Hi. I’m Lucy, a local of Portland, Oregon. Ever since my first trip to Hong Kong with my mom as a child, I’ve been obsessed with traveling to Asia. I would yearn to visit every year. I regretted not studying abroad when I was at Cal. So in my late 20s, I decided to quit my job and move to Shanghai. I intended to only study up to a year to brush up on my Mandarin. I ended up staying for 5 years. I did teach English and it paid for my travels throughout China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and even branched out to Norway.
Although I’ve ended my freelance life by moving back to Portland, I am lucky to work for Airbnb and have managed to visit Asia every year and expand my horizons with Europe trips in-between. As my parents get older and realize they’ve spent most of their lives putting away every penny to provide for me and my sisters, I’ve tried to take them somewhere every year* (except the pandemic years). It’s not an easy task traveling with the Li seniors who prefer the run-of-the-mill tour buses and cruises so it’s still work in progress in finding the right balance without finding myself stuck at an impasse but it is important for me to share that passion with them and encourage them to step outside of their comfort zone as well.
Exploring the world is a privilege that I’m grateful for and has helped me grow and learn to become a more compassionate human. Traveling outside of your comfort zone whether it’s near or far is an important vehicle to help build that human connection and understanding. I also love connecting with people through food around the world. Anthony Bourdain and Padma Lakshmi are huge inspirations to me. I also attend yoga retreats abroad to find like-minded folks and embrace traveling solo or with fellow female travel buddies. I just went to Bhutan on my own at the end of 2019. I loved it so much that I’m already planning to return when it is safe to do so.
Travelogue 