After high school and a year of College I made a half-hearted attempt at professional skiing in Aspen, Colorado and then found myself back in Flint.

The visa thing can be an issue, if you're going to work for someone here make sure they will help you with this. However, so that you know what you need make sure you research the visa issue on your own. A 90 day visa is not a problem and I saw six month visas being offered through the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia, but nothing about one year visas or temporary residence cards. Of course you are probably aware that you need some sort of visa in advance just to gain entry into Vietnam.

On my discharge, I had the challenge of putting my life back together but Vietnam stuck in the inner recesses of my mind.

Some 30 years later I found myself back here again [in Vietnam] on what was to be a short visit that lasted months, and since then I've been living my life with one foot in Ho Chi Minh City and the other in Fair Oaks, California.

Born in the Flint, Michigan, big boat sailing on the Great Lakes and skiing in the winter was how most of my youth was spent.

The Vietnam War was in full swing, the Air Force wanted me and I wanted out of Flint, so three years in the USA and that fourth one spent here in Vietnam really flipped my life around.

I would say healthcare in Vietnam is so-so. There are several international clinics that are good but expensive and the care offered is limited.