Xin Chào, Vietnam!
Life comes at you fast. One day you’re living at home with your parents in Upstate New York and the next you’re barefoot on the back of your teammate’s motorbike, getting pelted by rain on the way home from training in Ho Chi Minh City.
How did I get here, you ask?
I took a break from sharing my journey playing professional soccer overseas because I ran into some unexpected roadblocks. Toward the end of my season last year in Iceland, I picked up (what I thought was) a little calf injury that turned into a 6-month ordeal. Living at home, injured and unsure how to move forward– I was at an all-time low. I was struggling to process my circumstances in real time, so there was no shot I could’ve shared that journey publicly.
One day, with some time and distance from the situation, I’ll share a bit more about what I went through earlier this year. But today, I’m here to talk about what’s happening now.
*drumroll, please…*
I’m playing again! This time, in a place I never expected. Last month, I was presented with a unique opportunity– a short contract to play for Ho Chi Minh City FC in the first year of the Asian Champions League.
For my non-soccer readers, let me break it down for you. The Asian Champions League is a big tournament between the best clubs from countries across Asia. This is the first year it exists on the women’s side. It’s broken up into a preliminary round, group stage, and knockout rounds. I am playing for the best club in Vietnam, and we’re in Group C. Come tournament time, we’ll square off against the best clubs from Japan (Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies), India (Odisha FC), and Chinese Taipei (Blue Whale).
The tournament starts on October 6th, and we’re the hosts for our group– meaning we’ll play every game at home in Ho Chi Minh City! The goal is to win our group and make it to the next phase of the tournament.
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I moved to Vietnam during the last week of August, so I’ve been here for about a month now. I spent the first few days recovering from 36 hours of travel (no– that’s not a typo– THIRTY SIX HOURS), and every day since then getting acclimated to my new home.
It’s always a bit of a rollercoaster, moving to a new country and being thrust into a new culture. No matter how ready you are (or how many months you spend at home wishing to be in this exact situation), it’s always accompanied by a wide range of emotions.
If I had to sum the past month up in one statement, it’d be, “I can’t believe this is my life.”
This statement is equal parts, “how-lucky-am-I-to-be-doing-this” and “what-the-f*ck-am-I-doing.” It’s a both/and kinda situation: both thrilling and lonely, beautiful and difficult. But aren’t all great adventures this way?
There are some days that feel like I’m swelling with gratitude and others that feel like I’m swimming in confusion. I’m learning to embrace duality and recognize that two things can be true at the same time.
Everything comes in waves, and as time goes on, it’s become a lot easier to ride them out. (I think that means I’m growing?!?) As I continue to embrace this journey, I figured it’d be a good time to take a look back on my first few weeks in Vietnam and share some highlights.
Motorbike Moments
If you google, “Ho Chi Minh City,” one of the recurring themes of the search results will surround motorbikes. I read an article that cited the city having over 7.6 million motorbikes-- and after several attempts at crossing a four-way intersection, I can attest that it feels more like 76 million.
At any given time, you’ll be swarmed by clusters of motorbikes weaving in and out of each other. Think of NYC traffic at its worst, but instead of cars and cabs, there are thousands of bikes zipping around without any concern for stop lights or traffic rules. Red light? Still means go. Turning left but stuck in the right lane? Just cut across everyone else. Traffic? Drive on the sidewalk. One way? Not really.
Now that I’m past the initial wave of shock, motorbikes have quickly become one of my favorite parts of Vietnam. Whenever we go anywhere outside walking distance, our teammates cart us around on the backs of their bikes. On these small treks, we get to see the city whilst fully immersed in the culture. It is so joyful, and more often than not, those are the times I’m washed over with the resounding, “how-lucky-am-I-to-be-doing-this” feeling.
In my mind, I’ve been referring to these moments of heightened awareness and appreciation as “motorbike moments.” How rare is it to recognize the value of an experience while you are in it? In normal life, very rare, but on a motorbike, not one bit.
One of my teammates also took it upon herself to teach us to drive a motorbike (within the confines of our training facility– don’t worry, Dad)! It felt like learning to ride a bicycle again– thrilling and terrifying. With the bike under my control, I feel a lot less, “how-lucky-am-I”, and a lot more, “oh-shit-oh-shit-oh-shit-oh-shit!” I am disappointed to share that I did not pass my test (weaving through cones set up on the side of the field), but I’m eager to see improvements during my next lesson. For now, I’ll continue embracing the joy of being a passenger princess!
