Many friends, relatives, acquaintances and strangers offered me advice before I left North America for Vietnam. I was given lists of things to expect. Many of them - the noise, the pollution, the vibrancy, the colour - were immediately evident.

This post, however, is interested in unfulfilled promises. I’ve noticed a few.

“Expect serious jet lag.” I bought into this one, and understandably so, since I’ve experienced severe, lingering jet lag before. When I arrived in Vietnam in a state of utter exhaustion, a week of misery and circadian arrhythmia seemed guaranteed. But other than a few nights of early-to-bed, early-to-rise (which is certainly not my custom), my body adjusted admirably. I’m told that flying west is easier on your body than flying east, though with a 12-hour time difference between home and here, I doubt it makes much difference.

“You’ll have indigestion and diarrhea.” This was a promise. In my first month of eating new food, drinking new water and experiencing new stresses, I should expect to consume at least half a bottle of Pepto-Bismol. Well, folks, my first month is nearly complete, and my stomach has been as calm and steady as my friend Jason on tranquilizers.

“You’ll be homesick.” I didn’t believe this one. I knew I’d have fellow North Americans around me in Hanoi, and I was prepared to be baffled and confounded at each turn. Thus, being baffled and confounded at each turn hasn’t left me pining for good ol’ Canada. My poor parents have hardly heard from me.

“The culture shock will hit you hard.” Books, friends, and enlightened strangers loved telling me this. But when you go into a country expecting everything to be completely foreign, what is shocking are the similarities. We played an instructive card game at the MCC orientation sessions in Pennsylvania, where communication was restricted to non-verbal methods, and the rules at each playing table were slightly different (we weren’t told this). As we moved around the room, those who played the game best were the ones who expected the rules to change wherever they went. I must admit I played the game poorly, but I learned my lesson. Expect the rules to be different, and watch carefully.

This past Sunday I moved in with a Vietnamese host family. Their English, while decidedly better than my Vietnamese, is limited. It is possible that the last two promises above will still come to pass in this new, more difficult arrangement. I hope, however, that diligence in learning Vietnamese on my part, and continued patience on the part of my host family, will keep me in good spirits. I’d love to leave here with those promises definitively broken.

Happy Tet Trung Thu, everyone.