My current life projects and my work crisis. :)

29 May 2023

Reflecting on the brief time in Bangkok, a sentiment arose. Three months, particularly this explorative May, took me to as many places as the combined 3.5 years prior. I dedicated all my time to my personal active learning project. It's a fancy way to phrase it. There was no project. I simply ventured out almost every afternoon to explore the city.

My head is wrapped around with different work projects! 

I was pondering what I would do in this city in the future. I will return quickly for a short program in Bangkok. ThenI have nothing else to do, why shall I prolong my stay? After a month being free from routined commitments, I still find myself unready for the full-time job or clear about the sense of “career” ahead.

Design the learning for...?

I want to contribute to Vietnam more directly. I want to work with youths, not older adults. I want to do more grounded work, or grassroots activities. I need to fall in love with the MBA curriculum in order to do the instructional design job with genuine love. I was looking through courses, and questioning the syllabus during my internship, still pondering on them. I want to participate in ones that are close to my heart such as environmental advocacy, urban planning, community development, gender studies... all development subjects. The highlight is that I can apply all of my knowledge and skills in learning-teaching, empathizing with students, and designing learning experiences for them. That’s the most exciting part of the job! 

My heart is for Vietnam, still

Another reason to start the job later is ...For the time being, I want to run a successful experiential learning program in Mai Chau, Northern Vietnam in October. I have been working hard for this build-out since April. I’ve drafted the program design, researched for potential partners, and am about to attend site visits with the team, finding locals, checking learning values and safety of places. I’ll also attend site visits with the school educators, to walk them through our program highlights. Essentially, I want Vietnam to be a potential place for meaningful educational opportunities. 

My first room in Bangkok!

That one was the reflection on the Spring Season of the Experiential Learning Programs. (End of Feb)

Where do I fit it EdTech space?

Besides, I am excited about the EdTech Asia project. This line of work is yet not my cup of tea though I will meet with high-level decision makers. I like to work with people on the ground where not much “professionalism” is required, so everybody shows up the way they are. Well, I’ve talked with school leaders, company founders, investors, etc, they are humans too! So, I often try to seek genuine connection out of the formality.

Linh in Edtech Asia Summit in Singapore. This is not how I look normally HAHA

Urban planning with a passionate educator

Soon, I will also take on a research project on urbanism with my dear teacher. It is an opportunity for me to dive into my home country’s history and culture. The research is on Chinatown in Saigon, how historical relics and cultural heritage have been managed by the authorities. Chinatown is the site that my teacher is wired to study in different locations around Southeast Asia. Thanks to his instruction, I got to do a project to enhance the sense of community in Soi Nana, Chinatown back in the Design Thinking for Public Social Service Course in my second year. I am inspired by his passion!

So, I joined a field trip with Urban Planning MA students in the faculty of architecture, Chulalongkorn University. Apart from the well-known one, there are smaller corners of Chinatown. There are many unused private buildings that hold architectural and cultural value around this area. My professor suggested a way to better maintain them is to host public events to encourage awareness.

There's a need to prevent these places from becoming soulless and gradually fading away. This reminded me of the demolition of old public housing in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, a group of young urban enthusiasts in old Dhaka, Bangladesh has been advocating for the preservation of historically valuable buildings through study tours. I would oppose the idea of demolition, considering the resources spent in the first place. Why not leverage on what already exists? A building may physically become obsolete, but it also increases in value. This is a contested issue in most urban places!

So many interesting projects are at hand that I prefer to delay the office job, HAHA.  

Why do we have to work?

my question in the middle of a work crisis. 

I was reading the book “WORK”(James Suzman) to learn how humans have evolved into spending most of our time on “work”. From a sociology perspective, a similar approach to the Sapiens book, it looks at how humans became more skillful to serve our basic needs, and then resources accumulated from our own hands. Yet, there were people who couldn't produce such resources and scouted for external resources. This created the “trading” activities across places, which led to the means of exchange in different shapes and forms. That’s how money was a currency of exchange. 

So, as humans have grown smarter with various skills, there are more demands we want to serve. Sadly, I feel that the source of happiness of humans has shifted towards external dependencies such as the accumulation of materials. I would love a life full of true happiness and feel enough.

I wrote down these questions and stuck them in the mirror that I get to see everyday.

• Impacts and Meanings?

• Learnings?

• Education betterment?

• Joy?

• Challenges?

I asked these questions all the way through my internship. My goal was to try if adult learning and instructional design is really for me. I was thinking how my life would be in this role in the year to come. 

Anyway, thank you May, I’ve dreamed of overcoming certain fears and enjoyed the fullest of life.  ❤❤❤

p/s: it took me a year to publish this one. I'm back with more data storage on this loving website. YAY!!! Got a ton more to edit and share soon. (26 April 2024)