After the travels, discoveries and culinary experiences of the previous months, July felt very different.

It was probably one of the quietest months we have had since moving to Vietnam. And, actually, that was perfectly fine.

One thing I have learned from this expatriate experience is that living abroad is not the same as being permanently on holiday. Some months are filled with planes, hotels, restaurants and discoveries. Others are simply about everyday life: family, work, sport, good meals at home and preparing for what comes next.

July definitely belonged to the second category.

And as we are now approaching one full year in Vietnam, perhaps it was also a good opportunity to stop for a moment and realise just how much this country has become home.

Family First – Rehabilitation Continues

The main reason for keeping July relatively quiet was my mum.

She continued her rehabilitation throughout the month, and seeing her gradually progress has naturally been much more important than filling our weekends with activities.

From:

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When you move abroad as a family, you quickly realise that the expatriate adventure is not only about discovering another country. Everyday realities travel with you too. Health, family responsibilities, appointments and unexpected events remain part of life wherever you happen to live.

So July was largely about giving her the time she needed, adapting our rhythm accordingly and appreciating the progress being made.

Sometimes a quiet month is exactly what is required.

And Then… I Broke a Tooth!

Apparently, July still needed a little unexpected excitement.

I managed to break a tooth.

Not exactly the kind of Vietnamese experience I had planned to add to the blog!

It will require a small surgical intervention in August, so another opportunity to experience healthcare in Vietnam — although I would happily have skipped this particular piece of cultural immersion.

Fortunately, it is manageable and simply becomes another item on the list of things to deal with.

Life abroad certainly teaches you adaptability.

Back to RAUM – Sometimes Familiar Is Exactly What You Need

Even during a quiet month, there is always room for good food.

We returned to RAUM, which has gradually become one of those comfortable addresses we enjoy revisiting.

What continues to appeal to us is the feeling of having food that is genuinely prepared rather than simply assembled. Freshly cooked dishes, good ingredients and the pleasure of sitting down to a meal where simplicity and quality work together.

There is also something interesting about returning to restaurants after living somewhere for a while. During the first months of expatriation, almost every restaurant is a discovery. Eventually, some of those discoveries become favourites.

RAUM is increasingly becoming one of ours.

It was exactly the sort of relaxed meal that fitted the mood of July: nothing complicated, nothing extravagant — simply freshly cooked food that we enjoyed.

Gangnam BBQ – A Little Trip to Korea Without Leaving District 7

We did make one particularly enjoyable culinary discovery this month: Gangnam BBQ.

Living in District 7 means being surrounded by a significant Korean community, and one of the benefits is the extraordinary number of Korean restaurants available around us. Gangnam BBQ, located around Phan Khiem Ich in District 7, specialises in Korean barbecue — and turned out to be a very good choice. (https://www.zonevietnam.com⁠)

The concept is one of the things I enjoy about Korean BBQ: it is not simply dinner, it is a social experience. Meat cooking at the table, side dishes arriving around it, different flavours to combine and a meal that naturally encourages everyone to slow down and enjoy the moment.

And the food was excellent.

Good-quality meat, plenty of flavour and all those small accompaniments that make Korean cuisine such an enjoyable experience. Other diners have particularly highlighted the beef, ribs and pork, which certainly fits with the restaurant’s focus on traditional Korean barbecue. (Restaurant Guru⁠)

But what really completed the experience for us was the atmosphere.

There was energy in the restaurant without it becoming overwhelming, and that combination of great food and a lively environment made the evening particularly enjoyable.

Definitely another District 7 address to remember.

Home Cooking – One of the Luxuries of Everyday Life

Restaurants inevitably feature heavily in these monthly updates because discovering food has always been an important part of our travels and expatriate experiences.

But some of the best meals this month were actually eaten at home.

Having a cook gives us an incredible diversity of meals during the week. Vietnamese dishes can sit alongside European favourites and other Asian influences, and it prevents everyday meals from becoming repetitive.

It is one of those aspects of life here that we probably appreciate even more now than during our first few months.

And after nearly a year, this combination is becoming our normal rhythm: sometimes discovering a new restaurant, sometimes returning to a favourite, and sometimes simply enjoying a great meal around our own table.

Pickleball – Still One of the Highlights of My Week

Fortunately, one thing that definitely didn’t slow down in July was pickleball.

What started as another activity has gradually become one of the highlights of my week.

There is obviously the exercise, but there is much more to it than that. It creates a break from work, brings people together and provides that combination of competition and fun that makes you want to come back the following week.

Finding these routines is an important part of settling into another country.

At the beginning of an expatriation, life can revolve around discovering things. Eventually, however, the routines become equally important: the places you regularly visit, the people you meet, the sports you play and those little appointments in the diary that you genuinely look forward to.

Pickleball has definitely become one of mine.

Still Enjoying the Job

The other element that continues to make an enormous difference is something quite simple:

I still enjoy my job.

Moving to Vietnam was never only about changing country. It also meant entering another professional environment, working with new colleagues, understanding another organisation and taking on new challenges.

Almost a year later, I continue to enjoy that part of the adventure enormously.

There are demanding days, complicated projects and the inevitable challenges that come with any large organisation. But there is also the satisfaction of seeing things progress, working with good people and feeling that what you are doing has purpose.

The following logo has been generated by AI and is not an official logo but I find it cool:

Belgium, Here We Come!

A good part of July was also spent organising what promises to be a rather intense trip back to Belgium.

We will be there for three weeks.

Three weeks sounds like plenty of time.

Until you start filling the calendar.

Appointments. Administrative tasks. Things that need to be sorted out. People to see. Places to visit. And, inevitably, probably several things we have completely forgotten about and will remember approximately twelve hours after landing.

It is going to be busy!

There is also something slightly strange about preparing to return to Belgium after having lived abroad for almost a year.

When does the country you left stop being “home”?

And when does the country you moved to start becoming it?

Perhaps there isn’t really a moment when one replaces the other. Maybe expatriate life simply teaches you that it is possible to feel attached to more than one place.

This also means 3 weeks of camp for our #Woody.

Almost One Year in Vietnam – Any Regrets?

And that brings me to something I realised while preparing this article.

We are approaching one year in Vietnam.

Almost twelve months already.

I went back through some of my previous monthly posts — the restaurants, trips, family moments, professional experiences, frustrations, discoveries and countless photographs accumulated along the way.

From those first months of learning how everyday life worked in Ho Chi Minh City to gradually building routines, discovering Vietnam, travelling around Asia and simply living our lives here, quite a lot has happened.

Of course, not everything has been perfect.

Moving countries never is.

There are things we miss. There are administrative frustrations. There are cultural differences that occasionally require some patience. There have been unexpected challenges — and apparently broken teeth can now be added to the list.

But when I look back at those previous posts, one conclusion comes very easily.

I have absolutely no regret about making this choice.

Moving to Vietnam was a big decision.

Today, it feels like it was the right one.

We have built a life here.

Not a holiday.

Not an extended business trip.

A life.

There is work I enjoy, family around me, good food, new friendships, sport, travel opportunities and still an enormous amount of Vietnam and Asia waiting to be discovered.

Perhaps that is ultimately what this expatriate adventure is about.

Not constantly chasing extraordinary experiences.

But reaching the point where an ordinary month in Vietnam can simply feel…

normal.

And maybe that is the biggest milestone of all.

See you next month — after a little dental surge