March 16, 2025 – Remembering My Mom in Different Ways
Last week I visited my mom’s resting place in the Lower Mainland. I’m not even sure if that’s what it is called. Her ashes are in an urn, in a glass enclosed shelf, in a building at the cemetery last week. I had visited Vancouver a few times over the last few months, but mostly those visits were related to work and I did not have the opportunity to go visit her. Last week was a weekend trip FOR ME and my brother had borrowed my dad’s car and we went out there to go visit her. I like to keep her updated on what’s happening and to say hello. It’s strange to go visit her. The photo of her that’s by her urn was taken before I was born. It’s not how I remember her as a child, but it’s a photo that she chose that she thought that best represented her. I remember when my mom was alive when she first invested in this resting place for her and my dad. She got name plates and everything. She wanted to take each of her children out to this site complemented with a lunch out at the golf course. By the time it got to my turn, I said… NO THIANK YOU… and that I would visit her when she was at the place, I had no desire to check out her resting place otherwise. So, there I was last week saying hello. A few thoughts shared and a few bows, all was good.
Now that I’m back home and lots of uncertainty with the economy, etc., I am very conscious about what I buy and how much I am spending. I have to pay utilities and property tax right now, and I have no idea what I have to pay for income tax, who knows what I will have to spend in the next few days, months, and years. The idea of going into a recession does not put my mind to ease by any means, but I will admit that I am more conscious about my spending habits and how much things cost as we anticipate rising costs and how much I used to spend. In the end, saving money and minimizing my spending is going to be key. I’ve cancelled a few memberships, and I wanted to cancel my cable package, but it seems like the company is no longer providing a basic cable package. I just need to find places to spend less, even though I am investing dollars in self-care. Strangely, I am just understanding it’s importance and the value in investing in those things like massages and therapy. Nonetheless, I am feeling very aware of money, with my mom whispering in my ear the importance of saving money. It was incredible how much money she was able to save. She was amazing at it. It almost reminds me of “extreme coupon,” the TV reality show.
As a kid, I remembered when we went shopping that my mom would by X-bread. This bread was found in a basket at the supermarket and it had a black X written on top of the price tag. Now as an adult, I know that the X-bread was day-old bread. Stale bread. And this bread was on sale for 50% off. I could never understand why she chose this bread. It almost seemed like she was insistent in buying this bread and I really did not like it. My dad would wake up every morning to have this bread. He would toast it, add peanut butter and honey to them, and he would eat it with a cup of Red Rose tea with milk and sugar. That was his morning ritual. I clearly remember him doing that and sipping from his tea cup. Til this day, I’m not a break-fan. It’s not my favourite even though I find myself toasting it as well, but to have an open-faced egg salad sandwich (of which was not my mom’s favourite). She was saving money. I know that now. So, when I bought this loaf of bread from the Superstore a couple of days ago, I thought of my mom. It was almost a compromise. I’m thinking about how much things cost and it was a fresh loaf of bread, but it cost $1.25. It this economy, it’s a steal. This loaf of bread will last us a long time. On the counter for a few days while it’s fresh, then it goes back into the fridge to have toast like my dad did.
Bread is still not my favourite, but I respect my mom who did what it took to make things happen. I have a huge regard for her and I realize now that I may not have acknowledged a lot that she has done. Admittedly, I never noticed until she had passed away 7-years ago. All of what she used to do for me, my siblings, and my dad are astounding. I had no idea. It’s moment like these when I am reminded that I want to write about my mom… maybe as an autoethnography or biography… not sure. As each day passes and I am “doing the work,” I am building up the courage to bring pen to paper. I will wait for this term to end and make a plan soon after. I had no idea how much of an impact my mom has made on me. I guess you don’t know until you know.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, March 16th, 2025 | No Comments »
March 2, 2025 – What does it take to do a self-study
I have written to date 9 journal reflections for a self-study with two more on the horizon to “feel like” I am caught up. I might tackle them after this blog post but each journal reflection takes about 2-hours each to complete. Oof. It’s a bit much. I’m not sure why it takes that long, but it does. Although I thought I would talk more about the subject matter, I am finding that I am more focused on social dynamics, agency, and leadership. Maybe that’s what my learning is, but I did not realize that until I worked my way through these reflections. Moreover, I had to figure out “my flow” with the suggested template. I tried several times, but felt restricted or guided in my thinking. As a result, I had procrastinated or avoided doing these journal reflections.
