Excuse me, do you work here?

Never mind that neither of us really liked (or “got”) modern art, but Asian as we are, it was our cultural obligation not to waste the coupons we had. T was scrunching her eyebrows at almost every piece, muttering in Japanese how none of it made sense. I, on the other hand, entertained myself by […]

My first year abroad

I’ve been living in Zurich for a little over a year now. Since I’m a big fan of reflection upon one’s own life, given this momentous occasion, I thought I’d share some of my favourite memories and experiences in my first year abroad. On my first night in Zurich, I remember getting into bed, turning […]

Synthesizing “happiness”

Do you ever wonder why you’re here? What the purpose and meaning of life is? Whoa! Too deep, I haven’t even had my morning coffee yet! Alright, so I don’t even drink coffee, but I do ponder these philosophical questions every once in a while. The same internal answer always seems to appear: “Well, I […]

I’m not meditating. I’m sitting.

One of my goals this year is to learn how to meditate. Particularly, for the reason that I think I’ll really suck at it (and for all the physical and cognitive benefits, of course). Exhibition no. 1: I came home today after a full day out and tried to mediate. I set my alarm clock […]

Ich lerne Deutsch!

I’ve been living in Zurich for 6 months now. I have to say that I am constantly impressed and awed by the average number of languages people can speak here, in this small (but quadrilingual) country in the centre of Europe. Coming from bilingual Canada, I am embarrassed to say that the few years of […]

Shenanigans in China

Whenever I visit China, I develop multiple personality disorder. I metamorphose from a respectfully polite Canadian to, well, quite frankly, a bit of an ass. Things I would never consider saying or doing (for sake of basic decency and inhibitions), seem to come more than naturally (and obnoxiously) when I’m in China. Yet, my dual […]

Wanderlust

There are moments in one’s life when one has to stop and ask – “what the heck am I doing here??”. These moments are especially poignant when you find yourself 4800 miles away from the familiar comforts of home, family, friends and your significant other. Inevitably, as the rules of culture shock dictate, the novelty effects […]

Why there are too few women leaders

In 2010, Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, did a TED talk on why there are so few women in C-level positions (e.g. CEO, CFO, etc). She begins with the statement that “women are not making it to the top of any profession, anywhere in the world.” Studies show that out of 190 heads of state, only […]

The dangers of Switzerland

On a sleepy Sunday night on August 26, 2012, I finally arrived in Switzerland – land of meticulous watchmakers, Swiss cheese, cow bells, the Alps and yodelling contests! Obviously, there must be more to this beautiful country than these stereotypical images. Jet-lagged, scared, and cautiously filled with excitement, I was about to find out what […]

Culture shock!

I’ve often wondered what life would have been like – or more accurately, what I would be like – had I grown up in China. Though I left China at quite a young age (6), I still remember several emotional moments in my short time in Beijing: In my first (and only semester) of grade […]