Shifting Lenses
Observations on culture, place, and the ways people live.
Third Culture Kids: “children who move between cultures before they have had the opportunity to fully develop their personal and cultural identity”.
Growing up between the USA, China and Singapore has made us curious about the ways people experience the same world differently. Shifting Lenses is a collection of observations about culture, identity, health, sport and everyday life from the places we’ve lived and traveled.
Category: People & Place
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New Orleans has one of the most unique cultures in the United States. While cities like Miami and San Antonio clearly show Cuban or Mexican influence, the French Quarter doesn’t feel like you’re in France. The food and culture are distinctly New Orleans. The city’s culture is homegrown, from the iconic music to the spicy…
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New York is a true melting pot, which makes it unique among my favorite cultural cities. While many other cities with a great cultural vibe have a dominant culture that makes you feel like you’re in a different country, New York’s cultural scene is defined by its incredible diversity. New York’s skyscrapers don’t necessarily scream…
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I have a soft spot for Miami. The white sand beaches with their colorful lifeguard stands are iconic, and the wide sidewalk that runs alongside the beach is perfect for biking, skating, or just walking and taking in the view. The city’s Art Deco architecture, especially in South Beach, is unique and distinctly Miami. It…
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*Warning* This is a very biased post. I move a lot, but San Antonio is my home city. My summers and holidays are spent here and I know this city perhaps better than any place on earth. As a young kid, it was a dream. Theme parks, water parks, museums, the zoo, caverns, the best…
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When I was a young kid, a trip to Bali was my family’s go-to holiday, but this summer, I had the chance to visit Komodo National Park and the surrounding area. It was an incredible trip. We saw the legendary Komodo dragons, the largest lizards in the world. They were magnificent and huge, and I…
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When I was a young kid growing up in Beijing, we went to Bali like my American peers went to Florida. It was the perfect escape from Beijing’s cold and pollution: excellent weather, great food, and relatively inexpensive hotels. We went there often enough that I took the uniqueness of Balinese culture for granted. It…
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Sometimes “must-see” attractions can be a bit of a letdown, and initially, I would have put Brussels’ Manneken Pis in this category. Honestly, my expectations were pretty low going into it. The small statue and fountain itself met those low expectations, and the surrounding crowd exceeded my expectations. However, my appreciation for the landmark…
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Of the Disney Parks I have visited, Disneyland Paris was one of the least crowded, second only to Hong Kong. The French school year hadn’t quite ended for summer holiday, but I was still surprised by the lack of huge crowds. As usual, the rides were mostly similar to other parks, with a few notable…
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Athens is definitely one of those iconic European cities that I wish everyone would have the chance to see, even if you don’t need a whole week like you might for Paris or Rome. For many, it is a natural starting point for people kicking off their Mediterranean cruises. The Acropolis, as expected, is bustling…
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I’ve been lucky enough to visit quite a few national parks across the U.S., and every time, I have been amazed by the natural beauty of my home country. We always stop at the visitor center and it is always a welcome break from the hours of driving. Last summer, we did a big road…
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Our family trip to Greece in 2023 was unforgettable, especially the last five days we spent in Crete, near Plaka. This coastline is absolutely gorgeous, though quite developed with resorts. But what really captured my attention, just a short distance offshore, was the island of Spinalonga, with its incredibly unsettling past. For centuries, the Venetians…
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It’s interesting how little my American friends know about my current home city of Singapore. It’s true, it is very far away from the U.S. and very small—so small, in fact, that it has the nickname “the little red dot.” It’s referred to as this because on a map, the dot is often all you can…
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Living in Southeast Asia truly offers endless opportunities for unique travel experiences. In February, I went on an educational trip to Malaysian Borneo. I went into this trip looking forward to seeing the famous wildlife, and they sure did not disappoint. I saw the TikTok-famous Proboscis Monkeys with their distinctively huge noses, and several different…
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Kyoto is hands down my favorite city in Japan. There’s something about it that makes it feel much smaller than it actually is. If Tokyo is the bustling, overwhelming New York, then Kyoto is definitely the charming, more manageable Boston. Honestly, it feels even more compact than Boston. As a tourist, that smaller scale is…
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Over spring break, my family took a trip to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It’s a city that consistently ranks highly on the “most livable” lists, and having been there, I can see why. The surveys look at things like safety, education, healthcare, culture, and public transport, and I definitely experienced many of those positive aspects firsthand.…
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During the Lunar New Year holiday, my family and I visited Luang Prabang, Laos, a destination where the history and architecture immediately impressed us. Less developed than nearby countries such as Thailand or Vietnam, the town possessed an unexpectedly small and somewhat calm atmosphere. Another thing of note was that the smell of polluted air…
