My twin sister, Lu, and I were thirteen years old when we left behind everybody we loved and everything we owned in Beijing, China. At 4 AM one cold November morning, we were awakened by my father, my mother, and the Mother Superior from the French School, “Sacre Coeur,” which we attended. We were each handed a small suitcase with some clothing, but no money or any identity documents. When the small plane took us away, I could see my parents and Mother Superior standing on the ground, waving goodbye to us. I can see that image just as clearly today as I did then.

We were sent to Nanking and then on to southern Taiwan to live with my sister Amy. The next three years were so traumatic and so sad, that I cannot remember the place we lived in, the bed I slept on, or what I ate. I do remember that we were given private lessons in English, French and Chinese. It was tough and we missed our friends from the French School. Our parents had gone into hiding and none of us knew where they were.

When I was sixteen, I read in the daily paper that the French Embassy was looking for a French speaking social secretary. It was on a Thursday that I rode the train from Kaoshiung to Taipei. I took a pedicab and went to the Embassy. The Ambassador hired me and told me I would be picked up by a chauffeur on Monday to start work. He would be paying me in U.S dollars. It was so much money that I was totally speechless. I was going to be FILTHY RICH! After I left the Embassy, I realized that I had no place to live and almost no money. Once again I bought a newspaper and saw an advertisement that read, “Mrs. Wong, wife of a member of the Legislative Yuan, is looking for an English teacher for six hours a week and will provide room and board.” I took a pedicab to her house to see if I could land that job too. She hired me and I moved in that night. How lucky I was! My life has been a series of fortunate occurrences that always seemed to pop up when I needed them most.

Read More

After we were happily settled in Tucson, I read in the paper that there would be a “Menudo” contest for the Hispanic community in a popular outdoor area on the south side of Tucson. There would be Mariachi music, and chefs from the most popular Mexican restaurants would judge the entries and pick the winners. The two types of menudo are red and white.

Menudo is a very popular dish that consists of tripe and hominy. It is customary to serve it on weekends after a night of heavy drinking. It is suppose to settle the stomach and help the drinker get over his hangover.

I wanted to join in because I love mariachi music and it would give me a chance to make some new friends and to chat with them in Spanish.

Each contestant was supposed to prepare either a white or a red menudo and bring it to the contest site in a crock pot so it could be kept hot for the judges and the public to taste. Small samples were taken to the judges in unmarked containers. They would then decide the best red and the best white menudo and award the prizes.

Of course as everybody knows, there is no such thing as “Chinese Menudo,” so I thought I would invent one. The two required ingredients of menudo are tripe and hominy. I really wanted to go to the party, because Latinos always have fun. We could enjoy the music, eat lots of good food and maybe even a little dancing.

Read More

Here is a new video that was prepared and edited by Bob Rogers (www.NewBohemians.net) for my book, Farewell, My Beijing.  This was our third attempt, but I think we got it right this time and I really like it. I hope you will enjoy it. Please comment and let me know what you think.

Read More