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Continue reading →: Should Asian American parents be teaching their kids to be more Asian?You mean they’re not? (*hit the gong*) Well, according to Vijay Pendakur’s Open Letter to Asian American parents, no, they are not. Really? First of all, I’m all for parents teaching their children to be proud of their race/ethnicity/culture/etc. Now, whether or not the child embraces their culture and parents’…
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Continue reading →: ‘Tis that depressing time of year again, the holidays.For some reason, when I write about the holidays, my posts feel fairly melancholic (surprise). So, this year I’m attempting to not be so melancholic, although, last Christmas I was – depressed (surprised?). Even though my mom was here, I felt lonely, and normally I like to be alone so…
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Continue reading →: Sweet NovemberIt’s been a great month, so far, filled with trying new restaurants, and going back to the tried and true. It’s also the month for the Yee Ping or Loy Krathong festival here in Thailand bringing Chiang Mai alive with happy colors, and even happier socializing. *Remember to click on…
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Continue reading →: My first sky lanternWatching the sky lanterns float in the daytime sky, from my apartment window, reminds me of the first time I experienced a khom loy or khom fai. In 2007, I returned to Thailand after being away for 18 years. It was a pretty big deal made even grander by the…
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Continue reading →: What’s happening to Chiang Mai? (or why CM is starting to suck)As a fresh profusion of tourists arrive to Thailand I feel both sorry and sympathetic. When travellers visited Oahu Hawaii, where I grew up, I often heard, “We thought it would be less, you know – developed.” Yeah, everyone expects more island. Here, I would imagine visitors would expect more…
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Continue reading →: Why expats (outsiders) are good for a communityGrowing up in Hawaii offered many wonderful experiences that, as a child, I wasn’t even aware of. Sure, I didn’t see snow until I left, but I lived outside, in the sunshine, the warmth, the play that many children seem to be deprived of nowadays. We didn’t know seasons, really.…
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Continue reading →: What’s that one special story?I’m participating in iversity’s The Future of Storytelling which I learned about through Aerogramme Writers’ Studio. At the end of Chapter 1 (and I’m assuming this will be the case at the end of all the chapters) we were given a creative task. Here it is: Please think about which…
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Continue reading →: Tips for enjoying Chiang Mai’s Loy Krathong FestivalMagic or mayhem depending on your cup of Thai iced tea, Chiang Mai’s Loy Krathong or Yee Ping Festival is quite possibly one of the most visually stunning events in Thailand, attracting many visitors and tourists every year.
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Continue reading →: Office work was my HalloweenWhen I lived in Chico California, back in 2007, I was working at a job that I – well – hated. I liked the people I worked with. I just felt trapped, bored, frustrated and useless. So I opened a Word doc and this is what I typed:
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Continue reading →: In search of quiet: Sangdee GalleryEnjoyed my visits there, so far…a serene artistic space. Thanks Sangdee! I will be back.
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Continue reading →: 🇹🇭 What brought you to Thailand?It’s the most common question: What brings you to Thailand? Why are you here? How long have you been here? How long do you plan on being here? What visa are you on? How did you do it?
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Continue reading →: Shifts (in perception, not flimsy nighties)While waiting for take-out, I took out my notebook and wrote SHIFTS, as in shifts in perceptions, rites of passage, ah-ha moments . Maybe it’s the anthropologist in me, but I’m interested in this dying tradition. Not because I like tradition, so much as I like the idea that we…
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Continue reading →: Why I Love ListsNot too long ago I wrote Why I Fear List Posts, and now I’m going to guitar strum a different tune, just for the sake of being difficult. Nah, actually, I’m starting a great jam session, thanks to Sandra, and Rhyan Scorpio-Rhys for his link to An Evening with Ray…
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Continue reading →: Taking the Green Bus from Chiang Mai to Chiang RaiOr back again. The practicalities from an expat who has lived in both cities.
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Continue reading →: Anania CircleI’ve been greatly inspired with not enough time to write, so I’m depressed, moody and a little resentful. Good stuff. Last weekend I sort of attended the Asia Pacific Writers conference in Bangkok. JP and I were “too poor” to attend the real event, so I made a compromise and…
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Continue reading →: Polluted Chiang Mai, worth my health?One of the reasons why I love my apartment is I have a fairly good view of Doi Suthep, the predominate mountain here in Chiang Mai. But I don’t use my view strictly for pleasure, I use it to gauge the air quality.
