{"id":30618,"date":"2016-08-29T15:00:05","date_gmt":"2016-08-29T22:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=30618"},"modified":"2016-08-29T15:07:37","modified_gmt":"2016-08-29T22:07:37","slug":"hanoi-diary-1-leaving-to-vietnamfrance-for-2-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/08\/29\/hanoi-diary-1-leaving-to-vietnamfrance-for-2-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Hanoi Diary #1: Leaving to Vietnam\/France for 2 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Downtown
Downtown LA, 2013<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dear friend,<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m currently at Dripp coffee shop in Fullerton, California\u00e2\u20ac\u201d waiting for Cindy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s younger sister Jennifer to get out of class, then we are going to have \u00e2\u20ac\u0153in and out\u00e2\u20ac\u009d burger for lunch. Today is our last day in America before we move to Vietnam\/France for the next 2 years, and I think this is a good chance for me to start an ongoing series of letters, journals, diary entries, and meditations. I have no idea what the next 2 years of my life is going to look like. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m partly afraid, but partly excited. This is going to be one hell of an adventure.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Cindy and I have had an incredible summer. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve enjoyed 2 beautiful years at the university housing at UC Berkeley in Albany, and Cindy was able to successfully finish her oral examinations (which meant, reading around 300 books within 3 months, and getting tested on all her knowledge). I fondly remember nights where I spent quizzing her, feeding her, cleaning up the house, and supporting her.<\/p>\n

\"R0001125\"<\/p>\n

Not only that, but things were pretty insane trying to also plan our wedding in SoCal. Plus, we needed to move out of our apartment. Thanks to the love and support of friends and family, we were able to successfully move from Berkeley down to Garden Grove (in SoCal), and stayed with Cindy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s family at their house for around 2-3 months.<\/p>\n

The wedding was amazing, and I was glad that I photographed it<\/a>. It was a beautiful chance to see all my old friends and family, and when it was over, I was relieved. Wedding planning consumed our life for around 2 months (and we were thinking about it for nearly 2 years). It was a beautiful day of our life, but I was excited to move forward.<\/p>\n

\"Wedding,<\/p>\n

\"Cinderic<\/p>\n

\"Cinderic<\/p>\n

\"Cinderic<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Cinderic<\/p>\n

\"Cinderic<\/p>\n

\"Cinderic<\/p>\n

\"Cinderic<\/p>\n

\"Cinderic<\/p>\n

Knowing that we were going to leave for 2 years made every day with Cindy and her family valuable. I enjoyed every time we went to see a movie, every time we went to go eat Korean BBQ, visit the grocery store, or the mall, or any other simple pleasures of family life. I was so happy to see Cindy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s niece (Amelia) grow up, and it excited me to have a beautiful child with Cindy one day.<\/p>\n

Living in the suburbs the last 2-3 months has been interesting\u00e2\u20ac\u201d daily life is pretty much going to coffee shop to coffee shop, being stuck in traffic, and enjoying time with family. The only \u00e2\u20ac\u0153exercise\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I get in terms of walking is going to the mall, or shopping.<\/p>\n

Yet my time here has been incredibly productive. I recently met with my buddy Todd Hatakeyama<\/a>, who inspired me to make more YouTube videos<\/a> (he encouraged daily \u00e2\u20ac\u0153vlogs\u00e2\u20ac\u009d). At first I used to hate being at the family house (I prefer to be outside), but I realized the benefit of being home was that I could record videos. Not only that, but I got a lot of useful suggestions from Cindy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s older sister Kim \u00e2\u20ac\u201d who asked a lot of beginner questions on street photography, which gave me a lot of good ideas to record tons of videos.<\/p>\n

Which made me realize a lesson: the importance of always staying a beginner, and having a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153beginner\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mind.<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The problem I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve faced is over the years, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve thought too much about being an expert, that I forget the basic questions in photography. I realized I never really covered videos on technical settings in street photography, what makes a good street photograph, lighting and exposure, and other fundamentals.<\/p>\n

\"R0000231\"
Amelia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Furthermore, seeing Amelia grow up as a baby was the biggest inspiration. To a child, they are always curious about the world, and always learning. To them, they are in awe of everything. But as adults, we are so jaded by the world, and unmotivated to try new things. I try to remind myself, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not busy being born and learning, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m dying.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Trying to figure out what to bring (and what not to bring)<\/h2>\n