Uncle Dan’s Blog - Because Brice Asked Me To…
Actually he didn’t. But he did mention that it’s been a while since I wrote here, so…
I both do, and don’t, have a lot to write here. So it’s one of those “Wow a lot happened, but it’s hard to know where to begin” sort of stories.
Maybe an update, then?
I did indeed, graduate from my college. I got an extension on my sort-of-dissertation, because of a skiing accident I think I wrote about before. Concussions aren’t fun. In a way, I’m still recovering, though it’s in minor things.
It was emotional, though. And because I had that extension, and I didn’t have a job lined up right afterwards, well, it’s fair to say I’ve been floating. I hate the feeling.
Actually I would like it. I’ve done it before. The thing is that instead of floating like a tied down balloon, now I’m a baloon on the end of a tether. You can see the string unwinding, and soon you’ll be out and up and out of control.
It annoys me a little that some of my friends, newly graduated or graduating soon, are “going to take a break for a few months.” It sounds great. I’d love to do that. But I just don’t seem to have the luxury. In fact, most people don’t, but when enough people around you are talking that way, you catch the fever of wanting to, and later realize you can’t.
It’s waking up from the dream, and finding that soon I won’t be a legal resident in Switzerland, and I have nowhere I can realistically go to in the US, at least nowhere I’d be comfortable just hanging out till I get something real. So I’m looking around for jobs in the vain hope of finding something interesting and, fingers crossed, outside the US.
But while I’ve been here, I’ve been back to my college in Brig to visit and tie over leftover business, not to mention investigate getting a temporary internship there to hold me over until I get something better. And it’s been nice to see people, and to live, a little bit, the student life again. Especially that student life. It’s quite extraordinary, as I’m sure many of you have gleaned from what I’ve written so far.
And there are times I can’t help feeling like a carrion bird hanging around a corpse, looking for fresh eyes when they’re long gone.
I take pride in being able to meet lots of people, and take strength from them, and confidence. I take pride in never being tied down to just one group. But a lot of the friends I’d known for over two and a half years are gone, and most of the rest are going soon too. The sense of loss is pretty overwhelming, even in the face of all the newer people I also enjoy the company of.
And I also feel like I’m getting older. Most of my life I was the younger one. Younger brother, latest birthday in my yeargroup, all that. And now suddenly I’m an old hand in the community, and it feels weird. I look at the new people coming in and think “Kids.” It’s not that nice, and I try to be open-minded, but the impression stays.
There are moments though, that make it all worth it. Like sitting and chatting with people from every continent. It reminds me of what I love most about the place.
But it everyone says that now is the time to leave all that behind. Time to think serious things. My parents say this above all. Get a job, get a career, find someone nice, get a family. School is fun, but you’ve got to get on with your life.
And I wonder if it’s that simple. That it’s just a stage, and then you just forget most of it and focus on yourself. That all the things I thought were important aren’t anymore.
But I still think the lessons I took from there were good ones. Not the classes. That’s just to help make money. But what I learned as a person, that’s what I treasure. And why not aspire to bigger things in life? If we have nothing to aspire to, what’s the point?
I know people who say “I’m just a regular guy, so I’m happy with the things I have.” Which is fine. It really is. But I hate the feeling of lost potential. I’m not the neatest person, or the most organized… but I am efficient. I try to do the same with less, and it usually works. So the idea of me settling for a normal life just doesn’t sit well with me. I know it’s probably realistic, and it might well end up being what I get… but I don’t see that as a reason to stop trying.
But what do I aspire to? I haven’t figured that out yet. Suggestions?
Daniel Nguyen-Phuoc
Vietnamese in ethnicity, born in Houston, Texas. Lived in Jakarta, Indonesia for 14 years while going to a British International School to finish with the International Baccalaureate. Survived only two years in the University of Michigan before ending up in Switzerland. Graduated from an international (and that's meant in every word) hospitality college. Interesting life, to be sure. But not the only one.Related Posts
10 Comments to “Uncle Dan’s Blog - Because Brice Asked Me To…”
May 21st, 2008 at 9:54 am
hey dan-dan (that is actually a nic-name for another friend called daniel from holland, but i like it so much i brought it over)
yeah, i was actually thinking about making a post about one of the points you brought up here which is; “the tck becomes an atck.” not an easy transition. i can remember after i finished my one year of OPT (optional paractical trainingor whatever it stads for) in the states, i was all of a sudden for the first time in my life not leagal. it was strage, there i was, 24 years old, had lived in my own country for 4 years total between ages 8 and 12 and now living anywhere else could get me in serious trouble unless i straightened out my papers, something i had never had to do for myself before.
