Escaping North Korea: Book Review of “The Girl With Seven Names” by Hyeonseo Lee

This book is a must-read! Hyeonseo Lee is a girl who escaped North Korea, crossing the border to China at age 17. She gives a very detailed insight of her upbringing and daily life in North Korea. Her story was utterly chilling. The fact that these events are currently happening right now made it all the more disturbing. I was often left in a state of shock and I couldn’t get my mind off North Korea. For many nights, especially if I was putting down this book before bed, I had nightmares about North Korea.

Our Immigrant Parents: “The Best We Could Do”, by Thi Bui

This illustrated memoir is by Thi Bui, who recounts the story of her parents when they escaped Vietnam in the 1970s during the fall of South Vietnam and migrated to the US. Thi was too young to remember her early years in Vietnam and was brought up primarily in California. In her childhood, she was fearful of her cold and stern father, and resentful of her strict mother. Naturally, as she became an adult, her relationship with her parents grew tense, yet Thi is guilt ridden in the unspoken expectation of caring for her aging parents, and haunted by the thought of disappointing them. This is a common struggle of many immigrant families – the constant feeling that our parents don’t understand us.

When Thi became a mother herself, the immense responsibility she felt for her newborn started to help her relate to how her own mother must have felt with her and her siblings, and it made her want to know her parents more deeply. In an effort to heal her relationship with her parents, she sought to know their story; their childhood in Vietnam, and the life they had before marriage and children. In the midst of their story, Thi sheds perspective on the effects of French colonialism over Vietnam, and the aftermath of WWII that gave rise to the communist North Vietnam. Since their dangerous escape as “boat people”, the life Thi’s parents gave her and her siblings was the best they could do, and understanding that side of her parents was the best she could do.

I recommend this book, a beautiful comic, to anyone raised by immigrant parents that may have suffered a distant relationship with them at one point.

We Are Not Your Model Minority

Graphic designed by Eugenia To

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a surge in hate crimes against Asians. Most recently, our elderlies have been a target for being shoved or punched on the streets in broad daylight all over America every day. In Canada, we’ve also seen an increase in crimes targeted towards the Asian community – one hitting within minutes from my house. Hatred against Asians isn’t new, it’s just been exposed and openly encouraged when the politicians normalized the use of “the Chinese virus”, or “kung flu” to describe a virus that has crippled the entire world the past year. Calling it “the China virus” isn’t just blatantly stating that the virus originated in China. We have been repeating for the past year that it is dangerous. Why is it dangerous? Because it is putting blame on Chinese people. Blame turns into anger, and anger turns into hate. Couple hate with an underlying history of racism and ignorance, and you get targeted violence.

Black History Month: The Transatlantic Slave Trade

February is Black History month, celebrated in the US, Canada, UK and Ireland. It’s a month to reflect on the hardships of millions of slaves and their descendants, and to recognize their massive contributions to Western development.

I first learned about racism in 5th grade, when we were introduced to a series of books about slavery and segregation of Blacks. The one book I still remember reading is “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry”. Since then, I’ve been vaguely aware of slaves being taken from Africa to work on plantations in America, and the heartbreaking treatment they received in the US, but it wasn’t until I read Sapiens last year that the story has come full circle in my mind. I’m pretty embarrassed to say that I never sought out the full history, and only took in pieces whenever they showed up in films or documentaries. But after learning about the Transatlantic Slave Trade, even if at a high level, the dots were connected.

Chinese Zodiac – The Story of the Great Race

It’s already Chinese New Year again! Happy year of the Ox! The ox is associated with traits like strength, endurance, patience and stubbornness. There are 12 zodiac animals in total, and the ox is the 2nd animal. In fact, there’s a specific sequence to the 12 animals, and it goes like this: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.

There is a legendary story that explains how these animals ended up in that order. It’s called The Great Race. There’s many slightly different versions of the story, but it’s really just a fun and great story to tell! I learned this story in Chinese school a long time ago but I haven’t really thought about it since. Time for a refresher!

Top 3 Books I Read in 2020

I was never a reader growing up and getting into the habit of reading over the years has been a slow process. I’ve been averaging maybe 2 to 3 books a year. So in 2020, I challenged myself to read 1 book a month, and due to the pandemic lockdown with plenty of time at home, I met my goal! It was also the first time that I read more non-fiction than I did fiction, and I learned more than I expected to. Here are the 3 books I enjoyed and got me reflecting the most. I recommend these if you’re looking for some deep reads.

How Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine Works

On 18 November 2020, Pfizer announced the results of the Phase 3 clinical study of their COVID-19 vaccine, based on mRNA technology, claiming more than 95% efficacy. Shortly after, on 02 December 2020, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the UK authorized the vaccine for Emergency Use. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the US, and European Medicines Agency (EMA) of the EU are expected to complete their review of Pfizer’s Emergency Use Authorization application in December. Pfizer’s vaccine is not only the first vaccine approved for COVID-19 by a recognized regulatory body, it is also the very first mRNA-based vaccine to be approved, ever. Many people are skeptical and concerned about the safety of the vaccine, and the extremely condensed timeframe it took to produce it from bench to market (under 1 year vs. 10-15 years). What is mRNA, and how does it work in a vaccine?

Speaking Out Against Systemic Racism

Since the uprising of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement worldwide following the murder of George Floyd, I really felt compelled to somehow join the conversation and the fight against racism. But I didn’t know how or where to start. In fact, I didn’t understand the topic enough to know how to challenge it. I was only recently exposed to the word “systemic racism”.

What is “systemic racism” and “white supremacy”? How does it appear in day-to-day life in ways that you and I don’t necessarily pick up on? How does systemic racism in our society uphold White privilege, and why is it a threat to all Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC)? Am I unknowingly supporting White privilege, while also being harmed by it because I am a person of colour?

STORY TIME: What Happened to the Baby Birds in the Nest

On July 19, I found a bird’s nest on the small tree in my front yard and noticed two newborn robins inside. 10 days later, they were force-fledged from the nest. What does “force-fledged” mean, you ask? Sit back and allow me to recount exactly what happened to them. Story time!

Day 1

Day 3

After discovering the bird-lings, I checked on them every day, several times a day to document their growth. I watched them from being bare skinned, to their features opening up, and it was the most fascinating thing. At the beginning, their eyes were mostly shut and when I approached, they would mistaken me for their mom and open their mouths, thinking it was time to feed.

How Viruses Work

We’re all in the middle of a world-wide quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic and living through a very tough moment. Many people are asking questions and seeking information about viruses. I realize this is a very relevant time to give a very simple explanation of how viruses work.

What is a virus? Viruses are tiny, tiny particles made up of organic matter and have always been around. Their only purpose, like most living things, is to self-replicate and make more identical copies of themselves. However, they are very primitive and cannot replicate on their own  – they need to infect a host. All viruses have a “natural host”, including plants, animals, humans, and even bacteria. Because of their inability to function outside a host, they are largely considered non-living, although some scientists debate this.