[What is Hy up to now?]

I just graduated from Ithaca College in May 2008 with a degree in Anthropology.

This year, I have decided to volunteer abroad with a non-profit, non-government funded organization called Volunteers in Asia.  VIA has posted me in Hue, Vietnam as an English teacher and English resource volunteer for the Xuan Phu Children’s Shelter (which is part of an NGO called Friends of Hue Foundation.) The NGO has provided me with housing at the shelter’s grounds, only a few feet away from the children.

I am also a recipient of a community fellowship funded by the Ford Foundation and have been given an opportunity to create/run my own creative service project.

My long-term goal this year is to ultimately cultivate meaningful relationships/connections in Vietnam (with the help of VIA’s already well-established presence) in order for me to further my goal of building a more collaborative relationship between the mainland Vietnamese and the abroad Vietnamese communities.

The goal of my blog: to share anything and everything that I want to share with you this year.  I could simply restrict this blog to only serious content about my volunteer work here in Vietnam, but I think it’s important for me to encompass all of my interests and to include several mediums of storytelling (including random observations, music, and photography) to create a sufficient recollection of my experience.

Also, FYI: I am unable and unwilling to censor my attention/commentary to both the humorous/ironic events that consistently unfold in my life.  Humor plays too big of a role on my outlook in life to ignore.

I will always feel like I have to write from both my funny-bone and heart.

Thanks for allowing me to share.

[<...3]-Hy.