America Archives - Page 2 of 3

Graduating, Leaving California, Traveling to Ireland and Getting Married

September 13, 2017 rubymary Comments 15 comments

I apologize for the long, silent hiatus on this blog. I usually try to update once a month, but since May ’17 my life has been absolutely crazy.

Graduating

I honestly thought going back to school would be a nice break from “real, work life,” but it was actually more demanding and taxing both mentally and physically than my previous 8-5 office job. In graduate school I literally spent 10 hours a day in the library reading (and comprehending) the 500+ pages of literature, as well as write an average of 2-3 essays per week. Graduate school was a repetitive schedule of sleep-study-eat-study-sleep. That was my life for ten months. read more

5 Reasons To Visit Washington DC

April 5, 2017 rubymary Comments 8 comments

This week, I just traveled to my nation’s capital for the very first time. Despite traversing most of East Asia, I have yet to explore much of my own country–in fact, my trip to DC was only the second time in my entire life I set foot on the East Coast.

Although I was only there a mere five days, I have to say that I enjoyed the city immensely… and here’s why:

The architecture

This is what 90% of the US West Coast looks like

The West Coast is ugly. I’m sorry, it’s the truth. Much of the American west looks post-apocalyptic with its vast swaths of deserts, strip malls, and architecture that makes a Soviet commune look beautiful. There are few, if any places in the west where one can take a city stroll and honestly say it’s charming. read more

My First Time in Latin America: Spending One Week in Costa Rica

December 24, 2016 rubymary Comments 12 comments

Costa Rica

Years ago, my boyfriend (now fiancee) approached me and said: “Let’s go to Costa Rica in December 2016.”

Knowing absolutely nothing about the country, I said “Sure. Why not.”

Since boyfriend planned our previous trip, he said Costa Rica planning was up to me.

As I mentioned before, I knew jack shit about Costa Rica. To be perfectly honest–I had to look the country up on Google Maps.

Where does one go in Costa Rica? How do we get there? How do we get around? Do we rent a car? Can we drink the local tap water? What’s worth seeing, what’s not? How’s the weather? read more

Southern California vs. Northern California… and a Life Update

July 7, 2016 rubymary Comments 14 comments

I somehow live here now? — I somehow ended up living in wine country

So, my life has been flipped upside down. I am now kinda, sorta, living in Northern California.

A month prior to my Asia trip, my boyfriend told me he wanted to take a job offer in Northern California. Although I’m kind of itching to get out of California, we both knew that taking this job was the right thing to do.

So when you get back from Japan and China, boyfriend said, we’re moving up North.

And… here I am. North of San Francisco in a place I never, ever expected to find myself in. read more

Moving Abroad And Saying Farewell: It Never Gets Easier

May 7, 2016 rubymary Comments 31 comments

Cloudy Skies in Shanghai

I woke up to cloudy skies. I wanted sunshine for my final day here, but I knew a clear day was a rare blessing in Shanghai. The weather reflected the feelings in my heart: uncertainty, haziness, fear.

I walked out of Z’s room to find she was already in the living room, staring out into the sea of Shanghai’s skyscrapers from her 25th floor window. Her apartment wasn’t big, but it was cozy. My suitcases were lined up neatly near the door, my entire life packed into two large bags and one carry on. My heart winced as I looked at them. 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

America is Not The Greatest Country on Earth

August 24, 2015 rubymary Comments 24 comments

I remember in grade school we had to stand up, put our right hand on our heart, salute the flag and say the pledge of allegiance every single day. We looked up to the flag hanging near the chalkboard as our nation’s anthem echoed from the school’s loudspeaker and chanted the mantra of our great nation.

At school we were not only taught to be proud at the fact we were American, but grateful. While no one ever distinctly said it to my face, I was educated that America was the best country in the world. read more

The Perfect Weekend in San Diego

July 20, 2015 rubymary Comments 9 comments

As most of you know, I don’t really like Los Angeles. It’s congested, crime infested, inconvenient and expensive. It still boggles my mind why anyone would actually want to live here, but I guess we all have our personal reasons (like myself).

Sadly, I started to become disenchanted not only with L.A., but with all of California. My business trip to San Francisco was met with high hotel prices and countless encounters with aggressive (and dangerous) homeless people. Going to Orange County was a venture rife with traffic and expensive parking. read more

The Ethnicity Question

May 29, 2015 rubymary Comments 20 comments

After years of being uninsured in the U.S. (and a few more years of having third-world equivalent healthcare in China), I finally received fully covered health benefits through my new job. In fear of medical bills and non-preventative coverage, I went years without a standard check-up. When I got my shiny new insurance card, I booked the first appointment I could to get tested for–well, everything. After all, I was fully covered.

“It looks like your application is incomplete, Ms. Mary O’Connor,” the secretary smiled sweetly. “You’ll need to answer a couple of quick questions before you can see the doctor.” read more

The Ruby Ronin

Connecting China, Japan, and the World

Browsed by
Category: America