincerely,
Tyler Fleming
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