Tag: WWAM Bam

The group blog WWAM BAM recently featured a collaborative post titled Unexpected Commonalities between 6 Western Women and their Asian Husbands (inspired by an idea from Monica of Learning to Love Anywhere). In case you missed it, here’s my contribution to the piece:

On our first date, which was also my birthday, Jun gifted me with a CD from his favorite group, Yu Quan (羽泉). I had never heard of this Chinese singer-songwriter duo and wondered, would I really like them? While I always kept an open mind when it came to music, I had very particular tastes — and overproduced pop wasn’t my thing.

Still, I decided we could listen on the bus to the restaurant. At least, it would help us pass the time.

Little did I know, that CD would become the soundtrack to our burgeoning romance. One song in particular stole my heart — Rainbow (彩虹), an acoustic love ballad about the beauty of two people coming together. The song’s folk-rock sensibility reminded me of the American and European folk music I loved. It could have easily played on the folk music shows I used to hear back in Cleveland, Ohio.

So that night I came away with two loves — first Jun and then Yu Quan.

Over the years, we would come to discover many other surprising commonalities you wouldn’t necessarily expect between a guy from rural China and a girl from the Midwestern suburbs in America.

For example, my husband loves the fact that I’m a vegan; he likes to say he was raised on an “80 percent vegetarian diet” and doesn’t care for dairy products. As children, we both used to creekwalk and catch “critters” in the streams nearby our homes. We’re both awed by the vast cosmos and delight in stargazing whenever we have the chance. And when it comes to personality, we’re both idealists (according to the Kinsey Temperment Sorter).

That doesn’t mean we don’t have our differences. I have to admire my husband for being able to identify the make and model of almost every military plane we’ve ever seen fly above us, but I’ll probably never share his deep fascination. Meanwhile, most of my guilty pleasure movies — especially romantic comedies from America — are definitely not favorites with Jun, though he’s gentleman enough to give me space to watch them.

One thing hasn’t changed about us, though. We’re still huge fans of Yu Quan, and “Rainbow” will always be our song.

Like this? Head on over to WWAM BAM to read five other heartwarming stories from our contributors. And thank you for reading!

WWAM Bam has just published a group post I contributed to titled Our Top 10 Picks for an Asian James Bond. It’s a part of the blog’s Where’s Wang series that examines the portrayal of Asian men in Western media.

Here’s an excerpt from the piece:

James Bond, the British Secret Service agent with a penchant for explosive story-lines and pretty ladies has been flitting across our screens for all of 55 impressive years. In that time, he has been played by a host of different actors; or maybe not so different after all? A quick scroll through James Bond actors past and present reveals a painful truth: the height of diversity for the Bond Brand is Scottish or Irish ancestry (not that we don’t love you Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan!). However, in light of our increasingly multicultural societies and this abysmal diversity record, we here at WWAM BAM! have decided that it’s time for an Asian Bond. We voted on our Top Ten list of Asian males who could play the suave agent and bring a bit of global flair to the role; but only if they master a posh British accent of course! Who do you think should be the next Asian Double-0? Let us know below!

So who are our top 10 picks? Head on over to WWAM Bam to read the full article (while also admiring the handsome contenders… 😉 ). And if you love it, share it!

Because I’m recovering from the flu, I thought I’d remind you to read a few great group posts at the group blog WWAM Bam (Western Women & Asian Men, Breaking All Molds) that happen to include contributions from me.

For International Women’s Day: Chinese Women We Admire, you might be surprised to learn that I chose my mother-in-law:

One of the smartest women I’ve ever met pretty much never went to school, worked in a factory for years, and doesn’t shy away from even the toughest jobs around the house and the neighborhood. She can also carry enormous piles of sweet potatoes balanced off of a bamboo rod, knows where to forage for the tastiest wild ferns in the mountains, and cooks some of the most delicious food I’ve ever had in China. Meet my mother-in-law.

I never expected to forge a close relationship with a woman like her, whose life feels as distant from my own as the thousands of miles that lay between her hometown and mine back in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. Yet we’ve bonded in so many ways, especially through our mutual love of cooking great food. I also admire her indomitable spirit. She has survived many hardships in her lifetime and yet faces life with a courageous optimism. This has inspired both me and my husband during our own trials and tribulations. Mother-in-law, thank you for being there for us!

You can read the full post at WWAM Bam.

Also, in How 5 Chinese men show love to their Western women, I open up about some of the small, thoughtful things my husband does every day to show he cares:

Every morning, Jun loves to deliver me a steaming hot cup of my favorite dragonwell tea and a bowl of oatmeal. He’ll set it up right next to my bed so I can stay warm under the covers and enjoy a warm breakfast in bed.

I got a cut the other day when I was shaving my legs, and Jun insisted on putting on the bandage himself.

Sometimes, when I fall asleep before him or he wakes up early before me, he’ll tuck the covers around me tightly to make sure I stay warm and cozy.

After I shower, he’s the one who blow dries my hair, sometimes even combing it afterward. The way he looks at me when he finishes, it’s like he’s admiring his own work of art. It totally warms my heart.

Jun has taught me that love can be found in the details, in the quiet moments we share. It’s this kind of love that has kept our marriage strong for over a decade. I love you, Jun.

Again, head on over to WWAM Bam to read the full post.

I’ll be back on Thursday with a fresh post right here on the blog!

Today, the group blog WWAM Bam just ran my latest post, 4 Awkward Things I’ve Heard in China as a Married Woman With No Kids. Here’s an excerpt from the article:

In a China where “married with kids” is the unspoken rule, I’m the ultimate oddity – a longtime married woman who has no children. I love my Chinese husband, and I love living in China. But over the years, it has meant getting used to some awkward comments and questions from curious people.

Here are 4 awkward things I’ve heard in China as a married woman with no kids:

#1: “How many children do you have?”

In China, asking if you’re married and have kids is as common as the question “How are you?” in the West. A way to show people care. After all, the assumption for most people in China is, if you’re married you have kids. It’s filial to give birth to the next generation and carry on the family line.

It’s why people are stunned to discover I’m child-free.

Sometimes, people will leapfrog over the question of whether I actually have kids – thinking I’m just like the average married couple in China – to how many I have. Never thinking, of course, that I actually have no kids at all.

Oops.

There’s no avoiding awkwardness here. I invariably have to say something like, “Uh, sorry, I don’t have children.” Sometimes leading to an embarrassing pause in the conversation.

But more often than not, this is followed by another awkward question:

To experience all my awkward moments in their full glory, read the entire article at WWAM Bam. And if you love it, share it!