{"id":29016,"date":"2016-05-16T12:26:03","date_gmt":"2016-05-16T19:26:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=29016"},"modified":"2016-05-16T12:26:03","modified_gmt":"2016-05-16T19:26:03","slug":"life-update-moving-from-berkeley-to-vietnam-for-2-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/05\/16\/life-update-moving-from-berkeley-to-vietnam-for-2-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Life Update: Moving from Berkeley to Vietnam for 2 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Berkeley,
Berkeley, 2016 #cindyproject<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dear friend,<\/p>\n

I wanted to write you this letter on gratitude\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and thanking you for everything, and some life updates (moving out of Berkeley, moving to Vietnam for 2 years, and some other random ideas in my mind):<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

So I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m on a Southwest flight right now, flying from Oakland to Orange County. Cindy and I just finished packing up all of our stuff from our apartment, and look forward for the next 3 months in SoCal before flying out to Vietnam (for around 2 years\u00e2\u20ac\u201d technically 16 months).<\/p>\n

Moving out of our apartment in Berkeley<\/h2>\n
\"Moving
Emptying our apartment<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Moving out was an interesting experience. I finally had the chance to look through all of my stuff, and this was a great chance for me to re-live some old memories (via old books, cards, and college papers), while looking forward to the future.<\/p>\n

One of the big problems I had was figuring out what to keep and what to get rid of. One of the best tips I got from the recent bestseller: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was to hold an object in your hands and asking yourself, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Does this spark joy in my life?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

A lot of stuff we own for no reason, except that we have it. I also fall to the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153sunk cost fallacy\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d that because I spent money on something, I have a hard time getting rid of it (either throwing it away, donating it, or selling it for less than I purchased it for).<\/p>\n

\"R0002029\"<\/p>\n

But man, getting rid of stuff is hard. I still feel (irrationally) attached to a lot of my things. For example, if I had a good friend give me a present from 5 years ago, I know it has fulfilled its purpose (my friend showing me their love and appreciation). So it isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the physical present which is important, but the spirit<\/em> in which the present was given to me.<\/p>\n

So what I did was when I picked up something that was a sentimental gift I look at the object and say, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Thank you for bringing me so much joy in my life, but now I am going to set you free. Goodbye, and thank you for everything.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

As an American, I certainly live in a disposable society. Everything we buy, eat, and consume is easily disposable. But what I learned growing up Asian-American is that we shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t throw things away\u00e2\u20ac\u201d we should be grateful for the things we have.<\/p>\n

\"R0002019\"<\/p>\n

However the problem of being an Asian-American (as well as an American) is that I tend to hoard stuff. I still have a ton of books (photo books and \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcnormal\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 books) that I have a hard time getting rid of\u00e2\u20ac\u201d even though I know I will never re-read it. I was lucky that I was able to give away a lot of my books to good friends, and also donate the rest of it. I know that a book is useless if it just stays in a cardboard box on a shelf (and remains un-read or un-used). So in knowing that I could give my books and things a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153second life\u00e2\u20ac\u009d gave me a lot more happiness.<\/p>\n

Gadget woes<\/h2>\n

\"R0002016<\/p>\n

I think one of the things that confused me about \u00e2\u20ac\u0153minimalism\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is that I thought it meant having no stuff<\/em>. Now I realize minimalism is more about having a few meaningful things<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u201d things that genuinely bring joy in your life, empower you, and make you happy.<\/p>\n

For example, I love all of my digital tools (laptop, tablet, smartphone, digital camera). These tools (while often a distraction) still empower me\u00e2\u20ac\u201d to create things to help empower others (blog posts, photos, videos, e-books). I think the unhealthy relationship I have with electronic gadgets is when I become too obsessed with the gadgets themselves\u00e2\u20ac\u201d the symbolic value they carry.<\/p>\n

For example, I am a total Apple fanboy (even though I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t own an iPhone). I greatly admire Steve Jobs, Jony Ive, the design team, what Apple has done to help to simplify our lives through making clean, minimalist, and beautiful technological experiences. I still remember my old and clunky PC\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00e2\u20ac\u201d how ugly, slow, heavy, cumbersome, and inefficient they were. Now I am grateful I have powerful, sleek, and user-friendly devices to help me be the best writer, blogger, and photographer I possibly can become.<\/p>\n

