Dana Filek-Gibson

Fresh out of Emerson College, Dana Filek-Gibson moved to Saigon as an English teacher in 2010 and never left. Though she only intended to stay for a year, Vietnam's phenomenal street food and breakneck pace of development hooked her from the very beginning. Over the next few months, she learned to speak Vietnamese, drive a motorbike, and safely cross the street: no easy feat in Ho Chi Minh City.

Since landing a job with AsiaLIFE, a local magazine, Dana has written about Vietnamese culture and tourism as well as the daily adventures that come with being a redheaded expat. In 2012, she cycled from hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. Her wanderlust has taken her beyond Vietnam to other corners of Southeast Asia, as well as Europe, Latin America, and Africa. She is an avid runner and hopes to one day complete a marathon in Southeast Asia.

Whether ringing in the lunar new year like a local or learning the finer details of how to judge a chicken beauty contest, she counts every day in Vietnam as a new adventure.