Mel Schenck:  

Growing up in Montana, USA, I would never have made it my dream to live in Viet Nam or anywhere else. I had no interest in places beyond Montana, except perhaps Scandinavia where most of my ancestors came from. My undergraduate years were at Montana State University, and I would have been happy to begin my architecture practice in Montana. I definitely did not want to live in a large city. But thanks to the U.S. Navy, I lived in Saigon for a year in 1972 managing construction contracts to Vietnamese construction contractors. It is the prime event of my life. I fell in love with Viet Nam because of the people I worked with, and it is a very beautiful country. Saigon at that time had much of the same industrious energy that it has in abundance today. And I came to love the intensive life of the big city. So I vowed to return to Viet Nam some day to participate in the building of the country. In the interim, I settled into the architectural profession in San Francisco, accumulating good experience while growing a family. I never lost track of my dream to return to Viet Nam, but it was definitely delayed by the needs of the family and house, and the value of my network and position in San Francisco. After my two daughters had begun their careers, and I felt I had reached my peak in San Francisco, I knew it was time for a big change. I needed to learn a variety ...Expand for more