Remembering the fall of Saigon 35 years later

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Saigon, April 30, 1975

Cultural faux pas

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Chinese postage

When I traveled to China in my teens and twenties, I inevitably committed cultural faux pas.

For instance, when I spent the summer of 1995 in China, I kept in touch with friends and family by writing letters. I had been using e-mail in Hong Kong for about a year at [...]

Shatin Floating Restaurant

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Shatin Floating Restaurant, circa 1964

Star Floating Restaurant, built 1986

Even though I lived in Hong Kong for five years, I never went to a true floating restaurant.

In the early 1960s, my mom ate at Tai Pak Restaurant in Hong Kong’s Aberdeen district, where diners first boarded little sampans and were rowed [...]

Learn Chinese with Mandy and Pandy

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Author Chris Lin with Tracey and Eli

I love book signings. So when my friend Tracey told me about a book signing last Sunday with author Chris Lin, who writes bilingual Chinese-English children’s books, I was game.

The Mandy and Pandy board book series is colorful, educational, and fun. And each book includes a [...]

Book of the week–When a Crocodile Eats the Sun

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When a Crocodile Eats the Sun

I switched continents last week when I read When a Crocodile Eats the Sun (Little, Brown and Company, 2006) by Peter Godwin.

Last year I did a memoir writing independent study with author Paula Bernstein. Some of the best advice she gave (and she gave me quite a [...]