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Continue reading →: Life before expatI have to remind myself that I live in Thailand. I’d have to remind myself that I lived anywhere, really. I feel myself getting caught up in the daily details of life and living, and just the simple statement, “I live in Thailand” is my ejection seat button from my…
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Continue reading →: #CTC13 | “Capture the Color” 2013There’s probably some psychological reason behind the photos we choose to take. Or maybe it just has to do with personality, in which case, there’s some psychology lurking between them pixels – somewhere.
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Continue reading →: 🇹🇭 Teaching in Thailand EtiquetteNo, I’m not teaching etiquette. I don’t work at an all-girls finishing school. I’m talking about what you need to know as a foreign teacher in the Land of Smiles.
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Continue reading →: A Bug’s Life in Chiang MaiI’m celebrating 4 years of blogging about Thailand, and life overseas in general by compiling the best of the bug shots I’ve taken. Most were taken when I lived in the bamboo sticks, and I have to admit, I’m missing the cats and the craziness a little. But just a…
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Continue reading →: Weekend Getaway to PhayaoAbout a 2-1/2 hr bus ride from Chiang Mai, is the little known town of Phayao. During my 2 day stay, I saw some travelling Thais, and even fewer farangs pass through this lake side city. And it’s a shame because Phayao is quite possibly the most well-planned and happy…
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Continue reading →: The 🇹🇭 7 types of Thai masseurs you might encounter in ThailandI get a nûat Thai นวด ไทย at least once a week. It’s one of the perks of living in Chiang Mai even though the cost of living keeps rising here. BOOOOOO! A Thai massage around the moat or Old City costs 180 to 200 baht. While my friends have…
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Continue reading →: Tell-Thai Heart is moving here!Hello everybody. I have a big announcement. I’m letting go of my other blog, Tell-Thai Heart and integrating here at Life, the Universe and Lani.
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Continue reading →: Should you be a one post wonder? (niche vs lifestyle blogging)
Should you blog about one subject so your audience knows where to put you on the reader shelf? Or should you blog about your interests, however varied they might be?
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Continue reading →: 🇹🇭 7 Outdated Stereotypes about Teaching in ThailandIt’s time to debunk the top myths on what it means, and what it takes, to be an English teacher in the Land of Smiles.
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Continue reading →: Lesson Planning Advice from EFL teachers (part 2)Here are a few more lesson planning advices from EFL teachers, and a “breakdown” of lesson planning.
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Continue reading →: Why I Fear List Posts
After we watched an episode of The Twilight Zone, my friend turned to me and said, “Television used to be quite smart. What happened?”
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Continue reading →: 🇹🇭 Gin Salat (Thailand’s day of the dead)Gin Salat reminds me of Japan’s Bon Festival or Mexico’s Día de los Muertos. In Thailand, we honor the deceased by creating “salats” adorned with household goods. The idea being that whatever things the dead used while living, like toothbrushes and toothpaste, are needed again in the afterlife too.
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Continue reading →: Poetry and jazzWhen my friend Sandra offered poetry classes, I was eager to join because: a) She’s a wonderful poet, b) I’ve been enamored with poetry since high school and c) I knew it would be good for me.
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Continue reading →: Who do you write for? (an audience or you?)I recently read a post called, What Baking Taught Me about Writing and the analogy was quite sweet and satisfying until I got to the last bite: Learn to Please Your Audience. What?
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Continue reading →: When I started to read and write (part 2)
I’m thankful I grew up in a household where reading took place. My mom didn’t read bedtime stories to Larry and me though. We didn’t grow up with a house filled with children’s picture books or visit the library together or anything like that. Any picture book we acquired was…
Hello,
I’m Lani
Welcome to Life, the Universe, and Lani. I’ve been blogging about my experiences living abroad since 2009.
At this point, this site serves as an archive as I’m mostly active at No Girl is an Island 👉https://lanivcox.substack.com/ 🏝️where I have been both newslettering and continuing to craft personal essays on finding freedom in the fringes.
Thanks for stopping by, have a look around, and hope to see you over at No Girl is an Island.
Life, the Universe, and Lani 
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