I’m sitting at the dining table with a vase of blooming lilies in front of me and a hot cup of coffee beside the keyboard. The house smells faintly of a lavender candle I just lit. Today is an ordinary day. I worked out this morning, went grocery shopping, came home to cook, showered, put a hair mask on, and then lay on the sofa and did nothing at all. This afternoon I decided to sit down and write about the past three months.

It has been a little over three months since I arrived in the U.S. This is my first autumn abroad, with temperatures between 16 and 25°C (about 60 to 77°F) and cooler evenings. When I think about Vietnam right now, I imagine the central coast getting its rainy season and Hanoi easing into autumn. Today I bought a new pothos plant for the corner by the dining table. I love having little plants around the house.

My first road trip across state lines

From September 11 to 20, I took my first long trip since moving here. The first stop was Kentucky, where I visited a friend I knew from Hoi An. She’s my age, and she also came over on a marriage visa, two years before me. Rain forced us to skip Mammoth Cave. Instead we spent two days at her place, visited a horse museum, and mostly just talked. Our men turned out to have almost the same personality and both love talking about investing, so they went off on their own conversation. My friend has a beautiful Belgian Malinois that she brought over from Vietnam. For those two days I wanted a dog of my own, but the thought slipped away as soon as I got home.

On the third day, I drove down to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, the first national park I’ve ever visited. There are 62 national parks in the U.S. I don’t know how many I’ll manage before I’m too old to hike, but I’ll try, and I’ll write about each one here as I go.

We stayed five days and four nights, camping for two nights and staying in a hotel for two. The drive was eight hours, and I only rode along because I don’t have a driver’s license yet. It was just the two of us hiking for four days, and our longest trail was 14 km to Ramsey’s cascade. The scenery is very different from Vietnam. I watched two sunsets, two sunrises, and, once, the Milky Way with my own eyes. The sky was crystal clear, with no clouds at all, and I was standing on the highest peak in the park. The view felt so grand it was almost surreal. That night was probably the most memorable part of the whole trip.

On the way home, we stopped in a town famous for Kentucky bourbon, a strong spirit in the same family as whiskey. I toured a distillery and had lunch at their restaurant. I tried a little, but hard liquor isn’t for me. It was bitter and burned my throat. Still, it was a fun cultural experience.

The decision to leave my job

In the last week of September, I handed in my resignation at the company where I had worked for five years. I agonized over it for almost two months before I dared to write that email. Leaving wasn’t part of my plan, but it’s something has to be done.

For the first time in 10 years of working, I asked my family for their opinion before changing jobs. I talked with my parents, and it was a completely new emotional experience. I realized that when you have people to share with, lean on, and walk alongside you, the weight gets so much lighter. My man said something I’ll always remember: that no job can be more important than my health and quality of life. I submitted my resignation the next morning.

Feeling that my family trusts I’ll find something better is hard to put into words. Maybe it comes down to this: being loved by your family is a kind of happiness nothing else can replace. I just hope I keep treating people well, so that one day my own children can grow up in a family like this.

My last day is December 23, 2026. I need those 90 days so the company can hire a replacement, train them, and hand over the team of 20 people I manage. I’m also treating it as three months to build up a little more savings, in case the next job doesn’t come right away. After that I want to rest for a while and spend time updating my knowledge and skills in artificial intelligence, as a springboard for whatever comes next.

Daily life right now

Apart from the job news, life hasn’t changed dramatically. I wake up at 5:30, drink coffee on the porch, read a little, and then start work. At noon I cook lunch and make dinner at the same time. I grocery shop once a week, run with a club twice a week, and work out two or three times a week. On weekends we wander through antique shops looking for home decor, and if I come across a nice plant, it comes home with me.

Next month I plan to take my driving test and buy a car so I can get around more easily. Next year, once things are more settled, I’m hoping to move to a new place and start thinking about having a baby. For now, my evenings are for a few Coursera courses.

The “firsts” of living far from home

This year was the first time in my life I haven’t had Mid-Autumn Festival, and I haven’t had a mooncake to eat. I suspect there will be many more “firsts” like this, and that eventually I’ll get used to them. Still, the day I realized I wouldn’t have a mooncake, I felt a little homesick.

Overall, I’m quite happy and positive. Living far away and in a different time zone has taught me that the quickest way to keep up with friends is to open their profile page. So if you’re reading this, drop me a line, even if you have no big news to share.

See you in the next post.

Thuy