Tschüss Deutschland, Xin Chào Việt Nam!

/ africayall

We’ve got some big news to finally share!

Can you figure it out from the title?

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After what felt like a very quick 2-ish years in lovely Germany, we will soon be moving to…

HANOI, VIETNAM!

Nathan will still be with GIZ, but will work with many local staff as the Project Manager for the Sustainable Bioenergy Markets and Commercial & Industrial Rooftop Solar projects.

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Sven, Nathan’s boss in Tanzania, will now be his counterpart in Vietnam

In case you are thinking, ‘Why Vietnam?‘, have a look at some of these stats from the World Bank:

  • In 1986, Vietnam was one of the poorest countries and is now a lower middle-income country
  • Poverty rates have declined sharply from over 70 percent to below 6 percent ($3.2/day PPP)
  • Population of 97 million in 2018 (up from ~60 million in 1986)
  • In 1993, 14% of the population used electricity as their main source of lighting.  In 2016, it was 99%

Vietnam’s development is exceptional, but the environmental effects could be staggering if not thoughtfully considered and planned.  Their energy sector is the largest contributor to their total greenhouse gas emissions and Vietnam is looking to reduce their carbon emissions in the coming years.  Cue Nathan’s projects…

We are extremely excited and fortunate to be able to move to such a dynamic, interesting and influential country – one that the whole world should be watching right now.

We were able to visit in 2019 and here are some of the things we are most looking forward to:

  • Vietnamese food
  • Working with kind, motivated, patient, welcoming people
  • Daily mini-adventures: scooter traffic, a new language, market shopping…
  • Great weather (4 seasons!)
  • Easy, safe, unique travel options throughout Southeast Asia
  • THE FOOD! (it deserves to be mentioned again)

 

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Since we took a break from writing over the last 2 years (read: Shannon was a Grade 5 teacher…), we will do a few posts over the coming weeks on our highlights of working and living in Germany!

New to our blog?  Learn more about us and our life abroad here!

NERD ALERT:

While Vietnam is industrializing their economy, they also still provide huge agricultural exports and 37% work in the ag sector:

  • Largest exporter of black pepper (one-third of world total)
  • Second largest exporter of coffee (after Brazil)
  • Second largest exporter of cashews (after India)
  • Second largest exporter of rice (after Thailand)

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