asia 2.0

speaking of trips. i am currently in montreal (in a starbucks, i know, just could not get away from corporate culture, or free internet, really)at a conference that i am whole-heartedly ditching. in 3 days i leave for vietnam.
this is the part of asia i've never been to. having survived (and perhaps even mastered?) the deserts of central asia, i am embarking on an adventure in the southeast asian jungle.
this is a medical/educational thing. no more research (at least not active research), no candid sobbing interviews this time. i will be working in a hospital, doing some clinical work, but also educating residents and my colleagues in new and proper ways of contraception...which sounds like a daunting task.
how did vietnam happen? so as part of my fellowship, i am supposed to complete an international rotation. while picking a place, i pretty much was open to going anywhere, except latin america since i speak no spanish, or west africa because i did not want to eat goat stew for the duration of the trip. some very important folks (my super senior boss and some national heads) talked about it, and decided that vietnam would be a perfect destination for me. that remains for me to determine.
i'm excited, but also slightly anxious. the average temperature in vietnam in april is about 98 degrees with crazy humidity (there is actually a tiny little temperature bump up if you look at the overall upgoing curve of temps, damn), which means there will just be more sweating. while getting vaccinated, the travel nurse went over foods to avoid, in order to avoid violent diarrhea. street vendors are off limits, so are fruits and veggies, cooked meat is a go, and carbs are ok. so lots of meat and no fruits and veggies...oh and also, i am not to pet monkeys! so far, this trip does not sound fun at all. sweaty, full of meat, no veggies, and no monkeys. sigh.
i keep freaking out, with bridget jones' diary 2 playing in my head, with me being imprisoned in vietnamese prison, and having to trade my bra or sing madonna, and i'm not sure which one terrifies me more. and while i continue to panic over how many pairs of shoes to bring, i keep having flashes of apocalypse now and wondering if i should take the captain willard approach and trust no one, while mysteriously immersing deeper into the jungle. or if i should emanate tony (bourdain) and follow his steps while marveling at the cuisine...while also chasing kurtz. although tony would not have liked to travel with me. i guess the adventure, like i said before, remains to be determined. i must not pack too many shoes.