About

Dragon Ascending (Thăng Long)

My name is Loan, born year of the dragon. Long means dragon in Vietnamese . Thăng means to grow, to develop, to rise, to fly, or to ascend. This is my journey of ascension.

This is not your typical “I quit my job and am traveling the world ” blog that may get some cynical eyes rolling.  I represent very few of those who’ve taken the leap  flight abroad without the “safety net” to fall back on. Some background story about myself: I was a refugee who immigrated to the U.S. and grew up in Camden, New Jersey, one of the most impoverished cities in the America, and was first to graduate university in my family. These non-privileged identities exist in spaces where travel and exploration are not often nurtured.  But I am not limited by those experiences nor my environment, rather emboldened to believe I am just as deserving of this important kind of self discovery.

I left behind family, love, a job, and a huge supportive network of friends to re-imagine and design a life for myself in Vietnam. Why? Because I believe to achieve the impact I want to make for my family and the world around me,  requires a a rapid transformation of self. That transformation begins with the pursuit of my dream to live and work abroad. I want to share lessons and meditations along my journey  for those who want to pursue one of their own or may think they lack the courage or resources to do so.

I hope you find pleasure, humor, and most importantly, a new perspective to stir your own dreams wherever you may be in the world. Enjoy my tales from my beloved country, Viet Nam, a place full of generous people, ingenuity that courses through my blood, and the beautiful chaos that makes me simply want to cry in both good and bad ways.

Let’s take flight.