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Category: Life in Asia

Should You Choose a Man or Career?

Should You Choose a Man or Career?

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You know, men never face this dilemma. They don’t debate about whether they should give up opportunity or stay with the woman of their dreams.

They just take the job.

Women, on the other hand, will face this agonizing predicament at least once in their lifetime. Move away from the boyfriend to pursue the career I have been dreaming of? Or stay behind, stick by his side, and possibly have a life of marital bliss?

I never thought it would happen to me, but it did.  I had to choose a man or my career. read more

Fitting Back into the USA

Fitting Back into the USA

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Letting Go

I know.  It’s been ages since I’ve updated.

I’ve opened up wordpress and stared into a blank page for minutes at a time, trying to compose my thoughts into something that flows and make sense.  I tried multiple times to post something that is profound, moving, touching, and somehow manages to convey all of my distraught feelings for leaving behind a life full of love and comfort in Shanghai.  I tried to sum up the overpowering emotions of saying farewell to China and the wonderful life I lived there for three years–but every time I tried to type something, it just didn’t feel right.  It felt forced, sappy, or empty. read more

When are you too old to solo travel?

When are you too old to solo travel?

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20 Something Traveling–Been There, Done That

When thinking of a female solo traveler, I’m sure the first image that pops into mind is a 24-27 year old girl simply sick of her 9-5 desk job and craving something more.  These women decide to toss the boring life of monotony and, instead, don a backpack and travel the world.  They’re young, they’re fresh, and they’re ready to make the most of their “younger years.”

As I near the dreaded 3-0, I start wondering about the possibility of solo female traveling mid 30’s and beyond.  I have found a slew of blogs featuring women that have braved the roughest frontiers with nothing but a bag on their backs–but I have yet to encounter a blog that has a 34+ something woman traveling the world. read more

The Shanghai Ronin is Leaving Shanghai

The Shanghai Ronin is Leaving Shanghai

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Taking The Leap

The craziest adventure in my life was not joining the JET Programme and moving to a village in no-man’s-land Japan for two years as the lone foreigner. It was not dropping everything and randomly studying Chinese in Beijing. It wasn’t even venturing through the countryside of China and traveling by bus to the depths of Vietnam alone. No. All of those things, to me, are semi-normal.

The decision to move to Shanghai was the most rash, insane, and completely bewildering change of my life. read more

This life, the next one, and the last. 今生、来生、前生

This life, the next one, and the last. 今生、来生、前生

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Sometimes, you meet people and you know that you were just meant to cross paths somehow.  As soon as you lock eyes and shake hands you know that this was meant to be.  This connection between one human being and another, one heart to the next, souls that intertwine.

My boss Takada-san is exactly one of these people.

I’ve mentioned her a few times on here.  My boss that could rule the world if she pleased, but can’t handle the burden of it all.  A Japanese woman that gave up everything to fight for her rights in a society that wants to keep her at home and tied to the kitchen.  A woman that wanted to be more than just that; she aspired to be a leader, a creator, and most of all a traveler–and she succeeded at it all, but at great cost.  She looks of a woman tired from the relentless pressure and overtime of the Japanese ad agency world.  Despite her experience as being CEO of multiple companies in the past, she continually refuses our headquarter’s offer of taking the position once again.  She’s had enough, and you can tell at her age she just wants to soak in a hot spring or dive in the maldives.  She’s simply tired of changing the world. read more

A look back at 2013, and gazing ahead to 2014!

A look back at 2013, and gazing ahead to 2014!

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Wow, what a year 2013 has been.

Overall 2013 has been a very good year, with both ups and downs and new experiences all around.

Work

This time last year, I was agonizing whether I should quit my interpreting program at Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) to pursue full time work.  The transition from full time employee to full time student sent me into a downward spiral of depression.  I gained 10 pounds.  I slept for hours at a time for days on end.  The classes (or lack thereof) only added to my misery.  It was truly one of those moments where I’d wake up every morning and ask myself: “Just what am I doing with my life?” read more

Christmas Abound

Christmas Abound

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A Very Japanese Christmas

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“Mary-sensei” my favorite 7-11 cashier in Niigata sweetly called my name. “How about a Christmas cake? We have so many flavors; chocolate, white and strawberry–and look at all the sizes! I think you would really enjoy having a cake to share with someone special on Christmas day.”

“I have no one special to share it with,” I reply, looking through the cake brochures. “And in America it’s a day spent with family, not a boyfriend.”

“Soudesuka…” the cashier looked hurt, and I felt bad for being so blunt and mean with my favorite cashier lady. She’s just doing her job trying to up the sales of Christmas cake and making small talk with me–I shouldn’t take my Christmas blues out on her. I cave in. read more

結婚願望 (The Lust for Marriage)

結婚願望 (The Lust for Marriage)

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I think for women, there’s only one difference when it comes to dating in your early twenties as opposed to your later twenties:

urgency.

Even the most liberal of us start to countdown to 30 and hear the impending doom of the ‘clock ticking’ after we surpass 25.  It’s when we start telling ourselves that we can’t goof around and date losers anymore.  Being in the same band or liking the same indie movies doesn’t constitute as appealing qualifications for boyfriend material anymore.  Instead, women start to look beyond the personality and into the ‘what he can do for you’ category: In other words, salary, job, social status, and age.  The things we used to tell ourselves didn’t matter look far more enticing after 25. read more

Being 27

Being 27

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There’s something about 27.  You already feel physically ill at the fact that you’re almost hitting 30 on your birthday, but then as the months pass by and you see your life not changing, you start to wonder.

Are things always going to stay this way?

Am I going to get the job I want?

Am I ever going to be at the place that I imagined I’d be after university?

I think we all procrastinate, but I’m really bad.  I tell myself that I’ll clean my room tomorrow, I’ll fix up that file when I get some time, I’ll start building my website during the holiday–everything to me gets put off. read more