But I still get suckered into the Apple and gadget marketing hype. I unreasonably believe that the new iPhone or new iPad will help bring me \u00e2\u20ac\u0153productivity\u00e2\u20ac\u009d gains and bring me \u00e2\u20ac\u0153happiness\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by just having a device that weighs .2 ounces less, or is 25% faster, or whatever.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve also done a lot of experimenting in terms of what devices I truly \u00e2\u20ac\u0153need\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in life. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve gone days without certain devices (like an iPad\/Kindle) to see if I was okay without it. Even last winter, I experimented not using my smartphone for weeks on end (not even turning it on).<\/p>\n

I think at the end of the day, the only devices I really \u00e2\u20ac\u0153need\u00e2\u20ac\u009d include my laptop and digital camera. Even a smartphone now is convenient\u00e2\u20ac\u201d but not a real necessity (I honestly feel it is more of a distraction than an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153empowering\u00e2\u20ac\u009d device). The smartphone is fantastic for communication and messaging, but otherwise a distraction which gets me to always waste time on blogs that just bombard my eyelids with ads.<\/p>\n

Gratitude to friends<\/h2>\n

\"R0002044\"<\/p>\n

I am so grateful for all of my friends, family, and close ones. When moving out of our apartment of Berkeley, we had a handful of close friends come over, help us pack our things, clean our place, and we ended with a fun BBQ (my mom marinated some amazing Korean BBQ meat, oh man\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I still am savoring the perfectly medium-rare steak cooked over the charcoal pit, thanks Justin for cooking it).<\/p>\n

I thought to myself, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Man, how horrible it must be to not<\/em> have any friends to help you move in and out of your apartment.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Furthermore, how horrible it is to just not have any friends in general.<\/p>\n

I know there are so many people out there (especially Americans) who live alone, without many friends, and are isolated from society. And honestly, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think technology does a (good enough) job in connecting us. I think social media, online communities, and online video games helps somewhat<\/em> to connect humans to be more social, but overall I find these mediums to be more alienating than empowering.<\/p>\n

Even though we have Virtual Reality, smartphones, and the ubiquitous internet\u00e2\u20ac\u201d there is nothing that beats face-to-face interaction. Even Skype and Facetime\/video messaging apps do a somewhat<\/em> good job\u00e2\u20ac\u201d but can you truly replicate an experience laughing with your friends, having a beer, and a lovely meal next to one another? I guess there is still a good reason why businessmen fly millions of miles a year to do business deals face-to-face (rather than over webcam).<\/p>\n

Gratitude for blogging<\/h2>\n
\"SF,
SF, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I have been thinking a lot about social media\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and honestly, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how empowering social media is nowadays. Social media has empowered a lot new generations of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153content creators\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d but at the same time, it has bred a lot of dissatisfaction in the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153rat race\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of social media likes\/followers\/comments, etc. Furthermore, I think we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how to sit and enjoy our own company, or give 100% of our attention to our friends when having a coffee with them (have you ever had a friend that was \u00e2\u20ac\u0153talking\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to you while sending someone else a text message? How alienating does that feel?)<\/p>\n

The interesting thing is that I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t consider a blog \u00e2\u20ac\u0153social media.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I consider it my own publishing platform\u00e2\u20ac\u201d almost like having a magazine or a newspaper. And ultimately, I see it as a personal journal (in the public) where I can share my personal thoughts, reflections, and feelings with you\u00e2\u20ac\u201d my dear reader and friend.<\/p>\n

I was talking with Cindy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s friend the other day\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand how she wanted to start a blog on vegetarian Hmong food. I gave her all these ideas and suggestions (start a YouTube channel, blog everyday, blog as if you were just having a conversation with a friend). In having this conversation, I just felt so much gratitude to have this blog, and this opportunity to communicate to you.<\/p>\n

The problem with most social media platforms is that you are a slave to the platform. For example, while Instagram is great for posting photos\u00e2\u20ac\u201d you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see the photos really any bigger than a smartphone or a tablet. That gives you less control over the viewing experience. Not only that, but if a social media platform changes their algorithm (like Instagram did recently<\/a>, by showing you \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcmost relevant\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 photos, instead of \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcall photos\u00e2\u20ac\u2122) you are screwed.<\/p>\n

So friend, if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever wanted to start a blog\u00e2\u20ac\u201d please do so! I recommend also self-hosting it yourself (I recommend bluehost.com<\/a>) and doing the \u00e2\u20ac\u01531-click WordPress Install\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (it installs the wordpress.org<\/a> framework, which can give you the power to customize your blog anyway you would like.<\/p>\n

If you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to spend money, I recommend just using wordpress.com<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201d except they put ads on your blog, and you have a lot less control over customization of your site, and other tweaks\/plugins.<\/p>\n

