rubymary, Author at The Ruby Ronin

Spending Christmas in a Japanese Buddhist Temple

December 24, 2015 rubymary Comments 15 comments

ChristmasJapanCover

Spending Christmas abroad is tough business. I don’t really know how to put it into words, but something is just missing in the air. Maybe it’s the commercialism. Maybe it’s the exchange of presents, the Christmas parties, or even the cheesy songs on the radio.

Probably, it’s just the plain and simple fact that no one gives a crap about Christmas in Asia.

As I often mention on here, my life in Niigata was different from the typical foreigner. I was extremely isolated. Due to various falling outs with other foreigners, I was all alone. I had no one to share Christmas with. read more

The Chinese Character of 2015

December 16, 2015 rubymary Comments 8 comments

Fall_Kyoto

Every year, Japanese citizens vote for a Chinese character (or kanji) to describe the events of the year and display it at the temple above.

This year’s character?

安

Safe. Secure. Stable.

When asked about the choice of character, many Japanese were quick to turn it into a negative.

“I think of 不安 (restless, worried),” said one woman. “With the state the world is in, everything feels so uncertain.”

Others said the decision of the character 安 was a result of the recently passed security law (or the 安全保障法制), which has allowed Japan to actively participate in wars as a military power, much to the chagrin of the Japanese nationals. read more

Visiting Japan? 5 Reasons You Should Go to Nagano

December 11, 2015 rubymary Comments 25 comments

Chances are, most travelers never heard of Nagano. Some people know it as that place in Japan that hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics–but other than that, Nagano, unfortunately, still remains widely unknown.

Nagano's right in the middle! — Nagano’s right in the middle!

Nagano is one of Japan’s larger prefectures located in the Shinshu region directly west of Tokyo (about a one hour bullet train ride away). It is one of the most mountainous regions in Japan and is known for its snow, great peaks and amazing forests.

Nagano is special to me, because it’s the first place I ever went to in Japan. I did a one month study abroad program here, and it was nothing less than magical. The mountains, the food, and most of all the kind hearts of the people in the countryside are what made me fall in love with this place–and convinced me to come back. read more

How My Vietnamese Mom Forgot Thanksgiving

November 26, 2015 rubymary Comments 16 comments

Growing up with my mom wasn’t easy, especially in rural, coal-mining Utah. My mother was the only Asian woman in the entire town, thus meaning we were surrounded by white people (and a few Hispanics and Native Americans).

Growing up in such a predominantly white culture, I was raised to believe and practice in American holidays. My classmates at elementary school gathered with all of their relatives at a big table, carved the turkey, and watched the Macy’s parade. They had large family gatherings with turkey, cranberry sauce, gravy–the works. read more

Cost of Living: Los Angeles vs. Shanghai

November 24, 2015 rubymary Comments 21 comments

One of my biggest forms of culture shock upon moving back to the United States was cost of living. It felt like everything in the United States was way, way more expensive than Shanghai.

In my previous post, I calculated and compared the cost of living between Los Angeles and Tokyo, and I found that living in Tokyo could actually save you 10,000 USD per year compared to life in Los Angeles. I’m a huge advocate for living abroad to not only broaden horizons, but to also save money.

So how does life in Shanghai fare when it comes to cutting costs? read more

Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award: Q & A, My Nominees

November 12, 2015 rubymary Comments 8 comments

Wow, I am honored that Jocelyn from Speaking of China has nominated me for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award!

It’s my first time being nominated for any kind of blogging award, and even though I probably won’t win (is this a contest?), it’s been great to see the blogs of other fellow nominees and read about so many amazing women living around the world.

Without further ado, here are the answers:

How did you come up with the name for your blog?

In China I wore red. Everyday. I don’t know why, it just happened.

Ronin is a Japanese word for a wandering samurai without a lord. It also has the connotation of a traveling vagrant. As a frequent traveler, I often felt like a wandering samurai with no real place to call my own. read more

You Know You’ve Turned Chinese When…

November 9, 2015 rubymary Comments 17 comments

I’ll never be ethnically Chinese. It’s just not going to happen.

Despite this, I feel Chinese (as weird as that sounds). I was so accepted and integrated during my time in China, I felt like one of their own. Sure, my proverbs sucked. Yeah, I couldn’t read all the Chinese characters. Still, I was invited to almost any and every outing, and many of my Chinese friends treated me like family. I hung out with the locals like I was their neighbor, and they treated me as such. Thanks to the kindness and passion of my friends in China, I felt like I truly discovered what it means to live and understand China. read more

Different From the Crowd

November 1, 2015 rubymary Comments 15 comments

“Maybe, in a year or two, you can get married. You can buy a house in Los Angeles when he makes more money. Perhaps three, or four years down the road you can plan for your first child. It’s a perfect plan, Mary.”

Advice from my aunt. A realist.

Although the demographic is starting to change, thirty tends to be the age when we start to think about having a family; or at the very least, if and when we want one. When I was 22, I always figured that when I hit my late 20s I would start to feel the tug of motherhood and cave in and have a child (or, at least, be married by 30). read more

Europe Highlights: Three Countries in Ten Days

September 27, 2015 rubymary Comments 20 comments

So I traveled to three European countries in ten days.

And I highly recommend you don’t do it.

I’m a firm believer in traveling slow and enjoying the sights, but since I’m American and I only get a whopping 12 days of paid holiday per year, I had my limitations–so I made do.

My plan was to head to Paris (for a bachelorette party), then Berlin (to see my good German friend) and, finally, Brussels for the wedding.

I only scratched the surface of each city/country, but here are the highlights: read more

How to Claim Your Irish Citizenship (by descent)

September 4, 2015 rubymary Comments 138 comments

It was a dark and stormy night in Shanghai. J and I were wandering the streets when the grey clouds rolled in and the rain started to pour. We were looking for an escape to hide from the cold and, hopefully, get a drink.

And like a gift from God, the Irish pub appeared in the distance.

We walked into the warm and cozy Irish pub and immediately waltzed to the wooden counter where we saw that familiar harp of Guinness calling our names. J and I grabbed our Guinness and clanked our glasses together in cheers. read more

The Ruby Ronin

Connecting China, Japan, and the World

Browsed by
Author: rubymary