Now that I have found my flow with the template, I did not anticipate how much time it would take to complete. I have invested about 16-hours so far and underestimated the task. I thought I could finished my journal reflections on Friday, they flowed into Saturday and now Sunday. I’m not sure if I can do it, but I would like to take a moment to reflect on the remaining journal reflections to feel “caught up.” I will have to continue contributing to these journal reflections as part of this self-study but I have not idea if I’m contributing what I need to. Each journal reflection is about 3-4 pages single spaced. Not a small feat, but in the next few weeks, I need to catch up on these journal reflections and other work to catch up on. This is the time!!!
It’s practicum, so I am not teaching a couple of classes on Monday. As a result, I have a workload pause so that I can catch up on these journal reflections and other work. So, I’m glad I took a moment to contribute to my blog post to see that light, rather than my aching forearms due to typing on my laptop. Life is good and really… I’m grateful to do the work that I do… and it’s ok to rest on the weekends too. It will be a short blog post for this week, but I am happy that I’ve landed in a place of gratitude.
PS. I love my cat too.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, March 02nd, 2025 | Comments Off on Reflecting Like a Pro
Here is a photo of a food pic that I have not yet posted onto social media. This blog post seems like a good place to share this image. I went out for dinner this weekend on “be a person day” and we went to a restaurant that serves green curry. Now that my gall bladder is out, I can return to this kind of food without fear of having a gall bladder attack. Damn. This dish was delicious and comforting. It was not too spicy, but rather tangy with bits of mango in random bites. I approached this beautiful meal by mixing it all up so that every grain of rice was covered in green curry. I ate the whole bowl and ended the meal with a dessert. Best of all, this place had diet coke. It was a meal that I really enjoyed and really wanted. Yes, the meal brought me lots of JOY. I LOVE eating a great meal. I was HAPPY to know that I can get a meal like this, but also pad Thai, if I was in the mood, in Prince George. I loved a place in Vancouver where their chicken green curry dish had eggplant in it. Green curry just hit the spot.
When i was in Vancouver, I went out to dinner with family. We went to a place that I wanted to go to. It’s family-style eating where you order a bunch of dishes to share. It was not a Chinese food place, but rather western, and I love the vibe and food of this place. To make a long story short, one person did not want me take pictures of the food. I normally do, but this person was trying to convince me, or shame me, into not taking food pics. I replied by saying I did not care about what other people in the restaurant thought of me. In the end, this person did not want me to take pictures. I complied and did not make a big deal out of this situation but what disappointed me was the fact that the person could not tell me that me taking photos embarrassed them. Nonetheless, the meal was good and I ended up paying for the meal. I enjoyed the experience and I wanted to express my gratitude for the evening. Anyway, what the evening taught me is, I like taking food pics because food is part of my identity.
