by Lanee Waho

How I felt leaving New Zealand

When we left New Zealand I was feeling anxious and excited.  Excited about the new adventure but also nervous about what was about to happen.

I had not received confirmation of where I would be working and this weighed heavy on my mind.  However, I embraced the adventure and took all the advice given to me.  I ensured I rested well before leaving, stayed hydrated and dosed up on Vitamin C.  This wasn’t my first time abroad, but it was my first time abroad without my family or close friends.

Coping with Jet Lag

To be perfectly honest, I don’t think it was the lack of sleep, however, the heat and trying to sleep at night with air conditioning was tough. Due to my asthma, I couldn’t sleep with the Air con on, but I got there in the end. Adjusting to the time zone and having busy days from the first day was hard. The agency that is looking after us, CRCC Asia, were really supportive and kind, they always did their best to help us whenever we needed.

Dealing with Homesickness

The first couple of days were hard, I had little sleep and making friends in the group was difficult. However, I contacted my family and they helped me through this obstacle. I wasn’t particularly feeling homesick, but I was more in culture shock, unsure what to eat and in the supermarket I understood nothing. I eventually found my people and they taught me how to use google translate effectively – this was an answer to my prayers.

I nailed the job I wanted with the employer I wanted and everything was on the rise. I stayed connected to my closest people and I also spoke to others about my worries; I was not the only one struggling. We were having similar feelings and culture shock had set in. We spoke about this as a small group and put in place important steps to keep each other safe.

We were all very excited and nervous about our first day at work. We enjoyed a walking tour with CRCC Asia, it was a beautiful introduction to HCMC.

It’s been a very busy 10 days since being here.