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Trepidation
AUTHOR
Tara Eaton - Clayton Utz senior associate Tara Eaton has taken a leave of absence to participate in AusAID's Australian Youth Ambassador for Development program in Vietnam. She writes from Hà Nôi. more
I'm in a crowded, noisy café in Hà Nôi, complete with faded cushions and water stained walls, drinking instant coffee sweetened with condensed milk. A rat occasionally streaks across the room.
Only a few weeks ago you could have found me happily working away in my office at Clayton Utz Sydney. If I wasn't in my office, I may have been chatting to my secretary or colleagues while enjoying a skinny chai latté. Alternatively, I could have been found on the ferry to Kirribilli absorbing as much as of the view and clean air as possible.
Since then, I have taken a leave of absence from work, left my support network of friends, family and colleagues, moved out of my lovely flat, exchanged my salary for a living allowance, packed every single thing I own into storage and had what feels like a million inoculations.
I have become a volunteer. For the next 12 months, my husband Dan and I will be Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development, living and working in Hà Nôi. The Australian Youth Ambassador for Development program, an Australian Government, AusAID initiative, sends skilled 18-30 year olds to work on specific projects in developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region. I will be working in the pro-bono practice of a local Vietnamese law firm where I will be working with local lawyers reviewing and commenting on draft corporate, foreign investment and international trade legislation in consultation with the foreign business community and government leaders.
Conversations about my rather unconventional plans usually went something like this: Yes, I'm moving to Hà Nôi. Yes, it is a bit random. Yes, I will be assisting Vietnam's national legal development. Yes, I have put my career on hold but yes, I am very excited. Yes, I can speak Mandarin but can't speak Vietnamese. Yes, I intend to learn. No, I don't know where I'll be living. No, I don't know whether I will be able to survive on the allowance. Yes, I may just be living off pot-noodles for an entire year. Yes, I am moving to a country that has 80 road fatalities per day. No, I don't plan on getting a motorbike. No, you can't drink the water there. Yes, they have squat toilets. Yes, I have packed a lot of Imodium.
Leaving for Hà Nôi is a double-edged sword. For fleeting moments, I feel empowered. Of course I can take on the legal system of a developing country! The invaluable support given to me by Clayton Utz means at least I have the resources to complete my assignment.
At other times the reality of it all hits me. I've left my life in Sydney, am living in Hà Nôi and taking on the development of Vietnamese corporate law!?! What am I thinking when most of my friends are buying houses, having babies or moving to London so they can pay for the future houses and babies?! I'll get back to you more on that one, but at the moment I'm happy trying something a little left field, living somewhere totally new and knowing I will be making a small difference to Vietnam and its business environment.
In the words of Mao Tse-Tung, a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. So here it goes… Clayton Utz senior associate Tara Eaton has taken a leave of absence to participate in AusAID's Australian Youth Ambassador for Development program in Vietnam.
Tara is a Senior Associate at Clayton Utz, Sydney. She has taken a leave of absence to participate in AusAID’s Australian Youth Ambassador for Development program in Hanoi, Vietnam. Tara will be writing a fortnightly column on life as a lawyer in Vietnam during her stay in Hanoi.
25-Jun-2007
Related Tags
Vietnam , clayton utz , international lawyer
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