I took a bunch of food pics of the congee, turnip cake, and tea from The Boss when I went to Burnaby/Metrotown and of the Chinese food I brought home from Vancouver to Prince George. I took pictures of the soup dumpling lunch and hot pot dinner with the teacher candidates in Burnaby (before and after the WestCAST conference) and I generally like taking pictures of food. You never know when you are going to use these images, just like the one above, but also I love sharing pictures of food I love and food that reminds me of my mom (which I also love). I was teased by my siblings by going to the same places when I come to Vancouver. Of course I do… I love going to the ocean and I love going to Chinese restaurants… and Thai too. Anyway, the food reminds me of my mom, but also I can’t get this food in Prince George (nor am I close to the ocean in Prince George). The food connects me to my ethnic identity, just as being by the ocean. Last year, I was focused on doing things that make me happy… but now, I will do things that LOVE. Food pics is one of those things. It’s who I am. 🙂
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, February 24th, 2025 | Comments Off on Food Pics Represents Identity
February 16, 2025 – A Photo from the CHY’s archives
I just finished writing my Professional Activity Report (PAR) for 2024 on Friday. It was due that day. Valentine’s Day. I am more convinced that maybe my One Word for 2025 is LOVE. Oy. Let’s not talk about that again. But, on the day of LOVE, I spent about 11 hours working on and finalizing my PAR. I did spend some time collecting information and updating my CV, but I definitely underestimated the time it would take to compose my PAR and send it to the Chair. Thank goodness, from what I noticed, that there was not a time that it needed to be submitted. I could be wrong, but at least I got it in on the day it was due and found it to be a fruitful exercise.
Despite the time it took to summarize what I have accomplished in 2024 in my work, I found it to be an awesome way to look back at my work in a critical and appreciative way. I did not realize how many professional development or professional learning activities I engaged in, which included beading for 4-months at the art gallery. I also did not realize how many conferences I attended and presentations I gave. I was somewhat astounded. I also joined another research group and I am leading another. I am grateful to my peers for collaborating with me on a chapter I led and co-wrote with another research team. I assisted another team with writing an NSERC grant and a participated in course evaluations. It’s been about 8-years since I embarked on that practice wholeheartedly. It’s not easy, and I have been un- and re-learning life again.
Why this photo from 2009 is so important to me is to recognize and understand that my practice has not changed over the last 30-years. Can you believe that? 30-years. I graduated from UBC with my teacher education in 1994. I look back at old photos and I am reminded that I love collaborative work, I love creating community in my classrooms that were centred around formative assessment, and I loved to try new ways to teach was new to me, non-traditional, or student-centred (i.e., the student does most of the work). I was a favourite teacher to some, and not so liked by others. Overall, I loved what I did and took photos of students then too… in class, during grad, or during prom. I had a connection with students and I enjoyed teaching.
Were there ups and downs in my K-12 job teaching secondary mathematics? Absolutely. Are there ups and downs with my current position? Absolutely. What I don’t want to lose is my love for LEARNING, building community, and having a connection. I may not be “the best” teacher where I am winning awards or ranking 5 out of 5 on course evaluations. I love to learn and part of that in my teaching practice is, I sometimes delve into crappy moments where I’m not great, not certain, or not on top of what I am doing. And, guess what? That’s ok. I left teaching for about 8-years to work on my dissertation and during that time I was an elected official, not teaching. Guess what? It was not where my heart is. I love to teach. I love to learn. And I hope, I can and am leading with that LOVE. Here are are again… LOVE. Surprise!! LOL.
My biggest fear is, I’m not perfect. I feared being “wrong.” Guess what? It’s all good.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, February 16th, 2025 | Comments Off on Overcoming My Biggest Fear
I know it is February 9th and it’s well past the new year of January 1st and Lunar New Year of January 29th. It’s not to say that being HAPPY and experiencing LOVE are not good things… they are!! I thought about AWESOME a few days ago, but really, I’m coming to terms with the word CLOSURE. I think that’s what I need. That #OneWord just popped into my mind before approaching my computer. I need closure. I have a pile of things to do and all partially done. That is the work context, but I can also apply that word for the personal. What I have learned in the past few years is, there is no separation between work and personal because it’s just me. That’s it. It’s all ME. So, it’s not for me to separate the two parts of my life or compartmentalize them from each other, but it’s only to provide some context to what I am referring to.
