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Escape to Jeju Island

Escape to Jeju Island

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The wind pummeled us relentless, but we didn’t care. The dark blue waves screamed in protest as they crashed violently against the lava formed rock formation we stood upon. Although the dark, unknowing waters of Jeju looked unwelcoming, the fresh and cleansing breeze of the Korean countryside and its pastel, blue sky was more than enough to keep me here. After relentless days of smog and apocalyptic skies of dust and toxic matter in China, the coast of Jeju was like medicine.

The wind whipping my hair across my face, the sprays of fresh, seawater splashing across my open toed sandals, a fresh paint of blue sky: read more

Ten Years After High School

Ten Years After High School

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Last weekend was my 10 year high school reunion.

But I didn’t go.

It’s not like I didn’t want to go–actually, I was curious to see what everyone from my small, coal-mining town was up to in the big world.  I knew that most were married and still living in Utah, but I’m sure a few anomalies from my class were doing some really amazing things.

It would have been nice to visit my small hometown after 7 years of absence and catch up with the class of ’08, but due to distance and finances it just wasn’t feasibly possible. read more

Speed Dating in China

Speed Dating in China

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The location for the Chinese-Japanese Friendship Group’s speed dating event seemed like a place where love goes to die. From the outside it looked like a local convenience store, the kind where you can easily purchase 50 cent baijiu (rice liquor) and tar filled cigarettes–maybe even a cell phone charge card. If it weren’t for the hand written sign taped to the wall adjacent to the shop keep, we would never know that a dating event lie in wait just beyond the foul stench of the convenience store’s stinky tofu, and up the stairs from the grime filled storage room. read more

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

The Modern Ex-Pat Returning Home

The Modern Ex-Pat Returning Home

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I check my e-mail to see the response I have been waiting for sitting there in my inbox, calling my name.  I told my friends this is “my dream job,” even though I knew the chances of me actually snagging the position were to slim to none.  Still, this organization called me in for an interview (to my surprise) and they seemed impressed at my credentials and skills.  Since the position was in Washington DC, I knew the likelihood of me being selected as a candidate from halfway across the country was extremely unlikely, but I still had hope. read more

Being Half Asian in China and Japan

Being Half Asian in China and Japan

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Most people are stunned to find out that I’m half Asian half white.  They’re even more stunned to find out I’m not half Japanese or even Chinese:  I’m half Vietnamese (I know, I don’t look Vietnamese at all).

And I’m not only white–my father is 100% Irish.  So I’m a complete 50/50 split of two very different cultures.

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Being a Halfie in the USA

In my hometown (a very small town in Utah) my mom was the only Asian person in town, making my brother and I the only Asians in the school.  Despite how un-Asian I look, I was constantly teased for being a “gook” or a “chink” and never a moment went by where I wasn’t racially profiled.  Me liking Japan didn’t really help improve the situation,  so memories of people yelling “hey ching chong wong” and other such uncultured insults are still a very fresh memory today. read more

Dating a Chinese Man (and the unwanted presents that come with it)

Dating a Chinese Man (and the unwanted presents that come with it)

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“How are things with you and your Shanghai man?” I ask J on the phone as I slurp some coffee and munch on toast.”I hear you have dinner with his family every weekend?  Seems like things are getting serious.”

“Mary, I’m going to have a breakdown,” J sighs heavily on the phone. “His mom did something that REALLY bothered me these last few weekends.”

“Oh no,” I set my coffee on the table and leaned in, almost as if J were really sitting across from me.  “Did she say something about you being a foreigner?  Or maybe about your family?” 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

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

Helping Those in Need: China Version

Helping Those in Need: China Version

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Reading this article (in Chinese) brought me back to one of my Chinese lessons at Tsinghua University back in 2010.

What Would You Do?

“Let’s say you’re walking down the street,” my Chinese teacher begins. “You see a child playing in the street, running around, and he suddenly falls down and hurts himself.  You see the child crying and there’s even some blood on the pavement.  What do you do?”

My Cambodian/American classmate, without hesitation, responds: “Go over there and see if the kid is ok, of course!” read more