​I’ve made it to Vietnam. I’ve been waiting to say those words for months now, unsure if I ever would be able to. Moving continents mid worldwide pandemic is not for the faint of heart, that’s for sure. It was back in November when we excitedly signed my contract at Saigon South International School, a top tier school in the amazing South East Asian metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City. Kim was over the moon about moving to Vietnam, a place she has been itching to get back to ever since we visited back in 2015. I was convinced by the top notch reputation of the school and the phenomenal benefits package that it came with (including worldwide health insurance and yearly flights for both myself AND Kim). We were ready. That was, until Coronavirus took over the earth and threw us into an ocean of uncertainty. From March to June we rode the waves of emotions. I saw countless other international teachers’ contracts get cut due to countries shutting down, watched as the cases soured and boarders closed. We grasped blindly at any smidge of information we could get. I begun to cling to Istanbul, my friends there, and my belongings. Not wanting to let any of it go for a world of unknown. Kim was a rock during this time, or at least we were able to take turns being so in order to support each other’s troubled mental states.

​Thankfully my new school, SSIS, was a shinning light during this period. They pulled out all the stops to support us, holding weekly video meetings, sending countless emails to keep us in the loop, and relentlessly working the Vietnamese government to get us in the country. I headed back to the US at the end of June to take care of a few things and visit with family while Kim remained in Istanbul until we figured out what to do with our dear dog, Penny.

Vietnam was doing a spectacular job at keeping COVID at bay, having only 270 cases in the entire country and not a new one in months. As fabulous as this is, it made it all the more difficult for my school to get us into the country since the boarders are still closed (no commercial flights in or out). After weeks/months of waiting, finally the word came that SSIS chartered a flight from Seoul, Korea. I would fly ahead and then Kim would (hopefully) follow shortly after on a different flight chartered from London.

​​It didn’t feel real until just a day or two before I was set to fly. Only when the trip was in my grasps did I allow myself to begin thinking beyond just the arrival stage. I packed and repacked my bags at least 5 times, unable to have the mental capacity to make decisions between what items to bring. I spent every second with family. I said goodbyes for another year. And before I knew it I was sitting alone at my departure gate.

I know there is a lot of curiosity around traveling right now so I wanted to share my journey. In total, from leaving my Dad’s house in Maine to arriving in my hotel room in Saigon, it took 42 hours. Firstly, I needed to get a COVID test done a few days before I left. Then I took off from Portland to Detroit, a fairly uneventful quick flight at only 2 hours. I had a 5 hour layover where I staked claim to a very comfortable sofa that I snoozed on a bit in between catching up with video chats with friends.

When checking in for my flight from Detroit to Seoul, the airline agents were very skeptical. Their system showed that Vietnam’s boarders were still closed. I showed them my itinerary for my chartered flight and my Visa approval letter. They discussed between themselves as I armed up for a fight, but then shrugged and said that it would be up to the airport in Seoul. Thankfully, I knew there were going to be travel agent representatives waiting for me there. Relieved, I settled in for my 14 hour flight. After resting, movie watching, and some surprisingly good food (including a mini container of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream), I stepped off the plane in Seoul to find an escort waiting for me. He brought me through the back entrances and into a completely empty and closed terminal. There I found, for the first time, many of my colleagues, along with teachers from two of the other schools in town.

​We spent the layover time getting to know each other and sharing tales from our transit. Before long, it was time to board the final flight to Vietnam. The airline personnel handed us full coveralls for the flight. We looked like a scene from an apocalypse movie as we all boarded. We had some trouble taking off and ended up on the runway for an extra hour or two but honestly, I was so tired I spent the whole time - plus the 5 hour flight - sleeping. The great thing about flying during a pandemic is that the planes are flying at half capacity or less which means I have the whole row to myself to lay down on : )

​Arriving in Ho Chi Minh was surreal, I spent so long stressing about getting here, I think it is going to take a bit for my brain to catch up with the fact that I finally made it. The airline and airport crew wore fully protective equipment the whole time, which was crazy because it was hot! Oh, I should mention here that I also wore a mask for the entire duration of the transit, only taking it off to eat or drink.