And know if you start a blog, know it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to be perfect. Just make it human, personal\u00e2\u20ac\u201d just make it an extension of you.<\/p>\n

Going a year without a car<\/h2>\n
\"BART,
BART, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I also wanted to write some reflections on life in Berkeley\u00e2\u20ac\u201d going a year without having a car.<\/p>\n

Honestly, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve always thought I \u00e2\u20ac\u0153needed\u00e2\u20ac\u009d a car in the Bay Area. But honestly, by not<\/em> having a car for a year, Cindy and I have had more<\/em> fun, have been more<\/em> adventurous, and more<\/em> empowered, while being less<\/em> stressed (don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to worry about parking, speeding tickets, traffic), and spending less<\/em> money (insurance, gas, maintenance). By not having a car, we have just taken public transportation (bus, subway) as well as Uber. And all-in-all we are still saving a ton of money.<\/p>\n

Why has going without a car brought us so much joy and happiness? Well first of all, Cindy and I can have conversations while on the bus\u00e2\u20ac\u201d whereas when I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m driving I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m only 50% concentrated on the conversation. Furthermore, you can actually do stuff<\/em> when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re taking public transit (read a book, daydream, or answer emails).<\/p>\n

There is so much hype about the future of self-driving cars. But the future is already here (it is called public transport\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and it is way cheaper). I sit on the bus, read a book, look up, and smile at the bus driver\u00e2\u20ac\u201d this is the closest thing I will have to a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153self-driving car.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the nice thing is I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been able to take photos while on the bus or public transportation. Either candid shots of other passengers, photos of Cindy, or just photos looking out of the window. So if you find yourself having a hard time making photos, perhaps see if you can integrate public transit more into your daily life.<\/p>\n

\"Berkeley,
Berkeley, 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One thing I also didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t anticipate is how riding public transportation helps me feel more connected to the community. I love talking and saying hello to the bus driver, looking at the other passengers and wondering what they are up to, and to be surrounded by other human beings. It feels so much more reassuring than just being stuck in a bubble of a car\u00e2\u20ac\u201d being stuck in traffic, and hating life.<\/p>\n

In the Bay Area, traffic is also getting so horrible. With more tech jobs popping up, an average commute from SF to the South Bay is almost 2 hours (only one way). Can you imagine being stuck in traffic 4 hours a day? That is almost half a working day.<\/p>\n

I know that not all of you will be able to take public transit, but my suggestion is to perhaps drive less whenever possible\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and take Uber or Lyft. It will be so much less stress in your life, and will give you more time for meaningful things (conversation, taking photos, meditating\/thinking).<\/p>\n

Life in SoCal<\/h2>\n
\"Berkeley,
Berkeley, 2016 #cindyproject<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not sure what kind of lifestyle I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll have when I stay with Cindy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s family in Orange County\u00e2\u20ac\u201d but it will probably involve eating lots of good food, spending time with friends and family, and lots of coffee and yoga.<\/p>\n

While I do look forward to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153relaxing\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in sunny southern California, above all I want to be more productive in terms of writing and creating \u00e2\u20ac\u0153content.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I want to start making some more YouTube videos, and writing other e-books which will hopefully be helpful to you.<\/p>\n

Future plans<\/h2>\n
\"Saigon,
Saigon, 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to move to Vietnam after about 3 months in SoCal for the summer, and then we are spending around 6-8 months in Hanoi, then probably another 6 months in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). Then we might move to France (Marseille) for another 3-6 months.<\/p>\n

The reason we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re moving over is for Cindy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Ph.D. research in History (Vietnamese\/French Colonial History). And once again, I do not want to become an ex-pat degenerate while in Vietnam. I hope to spend less time with expats and more time with locals\u00e2\u20ac\u201d learning more Vietnamese, eating local, and also spending that time to make photos, blogging, and (maybe) print-publishing.<\/p>\n

If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never been to Vietnam\u00e2\u20ac\u201d I highly encourage you to go. It is seriously one of the most underrated places to travel to in the world (really affordable, all modern western conveniences in the big cities, friendly folks, and phenomenal food). Apparently Vietnamese food is Anthony Bourdain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s favorite food.<\/p>\n

The part I am slightly terrified about is that I have never lived anywhere abroad for over 2 months. While Cindy and I travel a lot, we have never lived<\/em> internationally anywhere for such a long period of time. I know that when we move (again), I will have to bring as few things as possible (only essentials)\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and as long as I have coffee, wifi, and your support, I can do anything.<\/p>\n

A fun recollection: my entire “Saigon Diary” series from 2014 below:<\/p>\n