There was a time when “getting started” was a huge barrier for me… and another time when “knowing my potential” was another. Over the last year, it was to understand “my value,” which was derived from my #OneWord2024 of HAPPY. I was able to identify what made me happy, what things are important to me, and what my boundaries are. I learned a lot from last year, so I’m putting a lot of unnecessary pressure on me to find the next best word. As I look around, I think that the word CLOSURE makes a lot of sense to me. It has nothing to do with LOVE or HAPPY, but it has everything to do with LOVE and HAPPY. I have started many projects that need some closure, I have a lot of intentions that need some closure, and there are some crappy things that needs some closure too. Achieving closure equates to “letting go” of some things, “making space” for other things, thus self-love and happiness.
Let’s get things done!!
Even sitting here and writing this blog post, my mind wants to wander and do something else. I am being very intentional with writing this blog post and “getting it done.” I feel that when you get something start, GET IT DONE!! This idea of closure is resonating with me. It’s like that big homework assignment that needs to get done… I procrastinate (or put it in the “to do” pile)… and then something else is added to the pile. It becomes a burden. It feels like extra weight that needs to unloaded. I need my FREEDOM and have the FLEXIBILITY to do what I want. I have got the “get started” idea going… I have got the “your ideas are worth it” going… and I have many, many things on the go that need to get done!! And, there is no good or bad… just things that need CLOSURE. This feels great!! And, I feel that this alignment will help me in 2025. Look at that… I’m at the end of my blog post. Tah dah!! It’s done!! Brilliant. Closure.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, February 09th, 2025 | Comments Off on Still Pondering
Here I sit in my bedroom/office facing my laptop and desktop screens while my “new” cat, Simon, lies quietly on my bed while I work. This is not a easy transition “back to work.” I have throughly enjoyed my winter break and appreciate all that 2024 had to offer. Admittedly, the year started with me almost burning out in January. What a strange time to burnout, but there were due dates that had to be met and I was not fully sure if I was living the life the way I wanted to live it. It got to the point where 2024 started with struggle, stress, and survival. This way of life was not sustainable, but it was one that I had lived with for most of my life. For 2024, it had to be different.
The focus for 2024 was HAPPY, my one-word. To achieve that, I had to focus on what made me happy. Did I feel happy? Are the people I’m spending my time with make me happy? Was the work that I was achieving making me happy? Was how I living making me happy? My one-word 2024 was the first time I was focused on me and my wellness. I did not realize that at first. I knew that this word was different than the ones I’ve chosen in the past and it’s intentionality. Other words from previous years were more focused on ways to remedy deficiencies or something that would move my career forward, but it was never for me. Happy seemed self-indulgent.
Honestly, no regrets. I was focussed on “being slow” with my work, being accepting of my need to do (and complete) one thing at a time, and prioritizing sleep was not a bad thing. Some things I could not get to and other things I go to do, I never thought I could or would do. This year, I supported a few teacher candidates with their inquiry, conference presentation, and soon to be academic writing. That is super exciting to me. In the summer, I went to Montreal and splurged a bit with the hotel, visiting friends and family, and collaborating/presenting with colleagues. In the fall/winter, I purchased a new home for me (and the kid) and adopted Simon the super cute cat.
I am loving my new home and never thought I could do this for myself… and I have. I’ve joined a few research groups and I am learning lots. Most of all, I focused on my health, meaning, I asked questions, made appointments, and yes, got my gallbladder removed in December. It was a long (and painful) journey to get to that point and the rest of December was spent moving, recovering, and ending the term. I cannot even believe that so much was accomplished in such a short time. I love working in my new office/bedroom and I love that Simon naps behind me on my bed and keeps me company while I type on my computer. I could not be happier. 2024 ended STRONG.
I’ve been contemplating my #OneWord2025 as I have been attempting to get back to my routines (with no excuses) and enjoying and appreciating my new space and company. In my other WordPress blog site, I wrote that my one-word for 2025 would be JOY. I am so obsessed by how much I loved my one-word of HAPPY. So much had manifested from it. Many things I did not anticipate, but I am Happy with how the year ended. I did not want it to stop. But, whit I am realizing is, my #OneWord2025 should be something that scares me a little, and maybe a bit back on the self-indulgent vibe again. I think I am going to stick with my original one-word for 2025 which is LOVE. In many ways, I think JOY is a given if I’m doing what I love. Right?