​We waited a few hours for them to process our visas, all of us sitting around getting to know each other. Finally we were allowed to enter. I was so happy to see all of my bags waiting for me on the other side! A part of me was convinced that they would get lost in the tricky transit. We didn’t need to wait much longer before we were bussed to the local IBIS hotel (only a few minutes from the airport).

​We picked up our keys to our rooms and the COVID procedures we are expected to follow. We need to now complete a 14 day quarantine in the hotel. We are allowed to leave our rooms only to go in the hallway (the entire floor is quarantined off for only us). Thankfully we have a delicious menu of room service meals that will be brought to us when we call three times a day (plus snacks and drink options!). My school prepared this lovely welcome basket for me in the room filled with Vietnamese snacks. I took a quick shower and recorded my temperature (something I will need to do twice a day for the length of my stay). I ordered breakfast and then was requested out in the hall for our first COVID test. It was an easy throat and nose swab that was done in seconds. Back at my room, I found my first meal waiting for me, Vietnamese vegetable and tofu soup. It was delicious and I’m excited to continue having it for breakfast - I just have to remember to ask them to leave out the spicy green chillies haha

So that’s the update. I’ve made it to Vietnam. We are awaiting word on Kim’s flight and then will be able to arrange for Penny’s transit in as well. I’ll spend the next two weeks participating in an online orientation and planning for teaching, since we will begin school only two days after I get out of quarantine. Plus finding us a place to live and anxiously waiting on Kim & Penny’s arrivals. I can’t believe that I am actually here and this chapter, that I agonized over for the past few months, has finally begun. I hope you are ready for more blog posts because I’m sure I will have so much to share from this land of Vietnam!

After the extra time in Maine, as much as I hated to leave, I felt myself getting antsy to get back to our normal routine and at the end of August I headed back to Istanbul for our second year in this big, beautiful city. The first task at hand was unpacking our new apartment. We were happy to move into a different school-provided apartment still directly next to the school. We were looking forward to more light, a small balcony, and (mainly) a much bigger kitchen. Kim arrived a few weeks behind me so I spent that time arranging and rearranging, unpacking, and organizing. I bought a stunning kitchen island, a water cooler, a bigger mattress, and even more plants. I feel really good with what I was able to arrange for the unique space we were given and both of us feel much happier than last year. Kim is able to satisfy all her kitchen needs while I have my own little art corner, these are both in the same open space so we can each do our own thing while still staying connected. 
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    Kimberly made my dreams come true when she surprised me with a weekend in Paris for my 30th birthday. It was a complete surprise that she had been planning since the summer. I knew she has something special planned for the weekend and had the idea that it would be a trip but never did I think that it would be this amazing! Kim sent me on my own because she knew if she came then I would be worried about her enjoying the weekend as well but if I was on my own I would be able to everything exactly how I wanted - like spending a full 12 hours looking at artwork.
    I spent my entire first day at the Louvre, wandering the various sections of art spanning centuries. I saw some of the most famous artwork in the world and thousands of others. I was lucky that the museum was open late that night so I was able to really see everything it had to offer. Don’t get me wrong, I could go back and spend another few days there, but in my short time I managed to see everything that I wanted to and more.
For lunch I splurged so I could stay in the museum and eat at the famous Angelina Cafe where I ate one of the most memorable meals of my life. It was so rich and luxurious I can almost still taste the creamy chestnut soup.
I closed down the museum and hurried to the Eiffel Tower. See, there were protests happening in Paris that weekend and unfortunately I had just found out that ALL tourist attractions were going to be closed the next day. Luckily for me, the Eiffel Tower is open late so I grabbed a cab and made it on one of the last trips up. It was unbelievable to be standing atop the brightly light tower and gazing out to the city of Paris. Oh, my heart still swoons at the thought.
On my second day, since the museums and other attractions were closed, I was able to wander the streets and see some of what Paris had to offer. I stopped by the Notre-Dame Cathedral to oogle it’s exquisite entrances, ate “french” onion soup (which was not as good as Kimberly’s TBH), and got lost on the streets lining the Seine. ​

Andrea Simmons Photography