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When I traveled through Southeast Asia previously, one of my favorite things was the variety and freshness of street food. I’m not talking about the banana pancakes made for farang on Bangkok’s Khao San Road. I’m talking about delicious “Kway Teow” noddle soup, served to the office drones outside the skyscrapers in Bangkok’s business district, mouth watering fried noodles, any manner of grilled meat, and countless other varieties. My mouth is watering looking at these photos I’m linking.

For your reading pleasure, a few links about food:

Noodle Pie is a blog about street food in Saigon.

Eating Asia is in Malaysia, and has some beautiful photography.

Pho, a traditional Vietnamese noodle dish is wonderful in New York. I can’t wait to taste the most authentic Vietnamese version on the ground in Vietnam.

Almost exactly two months ago, I was with 3 good friends on a small boat off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, and I had a realization about my life: My office job was slowly killing me, and I had stopped enjoying what I was doing for a living. I decided that I needed something else. I don’t know where that will lead me in the long term, but in the short, it’s leading me back to South East Asia. Specifically to Saigon, Vietnam.

A couple days before my realization on the boat, I got an email from my friend K, a Londoner I met last year while traveling in Nepal and Tibet. She just landed a job as a tour leader in Vietnam. Her company was hiring new Tour Leaders for South East Asia, and she was putting out the word to her friends.

I didn’t really consider it at first. I’ve spent considerable time in SE Asia, but am I really qualified to lead other people around? I didn’t think so. K mentioned that the training program with her company was great, and that new leaders didn’t necessarily need to be experts. Passion, dedication, leadership and organization are important. I have those things.

I sat on it for a few days, but before I got back to NYC, I had made up my mind. I was going to try and get the job.

My first 2 days back in the cube, I ducked actual work and wrote my CV and edited my cover letter countless times. I had my friends look it over for ideas, and before the end of the week I sent it off to the appropriate contact at TIC, my new company.

Thus began a very long interview process. And a lesson in patience.

Lately it seems, when I decide on a direction for my life, it’s impulsive. In my time spent traveling, coming back to the US, finding my apartment, my life, essentially, right now. Luckily, that spontaneity (recklessness?) has worked out for me. I decided I wanted the job in Asia, and naturally I thought I was ready to leave the very next day. The world wanted me to stay in NYC a bit longer however.

About a week after I sent my CV and Cover to TIC, I got an email saying I’d been successful in gaining an interview and someone would be in contact with me in a few days to set up a phone interview.

A few days later, I had my first interview with TIC. I was nervous. I had a very few short lines of coaching from K, and little idea what my interviewer would ask. The phone connection with Vietnam was not good - our voices would cut out, and there was a half-second or so delay. The line was disconnected twice during our conversation. When asked about customer service, I mumbled something about interacting with various in-company departments in my career. True of course. I think I actually said the word “interface” in terms of interacting with others. WTF is that about?

By some strange stroke of luck, and thanks in no small part to my association with K, my interviewer asked if I could meet face to face with TIC’s Marketing Executive who would be in NYC on holiday. “Absolutely”, I said, “When”? “In 2 weeks” was the reply. This was around June 25.

Following was a very long two weeks.

My horoscope said things like: “you’re in for some big, big beginnings soon, but you have to wait for something to pass. Give it two weeks”. “An unusual and beneficial development in your personal life could have you contemplating moving. Things will clear up in a couple weeks”. “You are going to meet new people”. It was as if, as in The Alchemist, the world was conspiring for me to be in NYC for a little more time.

Other clues led me to think this as well. At work, I was nearing the completion of a project I’d been working on for 6 months or so. My apartment lease was not up for another 2 months (Aug 31). And my personal life was not ready for an immediate change.

Being a tour leader was not a life-long dream of mine. Indeed I never truly considered it until K told me last year she was applying for positions. But when I decided to apply to K’s company, I also decided I needed some fall backs. What would be my #2 school, should TIC not pan out? I hadn’t even researched other companies yet, couldn’t even tell you the name of one. So I spent some time over these weeks researching companies, and sending off my CV and cover letters. I applied to 3 companies formally, and sent my CV to 7 or 8. I’ve successfully interviewed with another company last week. (They were checking my references this week)

Finally July 11 came around and I was to meet with JC for breakfast here in NYC. This was a great, great interview. It was a meeting really. And a conversation about the practicalities of the job of Tour Leader, and why I want to do it. I think I asked more questions than he did. I left the interview with a great feeling.

Another week of waiting. I was busy bringing things closer to completion at work. The light at the end of the tunnel was within sight. Finally it seemed as though everyone at work was onboard, and willing to stand accept a “shudder” change.

Finally an email from M at TIC, the person in charge of hiring the Tour Leaders. He’s heard good word from JC about our meeting and wanted to have a phone interview with me. We set something up for later in the week.

July 20, I have my third interview with TIC. It goes well. Not as well as my face to face interview with JC, but pretty well. Again, lots of conversation, and discussion of the daily life and duties of a Tour Leader. Did I think I would have any problems fulfilling them? “No, I don’t think so”. We ended with M saying he’d get back to me at the beginning of the next week.

For the next week, I checked my email on average, oh, every 5 minutes. Seriously. I get email on my phone, and I slept with the damn thing. I checked it constantly!

Finally a week had passed. I emailed M to touch base, and to keep my name in front of his eyes. I was nearing the launch date (Aug 31) of the new project at work, and I was anxious to hear some good news from Asia.

I got nothing for a couple days. Then M emails saying he had a delay, but would be able to let me know the next week, the week of July 31.

Finally, in the wee hours of Tuesday Aug 1, just hours before the successful launch of my project at work, I get an email from M offering me the position of Asia-based Tour Leader for TIC. Incredible.

The world works in strange ways.

In mid September I’ll fly to Vietnam to embark on a new career. Travel.