My name is An (Ân in Tiếng Việt). I'm originally from Đà Nẵng, a vibrant coastal city in central Vietnam known for its stunning beaches, delicious street food, and a fairly overrated, internet-famous Golden Bridge up in the mountains. For the record, we have better and cooler bridges. I currently live in Berlin, Germany.
In 2016, I moved to Europe on an Erasmus scholarship, embarking on a two-year Master's journey across four distinctly different European countries. My first stop was Edinburgh, where stepping off the airplane on an early September day felt like entering a giant fridge. In Norway, I went from never having seen snow in my life to trudging knee-deep through it each morning on my way to university through a forest. Moving to Budapest for my third semester was a revelation: Europe does indeed have a summer! Finally, I capped off my Erasmus experience in the picturesque city of Lausanne, Switzerland, where I learned a bittersweet truth: while it's amazing to meet wonderful people along the way, it's incredibly hard to say goodbye.
After graduation, I worked as a hardware development engineer in Berlin, developing a blood testing device that aimed to accomplish what Elizabeth Holmes promised with Theranos, except probably harder. After encountering limited career opportunities in the medical hardware industry, I transitioned to software engineering and now work for a German fintech company.
In my free time, I enjoy watching football and letting my favorite team, Manchester United, disappoint me repeatedly. I also like hitting the gym, occasionally coding random and completely useless software projects, and traveling whenever I can.
With this website, I'm pushing myself to share my experiences living in Germany as a Vietnamese, what I've learned, and my thoughts about this crazy world we live in. If you've read this far, thank you for your attention! Should you have any questions or comments, feel free to send me an email.