Hello, Renrenspeakers! Happy first Saturday of the month and welcome to the SECOND of the five interviews in the line-up for the Travelers Abroad Speak mini blog series! Did yall jot down a new country to add to your bucket list like I mentioned last week? If not, you have another opportunity to do so through this amazing blog interview we are about to delve into. The second person sharing their abroad journey with us is the charismatic, lovely Betty, who is a literal ray of sunshine! First, let’s love on her a bit before we jump into the interview.

Betty is all smiles, all giggles, and all dimples! Her energy is literally the definition of infectious, as she is the perfect hype woman, one of the best listeners ever, a calm and kindred spirit, and very multitalented. If it wasn’t for Ghana, I would have never crossed paths with this beautiful soul. Betty’s edgy, bold haircut and warm smile were the first things I noticed about her in a class that we were taking with other California study abroad students during my first week in Ghana. Instantly, I knew I wanted to be her friend. I tried to stay behind a little bit so that I could make eye contact and casually start a conversation, but she beat me to it! Betty is a forever abroad sister, as some of my most precious memories together consisted of our late night talks in Volta Hall at the University of Ghana when she ate almost all my Goldfish in one setting (LOL), and in the U.S. when we would each drive an hour each way to meet up at Dana Point to have bougie lunches, sit by the harbor, and catch up on life. So friends, I present to you, #Bettysuccessful and her travel reflections!

Irene: What is your name/pronouns?

Betty: My name is Betty Hang and my pronouns are she/her/hers. My Vietnamese name is Yêń and it means swallow, which is a kind of bird!

Irene: Give us a quick synopsis of who YOU ARE! 

Betty: I am a writer, a community activist, and AANHPI creative arts enthusiast. I enjoy reading all sorts of literature, pole dancing, art museums, and learning about new perspectives and stories. My personality traits entail coziness, loyalty, fun chaos, and warm professionalism. My mission in life is to accumulate wisdom, spread love and compassion, and create impact during my time on this spectacular planet. Lastly, I am an Associate Producer on the indie feature documentary, NEW WAVE, which is supported by Sundance Institute.

Irene: What country/countries have you been to?

Betty: I have visited Ghana, Togo, Ireland, Canada, and Vietnam!

Irene: What is your favorite country visited thus far, and why?

Betty: My favorite country I’ve visited thus far is a tie between Ghana and Vietnam. Ghana because it was my first time traveling internationally, where I made my very best friends, and grew my global and cultural knowledge immensely. Vietnam because I learned about the country my parents grew up in, explored many cities with childhood friends and by myself, and learned to adapt in a new city alone.

Irene: Let’s throw it back down memory lane for a second! How did we meet?

Betty: Irene was a shining light who entered the orientation room at the University of Ghana with a yellow Hydroflask, which immediately caught my eye. It was friendship at first sight. She was someone I felt radiated joy and sunshine so much, it felt like our personalities matched! We hung out, got lunch around campus, talked for hours about life, and I knew she was a friend I wanted to keep in my life forever.

Irene: What is a salient memory that you hold of me and you in Ghana?

Betty: A salient memory that I hold of our friendship is spending time in Irene’s dorm hall, Volta, and at the local bistro talking about how we have a strong desire to make a positive impact on our community and our world, becoming better people everyday, and best of all, boys (haha).

Irene: Can you speak to one of your most memorable experiences for a particular country that you’ve visited?

Betty: One of the most memorable experiences I’ve had for a particular country I’ve visited was cussing someone out in Vietnam. It was cathartic and necessary.

Irene: What are some cultural barriers and cultural highlights that you have experienced during your time abroad?

Betty: While making friends in Vietnam, I had language issues that led to me say the wrong things! Long story short, I ended up calling a group of adults a demeaning word for “smart” in Vietnamese, not realizing that word is exclusively used for children. Fortunately, none of those adults took it personally and understood I was a foreigner. Although I grew up speaking Vietnamese, there are still language issues I come across to this day, but understanding that traveling comes with unique trials and error (whether it’s getting lost, tripping up sentences, etc) makes it easier to accept our mistakes. It’s all a part of living life, really! 

Cultural highlights I’ve had during my time abroad definitely are making new friends. A memorable experience I had was being accepted as an honorary family member in a back alley of District 4 in Ho Chi Minh City. I spent time with this family everyday. We had coffee each morning, we went to temple and the market together, they would offer me meals and clothes, and we still keep in touch to this day. Even making friends with people who weren’t from Vietnam was refreshing and exciting, like hearing their stories and how they’ve built a life of their own there.

Irene: What have you learned about yourself through traveling abroad?

Betty: What I’ve learned about myself through traveling abroad is that I should not be as scared about the world as I have been. I don’t know if it’s the way I’ve been educated and socialized in the U.S., but while in Vietnam, a large chunk of my experience was my intense fear about my safety. Being constantly frightened hindered my travel experience severely and over time, I learned that as long as I am vigilant and aware of my surroundings, that is enough for me to still enjoy my time traveling solo.

Irene: Any advice, gems, or words of encouragement for someone who is new to traveling or is looking to broaden their travel experience?

Betty: I’d say to always stay flexible, nothing ever goes as planned, and to accept that life will throw anything your way and you may not always be prepared for it. Having that acceptance that life will always have great and bad things at any given point makes it easier, at least for me, to be okay with the adversity and just do my best to handle what’s in my control.

Irene: Can folks connect with you to learn more about you/support you? If so, please drop your social media info down below!

Betty: The best way to connect with me is via LinkedIn. I love to have creative idea sessions or philosophical conversations that lead to creating positive change in the world, so if this is down your alley, do reach out!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bettyhang/

Irene: Anything else you want us to know about you or anything you want to share with the readers? Feel free to drop it down below!

Betty: The last thing I want to share with you all is that you’ll never go wrong with being your true self, and also practicing bravery regularly will transform your life! Thank you for reading and wishing you all a day full of acceptance, peace, and celebration. Life is a celebration!

TRAVEL SNAPSHOTS

Below are some travel highlights that Betty has captured during her time abroad!

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Betty, you completely wowed us with your amazing storytelling. Shoutout to The Bistro and our campus lunch dates back in the day. The juice, sandwiches, and waiters there were absolutely amazing. Also, slow tears building up currently from the picture of the four of us together. Cheers to friendships at first sight, for real! I also want to let you know that I still have my yellow Hydroflask! I was gifted my yellow Hydroflask by someone who said I reminded them of a ray of sunshine, so aint no way it will ever leave me! It is definitely beat up and a bit tattered, but this thing has literally traveled across the world with me and has been with me through thick and thin. Lastly, thank you for reminding us that life is a celebration and that we should strive to practice bravery every day for life transformation. It is definitely a word I needed to hear today!

Thanks for reading this post today, Renrenspeakers! Again, stay tune for email notifications for the next post release on Renrenspeaks next Saturday, October 14th for Part 3 of the Travelers Abroad Speak mini blog series! Keep working on getting that passport! 😉

Peace and love,

Irene