Food Trials & Triumphs
My drama-filled love affair with food has continued with a new rendition here in Vietnam! I loooove food, but it doesn’t always love me back (hello, egg/dairy/gluten/sesame/hazelnut allergies 👋🏻). By principle, I refuse to be held back by my dietary restrictions, and I approached Vietnamese cuisine with the same chutzpah. The first few days went smoothly, and I found a Vietnamese diet to be quite conducive to my dietary restrictions. I was trying anything my teammates put in front of me: phó, spring rolls, bánh xèo, seafood, dessert jellies… you name it, I ate it. And, for the most part, I was loving it. That was, until I spent my first weekend stuck making rounds between my bed and the toilet. I was down bad with a fever and, well, you can figure out the rest.
Now that my body has adjusted to my new diet, we’re back on track with our exploration of Vietnamese food. My top picks so far include…
The fruit: I thought I had good fruit when I lived in Tampa, but Vietnam blows Florida citrus out of the water. I’m talking oranges (that are actually green on the outside?), grapefruit (that’s the size of my head), papaya, dragonfruit, pineapple, mango, kiwi, passionfruit. I have found that there are few things sweeter than a post-training fruit cup picked up from a stand on the sidewalk.
Phó: It’s a Vietnamese staple for a reason. I like mine with beef, loads of bean sprouts/basil/mint/lime, and a healthy dose of chili sauce. Leaves me sweating & satisfied every time.
Fried spring rolls: As a gluten-intolerant girly, I am not supposed to have fried stuff– but these are worth the extra dose of gas-x. I’ve indulged on occasion, and a fried pork spring roll never misses.
Rice paper: In my mind, rice paper is the Vietnamese equivalent of potato chips. It’s a go-to snack here, and I can’t get enough of it. There’s an art to eating it, too. You tear sheets of rice paper up into tiny pieces, mix it with an assortment of pre-packaged seasonings, and dig in! It’s chewy, salty and lip-smacking good.
Coffee: To my liking, Vietnam is known for boasting some of the strongest coffee in the world. This is because the majority of coffee grown/used in Vietnam is of the robusta variety, which is known for its bold taste and higher caffeine content. Naturally, I enjoy at least two cups a day. For $2.50 a pop, can you blame me? Compared to the average $8 latte at home, it’s practically free.
There are only two foods that have really turned me off since being here…
Durian: The *one* exception to Vietnamese fruit superiority. Durian is a rather large fruit with rough, thick skin and sharp thorns. They are everywhere in Vietnam, and they produce one of the worst smells I’ve ever experienced. I’ve had trouble describing it, but Google helped me out: “The smell is very strong and has been described as a combination of sulfur, sewage, fruit, honey, and roasted and rotting onions.” Need I say more?
Tía Tô (Perilla/Sesame Shiso): Yet another exception! This is an herb, distinguished by its purple & green coloring, that’s *supposed to* taste like a bitter mix of mint and basil. I’m not a baby when it comes to food I don’t like, but anything with perilla in it warrants an immediate spit-take. WARNING: it sometimes ruins an otherwise delicious spring roll.
Teammates
As a shameless extrovert driven by human connection, my favorite experiences are those shared with others. I think that’s part of why I love playing soccer in the first place. You might think that my situation– living on the other side of the world with an 11+ hour time difference from my friends and family– would be in direct conflict with this part of me. And at times, it certainly feels that way.
But other times, I am blown away by our ability to connect. Across cultures. Despite language barriers. People are people no matter where you go– and there are some pretty special ones here. My teammates are warm, kind and generous. They’ve welcomed us into their team and city with open arms– teaching us the occasional Vietnamese word (I don’t mean to brag, but I can count to 20), showing us their favorite spots for post-training snacks, and making sure we’re smiling/laughing our way through every day.
Language barriers can be tough at times, but they also have their advantages. In a world where we rarely take the time to slow down, it sometimes feels as though our language barrier brings us closer. It forces us to be present. Without words, you start to pay attention to details you may have otherwise missed: a smirk creeping its way across your teammate’s face that lets you know they got your joke, a gently furrowed brow that asks if you’re okay, an earnest nod that confirms they believe in you. So much can be said without any words at all.
In these exchanges, the loneliness that often accompanies being so far from home seems to slowly melt away. Once again, I find myself asking, “How lucky am I to be doing this?”
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Throughout this whirlwind of an experience, there is one feeling that overpowers everything else: gratitude. I am unbelievably grateful to play the game I love. Grateful to experience an entirely new culture. And, perhaps more than anything, grateful to share it all with some extraordinary human beings.
Sending all my love from Vietnam. ‘Til next time!