Pilot

Vancouver is a city like no other. Not even New York. Not even Shanghai.

In a city like Vancouver, the population can be generally divided into two: Caucasians and Chinese. While there are all kinds of ethnicities living in Greater Vancouver, Chinese constitute the most visible group, but definitely not minority.

I moved to the world's most livable city at the age of 16. 10 years ago, my family and I hopped on a plane and left Taipei, Taiwan to start a new life in Canada. My father was a successful university professor in Taiwan, fascinated with the life in the West. In Taiwan, the crime rates were high. We frequently heard about young women getting kidnapped, raped, and murdered. The political instability troubled my father even more. The word on the street was the relationship between Taiwan and China would significantly deteriorate if the Taiwanese government declared independence. In December 1997, my father applied for immigration and was approved in January 2000. After landing in Vancouver, we hauled 8 large suitcases through the airport chechpoints and out into the cool, moist coastal air.

Within the Chinese population in Vancouver, most of them are from Hong Kong. Quite a lot of them are from China, Taiwan, and Singapore. Some are the first generation of Canadian-born-Chinese, or in other words, CBCs. There are also the "in-between-ers", my personal favourite. I have gotten involved with pretty much every one of the types, in some way or another. I am no Carrie Bradshaw, though, who claimed that out of 2 millions of men in New York, she had dated at least half of them. But then again, the statement was made when she around 36 years old. Looks like I have to live in my city for another 10 years to see if I would ever catch up on her. Till then, my blog, I guess it's just you and me now.