So there you go… I have landed on my one-word for 2025 and I will be modifying my other blog post to reflect the same word. I am super excited about 2025. I have learned so much from 2024 and I will continue with that learning. Gosh… there is nothing I love more than listening to the silence, looking out the window and watching the snow fall and ice skaters in the distance, and returning back to my blog(s) and work to being the new year. I really enjoy teaching in terms of all the things I get to learn, the creativity involved in designing learning experiences, and the people I get to work with while teaching and learning. This profession in teaching has brought me to many places… and the work that I do (and LOVE). I am grateful.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, January 05th, 2025 | Comments Off on A New Way of Being
I have to admit, Friday, November 15th, the day of the full moon, a billon things were happening and of course, I was unable to be in two or three places at time. I had to make choices. First, I had a manuscript review to submit. I worked on it during the week but could not quite get to the report until the day. I needed the time to think about it to synthesize my thoughts. Second, the CATE chapter was due. We received copy edits almost a month ago and I took the time to go through the edits and got some help from a colleague to get to the FINAL DRAFT. I was so grateful to the copyeditor, my colleague, and the freedom to get that chapter done and submitted for publication. The CATE book should be published by the end of this year.
Writing that chapter with my colleagues for CATE was an awesome learning experience for me. That is one of the things I am learning, to understand higher education, you just have to jump in and do it. Experiential learning is at the heart of being an academic. You don’t know until you know. I am thankful for the mentorship and support CATE and my colleagues offered me. I learned a lot. Third, I had three meetings on Friday: BCTEN Fall Convening, Educational Robots university team regroup, and CETE workshop development. I am involved in each of these groups in different capacities and all of these meetings involve research. It’s great to be a part of different learning communities as we move forward together in each respective group to contribute to and enhance BC education. And, my writing counts too.
Unfortunately, with all of these meetings, I missed a couple of good presentations I would have liked to have attended offered at the university relating to Indigenization and race-relations in higher education. These topics are important to me, but I feel that it’s a good problem to have the challenge of deciding what to do with my time. I hope that these two presentations were recorded. I can only hope. Finally, My day concluded with going out with my friend and attending the first Indigenous Fashion Show. The event involved two elementary schools and local Indigenous artists. I loved the feelings of community and belonging. My friend knew a lot of people. I was getting a bit overwhelmed, but the event was OUTSTANDING. There were students, community members, school district folks, and many vendors. I was a door prize winner!! My friend and I had a tonne of fun!! What a wonderful way to end the day!!
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, November 17th, 2024 | Comments Off on The Full Moon
Oh boy… I do really try to contribute to my blog (on both WordPress sites) on a weekly basis. There are only a few times where I have not been able to in the last few months, but there are just some times when I am just not able to. I started this blog post last week and I was unable to get to it (amongst many other “things to do”) over the last week. And here we are again at the end of another weekend. I could have compelled myself to write two blog posts to make up the one I just missed, but I’m not going to. I’m just going to let it go and move forward. Last week, I could not make up the time and catch up… and that’s ok. I can only do what I can do… and that’s it.
Although this blog post might be extraordinarily short, I am grateful to take a moment to return to my reflections and the idea of the “imperfect leader.” My EDUC 606 class is reading Andy Hargreaves “Leading from the Middle” and in Chapter 2, he describes the IMPERFECT LEADER. Lots of what he had written resonates with me and knowing that aiming for perfection is unreasonable and unrealistic. Imperfect leaders learn from their mistakes and rely on community to lead (or co-lead). Moreover, to be an imperfect leader, you have be know thy self. Self-knowledge resonates with me deeply, in particular with Parker Palmer’s work in “The Courage to Teach.”
