7 Days in Xinjiang
7 Days in Xinjiang. 🏞🌅☪️
Note 1: This was a highly curated tour. We needed to submit our itinerary to the authorities and we could not make any spontaneous changes.
Note 2: I didn’t have any Uighur music in my collection, so the soundtrack is comprised of a mishmash of Urdu, Arabic, Turkish and... Brokeback Mountain. 🤷♂️
Note 3: There’s a little Easter Egg in the clip with the ‘no smoking’ sign. Take a close look at the smoke coming out of the cigarette...
For the Instagram version, see here.
For the Facebook version, see here.
For the YouTube version, see here.
The Gift of Boredom
For those of us not in immediate danger, the Coronavirus epidemic has given us a consolation gift. The gift of boredom.
Were it not for the weeks of self-confinement in February 2020, I would not have sat down in front of the piano for the first time in a year. We would not have had daily home-cooked meals. We would not have reorganised our closet and donated boxes of valuable items to our neighbours. And of course I wouldn’t have written this post.
This experience has taught me to accept more boredom into my life, and to allow more time for boredom in my working day. Because for me, boredom breeds creativity; creativity breeds contentment; and contentment breeds productivity.
Biscuits For Everyone!
One of these is a photo from today in Niseko. It’s my first time skiing in 4 years.
The second is a video from 4 years ago. I was waking up from heavy sedation after ACL reconstruction surgery, following a dumb accident that happened the last time I went skiing.
It’s good to be back... BISCUITS FOR EVERYONE!!!
Serious Silliness
When will they learn... NEVER give me access to a microphone at a serious business event about leadership and courage.
Many thanks to the team at the International Professional Women's Society (IPWS) for having me at their annual conference, June 2019.
Remember Me
A story about grief, remembrance, and self-delusion. Performed live at the Unravel storytelling event in Shanghai, Dec 2018.
This story didn’t quite go to plan. I didn’t get the reactions I was expecting. I underestimated the awkwardness of the subject. The self-deprecating parts elicited pity, when I had been going for laughter. My mind blanked and I fumbled in quite a few important places. There was applause in a part that I totally wasn’t expecting. I even had a heckle (which, to make matters worse, was entirely justified).
But I’m still happy that I did it. And I’m sharing it in case it’s a story someone out there needs to hear this Christmas.
Thanks go to Clara and the team at Unravel Shanghai, for the amazing community they have built around their monthly storytelling series. Thanks to Lisa, Fred, Shaun, and all the friends (and strangers) in the audience. And thanks to Denny, to Jennifer, and to my family for all their love and support.
My Left-Handed ‘Handicap’
In my first week of living in rural Japan back in 1999, I was called ‘handicapped’ for attempting to write Japanese characters with my left hand. Some 20 years on, I now find myself in Shanghai, writing up my Chinese revision notes with the same handicap.
Out of all the things that still fascinate me about living in Asia, the one thing about which I would write a thesis is the treatment of left-handedness in Japan and China.
The Letters A and U
A story about language, family and identity. Performed live at the Unravel storytelling event in Shanghai, Jun 2018.
The was easily one of the most nerve-wracking evenings of my life. But I’m glad that these stories are now preserved somewhere in the ether.
Notes and corrections:
Despite what you may think you hear, there are no rude words in this video. All the same, it’s probably not suitable for work or kids.
The first time I use the word ‘Homogeneous’, I meant to say the opposite word ‘Diverse’. Whoops.
I know, I know, Hungarians aren’t Slavs.
Kabanos is a Polish pork sausage.
#JáTaké is Czech for #MeToo.
風穴先生 (Kazaana-Sensei) actually spoke great English. I used her to represent how the students sounded.
I mistakenly inserted the caption ‘Unraveled’, but the storytelling series is actually called ‘Unravel’. See www.unravelstorytelling.com.
For the YouTube version, see here.
For the Facebook version, see here.
For the Instagram version, see here.
8 Tips for Solo Travelers
Maybe you’ve been sent away on a business trip without your family. Maybe you’ve dreamed about traveling solo but have been afraid to try it out. Having recently returned from a trip to the Persian Gulf, an area totally new to me, I honed in on 8 key tips for solo travelers. Please let me know what I’ve left out!
Tip 1. Do what you want. There are some destinations where you might feel pressured to ‘tick off’ a sight or an experience. “What, you went all the way to Paris and didn’t see the Mona Lisa?” Agree graciously and ignore.
Tip 2. Keep your opinions to yourself. Listen. Look. Absorb. Sometimes your opinion about a place only ‘settles’ many weeks after you’ve returned. So make a mental note of your first impressions, but don’t always trust your initial instincts.
Tip 3. Dip in and out of your comfort zone. If you hate haggling, still force yourself to the souq and try to get a good bargain on some dates. Then reward yourself by finding a Starbucks and buying your regular flat white. Go easy on yourself.
Tip 4. Don’t just watch the international news channels in your hotel room. Flick through some of the local channels. It might also help to remind you that your international colleagues have been speaking with you in a second language. Bask in some good old humility and confusion.
Tip 5. Wear layered, inconspicuous clothing. Change out of your business clothes and leave all your emerald tiaras in the hotel safe.
Tip 6. Eat. Everything.
Tip 7. Take to the city on foot. Walk down main streets. Sometimes walk down quieter parallel streets. Use common sense with safety. And look both ways when crossing streets, even if it’s supposed to be one-way.
Tip 8. Wear headphones when necessary. If you’re nervous in new environments, headphones create a personal barrier which can add an element of ‘unapproachability’ in confronting surroundings. But use this strategy sparingly, you don’t want to comes across as arrogant or hostile.
Abu Dhabi: See here for the YouTube version, and here for the Facebook version.
Bahrain: See here for the YouTube version, and here for the Facebook version.
Kuwait: See here for the YouTube version.
Qatar: See here for the YouTube version, and here for the Facebook version.
Oman, See here for the YouTube version, and here for the Facebook version.
