At the end of March, I traveled to Beijing to appear on a panel with Ember Swift and Edna Zhou as part of a book launch of How Does One Dress to Buy Dragonfruit for the Beijing Bookworm Literary Festival.
This was my first-ever appearance in a literary festival. (Hello, nerves!) But I decided, what better way to prep myself (and relax a little) than to attend an event in the festival? I caught the Writing China Through History event with three very fascinating authors and journalists (moderated by Ian Johnson, who wrote Wild Grass, one of my favorite books about China). All of them had terrific and often humorous stories to share.
That evening, the Beijing Bookworm looked so romantic with its lanterns all aglow. How I wish John had been there to see it! Everyone at the Bookworm was so welcoming, including Anthony Tao (who blogs at Beijing Cream).
Later that night, I saw Ember Swift playing live at the Temple Bar, where I also met two other Western women with Chinese husbands in the audience! (Sorry, no pictures of that!)
Nothing builds confidence like a great hair style — so I had my hair done Sunday morning at a hair salon in Sanlitun.
I had lunch at Element Fresh with my friend Peter, who I think of as my “brother” here in China (he and I met in 1999, when I first came to China). He promised John he would be there to attend my event (and take photos!).
Would you believe, the event actually SOLD OUT! I was stunned! I wish had taken a photo of the audience, with over 50 people in attendance!
Sometime after 2pm in the afternoon, we were on! I started off by reading my essay, followed by Edna and then Ember.
During the panel, I spoke about the pressure of being married for 10 years in China with no kids, how I’m committed to spending the rest of my life in China, and also some funny anecdotes about how my husband seemed to have set up my WeChat account to make it harder for people to find me (one of the women I met at Ember’s show said her husband did the same thing, so apparently I’m not alone!). Ember and I also swapped experiences during the panel, which turned out to be a lot of fun! And Edna shared some terrific stories about what it’s like to be a Chinese American woman living in China.
People asked questions about everything from whether it gets easier if you can communicate better with your mother-in-law (both Ember and I agreed it doesn’t get easier!) to how you can cope with repatriation and the struggle with fitting in (Ember suggested creating, I agreed and added that I had actually started up this blog in the US, when I yearned to share my experiences in China).
I met some fantastic people there, including Oda from Chinadoll:
Alejandra:
As well as Yang, and Jack. (Sorry, no pics, guys!)
Someone came up to me after the event and said it was one of the best events they had attended during the literary festival. Wow!
Afterwards, I had a lovely dinner with Rosalie of Rosie in Beijing, along with one of her friends and Alejandra at a delicious Middle Eastern Restaurant called Rumi. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of that (I was seriously running on pure adrenaline by that time because I hadn’t gotten much sleep during the weekend and when I’m like that, I’m super-forgetful.) But here’s what Rumi looks like from their website:

The following day, I met Charlotte of Chinese Potpourri in the Beijing South Railway Station just before my train took off for Hangzhou. We had Starbucks (which I haven’t drank in a LONG time…boy, was that green tea latte with soy amazing!).
Unfortunately, when you pack in so much into one weekend with so little sleep and travel, it is bound to catch up with you. I caught the flu on Thursday (ugh) and am recovering as a write this. Still, I wouldn’t have changed a single thing — going to Beijing to appear in this literary festival was such an honor, and incredibly life changing.
Can’t wait until I have the chance to do another literary festival in the future!
Thanks for sharing! I love the pictures and the “behind the scenes” info. That is very cool, Jocelyn!
But wait a minute. You say getting along with a Chinese mother-in-law NEVER gets easier?! Not cool, Jocelyn. Not cool.
Please lie about this topic next time.
Thanks Autumn, glad you enjoyed it! (Apart from that question…sorry about that. I’m a really terrible liar I guess.)
Congratulations on a sold-out event. It sounds like the festival was an excellent experience. You hair looks gorgeous–all shiny and wavy. So sorry you ended up with the flu.
Aw, thanks Nicki! It was a great experience!
Yeah, the flu is kind of a bummer…and now I’ve lost my voice too. Not fun! :-/
Good job Jocelyn! I really hope one day I will have a chance to meet you in real life too. Any literary festival in Taiwan anytime soon?
Thanks marghini! Gosh, I’m sure there are literary festivals in Taiwan, I just haven’t heard about them myself. Of course, Taiwan has one of the best bookstores ever (Eslite!).
Congrats, Jocelyn! And here’s to many more.
Thanks Tracy!
How do you do that on Wechat?!
Congratulations on appearing at the event, very cool.
I have no idea, Ray! But apparently, my husband seems to know. 😉
I am so happy to hear that all went well and the event was sold out! It must have been very nice to speak about a topic that you feel so passionate about. Plus, you got to meet so many great people!! I am so glad you enjoyed yourself.
Feel better soon!
Thanks Constance! It was a wonderful event!
You look fab! Your hair is beautiful!!
I was actually in Beijing that same weekend, I told Oda on instagram, but I went for my friend’s “birthday weekend” so I didn’t have a chance to meet you guys. Next time! 🙂
PS. Do you think Beijing’s horrible weather had something to do with you catching the flu? There was a sandstorm that Saturday and I was sneezing all the time, blerg.
Wow, that’s cool you were in Beijing too at the same time, what are the odds of that? I’ll bet you have so many wonderful friends up there from your time studying in the capital — and it’s totally understandable you couldn’t make it. I’m sure this won’t be the last time I’m in a lit fest.
I don’t know if it was the weather or not. Personally, I think it probably was a combination of me being exhausted (whenever I’m really fatigued, I tend to get sick) and also some bad exposure to secondhand smoke (Ember’s gig was in this horribly smoky bar!). Though I’m sure the weather didn’t help!
I’m glad you ladies had lots of fun. It’s pretty nice going to this kind of event. Keep up the good work. I support you ladies!!
Thanks Bruce!
Jocelyn sure looks fantastic.
I miss seeing women with those trendy outfit. They sure look good on you.
Here, you’re seeing tons of tons of women with leggings, sometimes you even see the butt crack. I’m speechless.
Thanks Rdm!
Looks like a fun event! and you looked fabulous! I am curious who made up the audience, mostly foreigners or locals?
Thanks Leslie! The audience was mostly foreigners but there were some locals in attendance as well.
WOW! I wish I could have gone to see you speak!! Your hair looks amazing and wow, it does sound like a whirlwind of a weekend. Do you think this will be an annual thing? Maybe one day I can time it right and stop by 😉
Thank you Jocelyn for “featuring my name ” =)
You had an amazing speech for sure!
Best Regards!
I’m not a bookworm but I’m glad you guys love this event. Life should be fun and full of happiness . I love to go to events.