I shared this photo 2 years ago on FB and now guess where I’m at… Chances are our lives. Most of the time I’m very rooted in the present moment (and at the same time a hectic planning mindset) so little things like this remind me to appreciate how far I’ve gone.

Sometimes as I reflect, it’s is just simply awe-inspiring, the fact that for all my life I have been living in one place, like a tiny blue dot moving around in Ho Chi Minh City in Google Maps and now me, the little blue dot, is on the other side of the big blue dot (earth). It hops around everywhere to see, to learn, to absorb. One thing I could be so sure is that I have such a strong passion for learning, a curiosity of a child which never cease to grab at any opportunity to see the world. There’re sparkles in my eyes when somebody tells me something new, sth interesting, or I have never known before and to me, nothing is not worth learning. There’s always something to learn from the world around us, our fellow human beings (even tho sometimes y want to strangle them), and within ourselves.

I would say I’m not the best at applying the things I learned. Like if it is a linear process, ie. learn and then apply, I think I haven’t got there yet the application part. I may forever be a student, not a such-and-such something-something but I’m no longer stressed out about that–fear of people judging me “oh this girl she can only/ is only good at learning/ studying she cannot do anything actually”). Now I can not give more fuck about this because I have so much happiness in the things I do, I learn. I’m happy where I am, being a learner and thus I’m gonna carry on this way.

The past week I have been sitting in class with people who studied French for 5+ years, who has French nanny, who studied in Bordeaux for 10 years. And here we are, on the same page, at the same level and my command of French is no less than any of the student. I understand perfectly the lectures, I write, I read, and I want to improve my speaking skills and level of comfort with speaking the language a bit more. I was even thinking in French. What’s else? I talked to people on the streets; I went to several different insurance companies and xx dealers to ask them about their policies and communicate my needs. I walked around like a little bird. I engaged in some administrative situations. All these little things, it does not seem grande compared to the experience and skills of a translators/ interpreter. There’s so much I’ve got to learn. However, compared to myself yesterday and yesteryear, I’m making huge progress. And of course, I will not let it get into my head but I also have every right to indulge in this celebratory moment.

So cheers to myself who never ceases to learn!

Chamonix, France