I learned to speak Cecilia

My own “Eat, Pray, Love” in Viet Nam…

Three years ago, I was down and out.

I had debt I couldn’t see my way out of. After seven years at a wonderful school – a place I loved – something in me had grown restless. In my personal life, I was confused, uncertain of who I was and what I wanted. I was unhealthy, in mind and in spirit. I had made mistakes in my relationships. I had hurt the people I love most.

Then, one public holiday, I went for a sundowner with my friend Anneke.

She told me that she and her fiancé were looking for international teaching posts. And something stirred from deep within.

Maybe my life could be changed as well. Maybe I was capable of life overseas.

I started to daydream. But I was scared.

Around that time, something happened at school that made me realise my financial situation was never going to change – not there, not as things were – despite the fact that I was wearing many hats: language teacher, career counsellor, vocal coach, along with a private counselling practice on the side.

So I contacted an agent I’d found online.

Within days, I had three interviews – China, Abu Dhabi, and Viet Nam.

I was immediately drawn to Viet Nam. For years it had lived on my bucket list as something beautiful and impossibly far away – a place I saw in colleagues’ Facebook photos, exotic and foreign and out of reach. When I was offered the job, I was over the moon. How was this even possible? What were the chances that I – “ ‘n dominee se dogtertjie” (a reverend’s little girl) who grew up in Primrose Hill – could be living and working in the Far East?

The three months of preparation were brutal. Every document had to be legalised; an attorney walked me through the rigorous process. My family was sad to say goodbye – but excited too, for everything a foreign country might open up, for them as well as for me.

I finished at my school on a Friday. On the Monday, I was on a plane to Ha Noi and whatever adventures were waiting for me.

I did not prepare myself emotionally for what happened next.

But you’ll have to read about that in my next newsletter.

What I can tell you is this: the three years I spent in Ha Noi are a highlight of my life, and I am eternally grateful for them.

People ask me if I learned to speak Vietnamese. The honest answer is that I can manage xin chào, cảm ơn, chúc mừng năm mới, and not much more. But I learned to speak something else fluently:

I learned to speak ‘Cecilia’.

I met myself. For the first time, I began an honest and vulnerable relationship with the person I am. I worked hard to repair what I had broken with the people I love. And I filled a toolbox – a deep, professional toolbox – with skills I now cannot wait to share back home in South Africa, especially with young people, but also with anyone, anywhere, trying to find their way.

The most beautiful part of all: both my children lived with me here, for long stretches at a time. And in Ha Noi, they too began to love themselves and find their own purpose and direction.

In the weeks and months – and hopefully years – to come, I’ll share more of myself. My experiences, my relationships, this new chapter.

No. Not a chapter. A whole new book.

A new book in which I am a self-employed counsellor with a purpose: helping people – young people, and not-so-young people – find their own purpose in life.

I have travelled the world and the seven seas, and my sweet dreams led me to my own Eat, Pray, Love journey.

Now I’d love for you to join me on this Joyride – where I hope my own discoveries might inspire and lead you toward yours.

Love,

Cecilia

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