That Time When NYT Published My Words
December 27, 2014
Earlier this year, NYT printed my words on its website. For an amateur writer like myself, this was a big deal. Sure, my journalists friends are publishing on big name publications all day long like it’s no big deal, but for me, it was rather out of the ordinary. It began during my trip to Ethiopia back in February. I…
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Christmas Gratitude
December 26, 2014
This year is the third holiday season that I’ve spent away from home, marking it the longest consecutive holidays abroad. Truth be told, I was more homesick this year than usual. There is nothing particularly special about what my family does for the holidays, but just being around them provides that air of comfort. The holidays tunes about being home for…
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The Trouble of a Busy Life
December 18, 2014
It’s 9pm, and I am writing from my office. Somehow, and I am not sure how, there are only 12 days left of 2014. After putting in a 12+ hour day at the office, I wanted to stop and reflect, and think about where time has gone. Nearly two months ago, I came across a piece titled, “The Disease of…
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Vanishing Shanghai
November 2, 2014
Shanghai has been unseasonably warm this fall. Yesterday was the first of November, yet I was still strolling around the city in a t-shirt and a scarf. Days of rain had subsided, and I went for a stroll with a friend. It was still somewhat overcast, combined with pollution made for a rather interesting mood. We walked to the Jing’an…
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Ordinary Life
October 9, 2014
It was a rather ordinary day here in Shanghai. I struggled out of bed at 6am and went to work. It was the 2nd week in a row of beautiful weather, so I took note of the clear Shanghai skyline from my 25th floor office, with floor to ceiling windows. It was an ordinary day. I did my work, but…
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Posh Corps Shanghai
October 7, 2014
Today is the last day of October break; what a whirlwind of a week it has been! I put my girls in a taxi to the airport this morning, and am now sitting at a café reflecting, and taking in this blissful week. On their last evening, we experienced a classic night of Shanghai outing, completed with bar hopping, street food,…
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28 Gratitude
September 9, 2014
It is with immense gratitude that I welcome another new year of my life. Within merely 36 hours, I traveled 8,237 miles from St. Louis to Shanghai, caught up with friends who have been in my life for over a decade, as well as celebrated this milestone with new friends whom I’ve met over these past two years. In between, flurries…
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Home Again
September 5, 2014
Amongst my travels, people seem to be the most impressed by my stint in Cameroon with the Peace Corps. People often asked, “What was it like adjusting to the culture?” Surely, something so different would have been massively difficult. Yet what most people don’t realize is that moving to a village in Cameroon where I didn’t speak the language was…
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California Surprises
August 25, 2014
Last year, during my trip to Cali, I discovered my love for mountains. I love the surprises that the mountain tops reveal after a good climb. After being trapped in the concrete jungle of Shanghai for the past few months, I was dying for a good climb. This afternoon, my sister and I got in a car and headed for…
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San Francisco Beauty
August 24, 2014
This summer, I’m back in the Bay Area again for work. Last year, I was in the area for about a month, yet didn’t spend much time in San Francisco. This year, my sister was visiting over the weekend, and I played tourist with her. San Francisco is a small and manageable city; we were able to see most things…
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