Back to the Motherland: Goodbye Saigon, Hello Taiwan!
September 29, 2020
What a wild year 2020 has been! I rang in the new year in Taichung, Taiwan, helping my parents settle back into our home after 20 years of living in the United States as immigrants. The homecoming was bittersweet for them, and I was grateful to be there as emotional support. At the time, I had no idea that I…
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Saigon City Break: Cat Tien National Park, Nha Trang, Ho Tram, and More
September 25, 2020
In the 15 months that I’ve lived in Saigon, I’ve only managed a handful of weekend trips outside of the city. Mostly because during the first six months, we were still recovering from our year-long around-the-world travel and wanted to stay put. Saigon is chaotic and full of energy. A periodic trip away is helpful to decompress and reset. Here…
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The Practical Guide to Saigon Living
September 7, 2020
It’s taken me over a year of living in Saigon to finally feel like I have a decent grasp of life in this chaotic city. Even still, I’m learning about new spots that make life just a tad easier every week. I am paying it forward here with a list of things I wish I had known during week 1…
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$1000 In A Day: Learning to Trade and Travel with Teri Ijeoma
August 27, 2020
2020 has been a wild ride, but August, in particular, has been mind-blowing for me, in a positive way. I oscillated between wanting to share this journey and yell it from the rooftop, and feeling unsure because it all feels too-good-to-be-true. Alas, wealth should be shared, and I wish there was a testimonial like this when I was deciding on…
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Things to Do in Paris for the Non-First Timer
July 24, 2020
One of the perks of having a French partner is the privilege to visit Paris on the regular. The luxury of being in a city not for the first time is the zero pressure to check out top sites. I’m free to roam the streets and do as I please. In my late teens/the early twenties, the movie Before Sunset was one…
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Things to Do in London for the Non-First Timer
July 16, 2020
London holds a special place in my heart. It’s the city that really kicked off my desire to live a global life. I’ve lived in the city three different times, totally nearly two years. The first time, on a semester abroad program, living in a dingy basement flat near Earl’s Court. The second time, I returned the following summer to…
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Life Lessons from One Year of Saigon Living
July 8, 2020
In college, a four-month study abroad trip was life-changing. In my 30s, living in a new country for a year is a mere warm-up. Celebrating one year of living in Saigon has felt somewhat anticlimactic. In so many ways, I feel we’ve only just arrived in Vietnam. We seem to be barely dipping our toes into life in this chaotic…
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Engage in Sustainable Tourism from Your Couch
June 25, 2020
I’ve always loved traveling to learn about a culture and gain perspective on different ways of life. Typically, I dislike tours and prefer to be away from tourist traps. Somehow, I never connected the dots between my two passions: community development and travel. That is, until I met Ameer Virani, who works in sustainable tourism. He showed me that, in…
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US Midwestern Charm: Rediscover St. Louis, Missouri
June 18, 2020
After spending six of my formative years in St. Charles, a St. Louis suburb, I moved into the city. For four years, I discovered the city as an undergraduate at Saint Louis University. The idea of a college town didn’t appeal to me. I wanted to go to school in an urban setting, and enjoy non-campus-based student life. While I…
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US Midwestern Charm: Rediscover St. Charles, Missouri
June 7, 2020
In 1998, I landed from Taichung, Taiwan, to St. Charles, Missouri, as a 12-year-old awkward girl who didn’t speak much English. I was confused at the people-less streets. I hated the need to drive everywhere that took away my freedom to walk and bike places. A city girl somehow found herself in a small suburban town. In the six years…
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