Teachers are leaders. Self-acceptance and knowing your strengths and stretches are key attributes to leadership. I can see how this could test one’s sense of self-efficacy and self-confidence to lead, but humility and vulnerability are also key attributes as well. LEARNING is central to “good” leadership. Learning is not perfect. In fact, learning happens when it’s messy, confusing, and mistake-oriented. You just have be be willing to make those mistakes and learn from them. That’s what matters, but also appreciating the mistake. What a gift!! Admittedly, I may not have thought that way in past, but as I am learning and understanding myself makes me a “good” leader.
Take a look at this image. What a beautiful metaphor. You have a vision. You execute. You do you best, but… it’s not perfect. I love sunny-side up eggs and buttered toast. As you may notice, when transferring the eggs from the pan to plate, it resulted in one of the eggs to flip upside down. Broken. I took a few attempts trying to flip it back up, but opted to just leave it alone. It’s fine the way it is. The breakfast was still delicious. Not perfect, but really, it was perfect. I have been vibing on this breakfast for the last week or two. It tasted just as I had hoped and nothing beat dipping the sour dough toast into the egg yolk. If anything, no added stress and pure satisfaction.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, October 27th, 2024 | Comments Off on Imperfect is PERFECT
What a wonderful day. It was a very hectic week. As much as I love having my weekends, the natural consequence is having a very fulsome work week. The week started with attempting to complete three conference proposals to Congress 2025. Initially, I had no intention of going to Congress next year mainly because I am trying to catch up on my expenditures of travel for work. A long story short, I chose to go to conferences to present my work when the travel costs exceed my annual allotment of professional development funds. This pro-d behaviour is not new. I went to a lot professional development events when I used to teach in K-12 schools. What I have learned in the last year or two is, I love going to conferences. I love connecting and re-connecting with people, I love learning new ideas, and I love to present and travel.
If anything, I underestimated the time it would take to complete these proposals. In all three proposals, I took the lead in writing them. I guess that could be my first problem. The first proposal I completed was with and for a TRIAD of teacher candidates who have been engaged in a program-long inquiry about land-based pedagogies and student wellness. We are presenting in Kelowna in a couple of weeks and we have presented in Calgary and Prince George. They have been honing their presentation and now I have joined the team. We are planning to write about their LESSON STUDY with hopes of publishing it. The second conference proposal was with my colleague and friend about un-colonizing assessment. We’ve been presenting about it a several times as teacher professional development. We are planning to implement some of our ideas during my assessment course next term. It will be PROGRAM EVALUATION. Finally, the third conference proposal was about my work with IN-SITU learning and my assessment course. This paper is single authored.
The due date for these proposals was October 9, 2024. I finished all three proposals by October 8, 2024 and submitted them in on October 9, 2024. Yay. That took many long days to get those proposals completed and folks had to engage in its completion as well. I was so happy to get them done and submitted, and I’m grateful that I was able to meet the goal of getting all three complete and submitted. Each paper went to different associations (i.e., CASIE, CAARE, and CATE). I hope it goes well, but only time will tell. They are now under peer-review. That evening, on October 9, 2024, I had my night class online with graduate students then curriculum class with teacher candidates the next morning. Switching gears from writing and research to teaching (and vice versa) can be tricky and time consuming. I am so grateful for my night class and the work we are accomplishing. We just finished reading and discussing about PEDAGOGY OF THE OPPRESSED. That is eye-opening and powerful work written by Paulo Freire. Then, after being on line for 3-hours, I had to prep for my Thursday morning class. I had to update my syllabus and make copies the next morning.
