Nicki Chen's Blog, page 22

The Lady Washington’s Short but Eventful Life

 In August, a few days before the eclipse, two tall ships sailed into town: the Lady Washington and its companion vessel, the Hawaiian Chieftain. They tied up at a couple of docks along the Edmonds waterfront where I often take … Continue reading →

Family Visits–Eat, Talk, and Walk

  My three daughters live in places with nice weather in the spring and fall (Indiana, Maryland, and Eastern Washington). So that’s when I visit them. But nothing beats our summers here in the Pacific Northwest. This year all three … Continue reading →

My Mysterious, Miraculous Cure.

 For the past eight years I’ve had asthma, the main symptom of which was frequent coughing. Several times a day the coughing would progress to a full-blown asthma attack with thick mucus building up in my throat and lungs. My … Continue reading →

Notes on a Typhoon

Looking through some old journals, I found some jottings on a typhoon. It was October 11, 1989. Our three daughters were in college or grad school in the United States. Eugene and I were living in Manila in an apartment … Continue reading →

Remembering Typhoons in Manila and Port Vila

  Watching the coverage of the two devastating hurricanes in the US southeast the past couple of weeks made me think of some of the tropical cyclones I’ve experienced. We don’t have hurricanes in Washington State where I’d lived all … Continue reading →

A Sunday Walk along the Edmonds Waterfront

The Edmonds waterfront is a five-minute drive from my house, so I walk here often. Last Sunday I parked a little north of Anthony’s Beachfront Cafe, somewhere in the middle of the waterfront walk. Anthony’s serves seafood and surrounds itself … Continue reading →

Identity: Digging Deep & Expanding Horizons.

  Deep diving into the identity I inherited. It was a sunny afternoon. I was sitting on the grass at the University of Washington after a writing class and feeling insecure about my ability to write. What, I wondered, ever … Continue reading →

Expatriates. Why Do They Do It?

Expatriates. Why Do They Do It? Why do they leave family and friends and a country they love to live in a place that’s foreign to them? A place where they in turn will be considered foreign? The answer is … Continue reading →

Are Online Friends Really Friends?

  Most of the bloggers listed in the blogroll on your right are people I’ve never met in the flesh. We’ve never hugged or shared a cup of coffee. And yet, through our blogs, we know each other pretty well. … Continue reading →

My Husband’s Hometown Named a World Heritage Site.

  Kulangsu is known for its beaches, its mild climate, and its longstanding prohibition on the use of wheeled vehicles. They don’t allow cars or even bikes on the lanes of Kulangsu (also known as Gulangyu). But UNESCO had something …