it sucked! i floated for abit; jobless and depressed. then i got a job in a coffee shop and floated some more but made a bit of money. but makng the decision to move back to botswana was a tough one. i knew i wanted t goback tot he continent, and i knew a ticket back would blow all my money, so i decided, screw it, let me go back to this country i hate and see if i can learn to love it. also i just didn’t feel like going through some long and expensive immigration process only to be rejected at the end of it.
anyway, i am sort of ramblng (surprise! surprise!) but yeah, just wanted to say that i feel you. being an adult can suck great big ones. and no, i don’t think you should jsut become mr. regular guy. i think its too late for that. but i do think that maybe you should cnsider sucking up going back to the states for a little while, just so you ca work and make some cash and decide what you want to do without the string unteathering, you know? plus you could go somewhere cool like san fransisco or hawaii or new york.
anyway, ca c’est selon moi seulement, maybe someone else has a better idea…
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May 21st, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Haha, that’s the nice thing about my industry, it’s blessedly globalized. I applied to jobs in China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Dubai, the US, Canada…
Haha yes, I applied for a place in Vancouver.
And working in a corporation gives you the chance to move around. That’s pretty cool.
But really, working right now is what I want to do, but I’m still not sure if hospitality is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I’m not sure if business as a whole, is something I *really* want to do. Working will give me a chance to see, and think, and eventually, decide if I want to go do a Masters in something else.
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May 22nd, 2008 at 12:27 am
I could help you get a job in China, but visas are a bit difficult at the moment,so if you want to work here, I’d suggest applying for a visa in October (they’re only offering 1 month ones now…).
I’m kind of dreading the day I graduate, actually. I really love the student life, and I love the friends I’ve made from all over the world. I know I’ll probably go to graduate school, but even so, it won’t be the same as my lovely undergraduate time. There’s so many things I want to do (I want to study in Finland, it’s free for me, and I want to come back to China, live in Germany…), and I fear I may not be able to, you know?
*sigh* I’ll enjoy it while I can. : ) I’m sure that you’ll find a job that you love, and be able to fulfill your wildest dreams….wow that sounds cheezy…
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May 22nd, 2008 at 6:00 pm
hey dan, I know that feeling
when I finished uni I was like “ok, I’ve done what this country/culture wanted me to do, now I’m on my own”. And then there was that big “abyss” (to quote the gilmore girls tv show which I love so much and can’t believe it’s over!).
I continue floating, but also working in the meantime, cause I don’t want to stop making money while I decided what to do with my life.
In August it will be 4 years since I graduated. Feels like yesterday. I actually think I’m more confused now than I was back then (finding out about the TCK thing is making me rethink a lot of things).
I don’t think you will ever be “mr. regular guy”. Maybe you can fake it like I used to do, but we can never lie to ourselves.
So my advice is: while you don’t figure things out, come up with a “plan B”, that can take you somewhere useful in the future and that pays good.
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May 23rd, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Hey Maira
And when things get tough you can just say “Oi with the poodles already!”
But i understand where you’re coming from Dan. Tho i cannot wait to get out of uni i know that when the time comes that i will be scared and exhilarated.
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May 24th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Come to Van, bro! haha.. you’re welcome here.
“but I’m still not sure if hospitality is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I’m not sure if business as a whole, is something I *really* want to do.”
What is it about hospitality that appeals to you? And what is it that you really want to do?
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May 24th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Haha, I did apply to a place in Van. So we’ll see.
Hospitality appeals to me twofold:
1. I just got a degree in it, I better damn well use it.
2. It’s got such potential for travel. The chance to find jobs in interesting places is much much higher than in other corporate jobs.
Besides, it’s an active kind of work, keeps you on your feet. That’s not a bad thing to keep your day interesting.
As for what I *really* want to do… I haven’t figured it out yet.
Ask me a year ago, and I would’ve said Political Science, preferably in International Relations. From there, I thought it’d be nice to teach that as well.
And then time went by and I wondered if that really was something I could do. Time with the TCKid site, the Facebook TCK forums, and all that made me wonder if I was someone who was more in tune with direct relations with people.
But since I just don’t know right now… I figure work for a while, figure it out, get some money, save up, and then see about studying, once I *really* know what I want.
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May 24th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Woop! Van! So when i get there for uni i’ll see you and brice, yeh? Yeh?
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May 26th, 2008 at 8:41 am
“And then time went by and I wondered if that really was something I could do. Time with the TCKid site, the Facebook TCK forums, and all that made me wonder if I was someone who was more in tune with direct relations with people.”
Yeah, I think so too! You’re great with people and I think you’d make a great host.
When we start a TCK organization, you’ll definitely be in PR or the manager of a TCK Hostel.
One day… one day…
“Chez Uncle” will be a reality.
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May 26th, 2008 at 10:49 am
Keep getting my hopes up and I’ll stay a bum until that day, hahaha.
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