In Preparation

Hello Family, Friends, and Colleagues,

In 72 hours, two colleagues and myself will be somewhere over the Pacific Ocean on our way to Vietnam. This work assignment, which is sponsored through my Masters of Public Administration (MPA) program at Portland State University (PSU) has been close to 20 months in the making. In fact, an international opportunity such as this is what pulled my family and I to study, live, and work in Portland, OR.

I am fortunate to have the support, guidance, and resources available to make this work opportunity a reality. The support begins with my wife and baby boy, Vaishali and Sahas; continues with my colleagues at Peace Corps; and the resources and guidance carry on through Dr. Marcus Ingle, the head of the Global Management and Leadership specialization at PSU. The opportunity to obtain a short-term work assignment in Vietnam was something Dr. Ingle and I have discussed since the Fall term of 2012. In a few short days, those discussions will transform into reality.

A few notes:

I am still working and employed by the Peace Corps. I am using pretty much all of my vacation, some additional ‘over time’ hours, and continuing to work on recruitment activities a few hours a week while in Vietnam. But to be clear, my work in Vietnam has nothing to do with my official role as a Peace Corps employee. I am working in Vietnam as a representative of PSU and an American citizen. The views expressed here are solely my own. Undoubtedly though, my experience as an Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) will assist me in many ways throughout my experience.

My scope of work is still general, but the generalities are concrete enough to detail here. I will be living and working in central Vietnam in Da Nang city. The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) has given the city of Da Nang direction to build a municipal city government model that will decentralize the administrative decision-making process within the city. The decentralization of this process has the potential to lead to less bureaucracy and increased economic and public service activity. The task of building this model has been assigned to a local ‘think tank’ in Da Nang named the Da Nang Institute for Socio-Economic Development (DISED). I have been matched with DISED to assist them in developing this model for an innovative municipal city government.

Time is limited. I depart Portland (PDX) on June 21, arrive in Da Nang on June 23, begin work the next day, and finish my internship on August 1. There is a lot to accomplish, relationships to be built, and fun to be had. I will contribute to this space with progress on my work assignment, my perspective and experience in the Vietnamese culture, and little adventures I get into along the way. I would love and appreciate your input, suggestions, and insights as I embark on this journey. Your perspective is appreciated as we all live, learn, and grow. Now, let’s rinse, and repeat.

-P-