Hello Family, Friends, Professors, and all others who have found themselves tangled in my newly claimed corner of the world wide web!

As many of you know, I will be studying abroad through SUNY Brockport in Danang, Vietnam from late August through early December of this year.While in Vietnam, I will be taking classes in Vietnamese language,culture, politics, and history, as well as a course in community service. In addition to the work that will be done in the classroom, the other students and I will be spending our afternoons and evenings volunteering at the Loving House, a center for the homeless elderly, and at a group home for victims of Agent Orange. We will also be teaching English to Vietnamese students, a part of the program I am really looking forward to because it will give me the opportunity to make some Vietnamese friends around my age!

Over the past few weeks, I have come to realize that gearing up to study abroad in Vietnam is a process very unlike preparing to spend a semester in Europe. I cannot fully express how much it has come in handy to have a mother who is well versed in rugged travel and tropical diseases; I do not know many other people who, when faced with a doctor who keeps forgetting to call in a prescription, can count on a parent to produce a suitable supply of anti-malarial tablets from under his or her bed! On a more serious note, I am acutely aware that to members of my parents’ generation, “going to Vietnam” means something very different than what it signifies to me, a young girl eager to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. This is a fact that I am consistently reminded of when I express to adults my plans to study abroad in a country whose complicated, tragic, and violent past is inextricably linked to the great loss of life and suffering of members of our own nation.

My desire to go to Vietnam is not without impetus. I believe that forging relationships with individuals who were previously seen as “the enemy” is the first step in fostering empathy between two countries that have shared pain and misfortune. In many of my classes this year, I have been learning about the concept of interdependence, which posits that we are all responsible to each other to uphold common goals. By creating an environment in which neither party holds the other exclusively responsible for hardship, a unique mutual understanding emerges, one that I believe is instrumental in soothing seething emotional wounds incurred on both sides. In order to achieve the worldwide solidarity that I envision for the future, I want to travel to Vietnam, to meet the people, to understand the long lasting consequences of war, and to completely immerse myself in the rich culture. While I know it has not been easy for some of my friends and family to accept my motivation for embarking on this experience, I am very grateful for the unwavering support and love they have given me.

The weeks leading up to departure have been hectic to say the least, replete with endless hours of packing, errand running, and a (too short) sojourn to say one last goodbye to my amazing friends in New Paltz. Now, with one day left, I hardly have time to realize that I am actually leaving. If you wish to stay in touch, you can reach me by email at kjordan41@newpaltz.edu or try to catch me on skype (my username is katejordan6, but do not forget that there is a 12 hour time difference!). See you in December!