In the end, the hard work is rewarded with learning outside. We went to Cottonwood Island Park. The fall weather as cool and sunny. We spent the morning lesson planning and learning how to navigate BC’s Curriculum. Although it may have been a bit cold, there is something to be said about learning on the land. Unfortunately, I did remove one more outdoor learning experience from the course syllabus as well as a final assignment (that was adapted into something else). The more I am learning about this group and what I want to achieve, sometimes it’s ok to say goodbye to a couple of things so that we can slow down and appreciate what we are learning about. There is so much to learn in teacher education and my one course is only one of many they take during their 16-months within the program. It’s ok to let go and take the learning in stride. There is no question that I was very grateful to head into a long weekend. Although I missed the northern lights on Thursday night due to cloudy weather, I had a fruitful Friday with several online meetings and then LOTS OF SLEEP.
If anything, I am very grateful for the work I get to do. I love the learning and the students. I could not ask for more from this job. I look forward to what’s next.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, October 13th, 2024 | Comments Off on Being My Authentic Self
I started this blog post a couple of weeks ago and abandoned the post because I started to overthink and pre-judge what was worthwhile to write and post about. I am still wrestling with the topic believing that I should be posting something else or something of interest. Well, I’m back. It’s mid-week, thus indicating I missed my self-imposed deadline of blogging on the weekend, and following through on this blog post. There is something about “being in the right mood” or frame of mind before I can move forward. This delay might look like procrastination, resistance, or defiance. I could force myself to blog (or anything else), but the authenticity would not be there.
Now, I’m in the state of flow. The last two days were 12+ hour days filled with some incredible meetings with folks I am connecting and collaborating with, and being productive. What I am learning is, how to be independent, how to think for myself (without the approval of others), and how to feel ok with what is. That’s it. As simple and obvious as that sounds, I was stuck and behaving in the opposite way. I was dependent, worrisome, and doubtful. I was and have shifted. All I want to be is in the flow. So here I am, and it feels great. Thus, I have returned to my food pic post.
The first pic at the top of the blog post is a big breakfast out. Ideally, I’d love to have this big meal at a hotel restaurant, but this image was taken at White Spot in Prince George. I love thinking about the different permutations this meal could be. It could have pancakes, toast, sausage, ham, or shredded hashbrowns. I am consistent with the eggs being sunny side up and I will never choose ham as an option. Every other item is based on how I feel that morning. This time it was waffles, bacon, and smashed potatoes. If I unpack why I love this meal so much, it was probably something that I was not allowed to have as a kid. I had always perceived it as fancy.
Below is a sample set of some food pics of food I enjoy. I have captioned underneath each image what it is and why I like it so much. I am confident there are many other foods like “lo bak go” from a previous post that love so much as well. I think for me, food is not only enjoyable and tastes good, but I love the experience and the memories they bring back to me. Understanding my love for food also unpacks some self-knowledge that I took for granted and never examined. It’s something to consider when I look in to doing an autoethnography and understanding my ethnic identity.
Raw oysters from Earl’s in Prince George. It reminds me of the oysters my kid and I had in Mexico in December 2023. It’s good memories, but its nice to know I can get this seafood in Prince George.  In Prince George, it’s not that easy to find Chinese or Asian food that resemble the food in Vancouver. These soup dumplings from Costco are awesome with a scoop of chilli oil. 3 minutes in the microwave.In the hunt for Chinese food in Prince George, I found frozen BBQ buns at the Superstore and a variety of frozen dumplings at a local store downtown called the Marquee. I’m pretty happy with both items.Oh my… I love the WEDGE salad from the Keg and the Brown Sugar Shaken Oat Espresso from Starbucks. This meal was a winning combination and I believe I was watching the Olympics 2024.The best deal in town… RAMEN at Sendo… a local restaurant in Prince George. The combination includes a bowl of ramen and 4 dumplings. i add a diet coke to the meal. The total before tip is $15.   My last Prince George contribution is a combo plate from Famous Wok at the Pine Centre Mall. The taste, the noodles, and the price (LOL) resemble what I know and love about Canadian Chinese food.
Written by Christine Ho Younghusband, August 21st, 2024 | Comments Off on My Love for Food
October 13, 2024 – Do what you love
