My devout love for all things food has been a part of me for as long as I can remember, quite literally.

Before I was able to form my first memories, my parents titled me 无底洞 (wú dǐ dòng), or ‘bottomless hole’ in mandarin. Their paradigm example of this hole is infant Vivian in a high chair, throwing back pieces of crab meat faster than two pairs of adult hands could supply, one parent posted on each side of baby me, cracking through exoskeleton as fast as they could.

As a child, a daily mung bean popsicle in a Chinese city or a heaped gelato cone in an Italian village got me through many a summer afternoon of exhausting tourism.

I was born in the United States. My parents immigrated from China several decades ago. I am as Han Chinese and as American as it gets.

International travel first presented itself two decades ago with trips to China to visit my grandparents.

My solo travels began in East Africa when I was 19. I volunteered with an orphanage and a HIV-clinic in a Kenya’s zone of highest malaria prevalence before summiting Africa’s peak in Tanzania.

Today I am 26 years old.

On February 7th, 2018, I strapped on my 36-liter Osprey pack and took off. In those first months I completed my Bachelor of Science in human nutrition and as per usual, didn’t show up to graduation. Doing so enabled me to catch the end of the hiking season in Patagonia.

That same journey has recently completed four laps around the sun. My interests have taken a sharp turn towards the tireless pursuit of endemic dishes and creating with local ingredients.

The shift in blog content is further explained on my About page.

My travels are fully funded by my savings from multiple university scholarships that I received at the age of 18 for my academic merit. Few things in life are more expensive than an American university degree. Few lifestyles are cheaper than passing a pandemic in Indian villages, eating rice and lentils while washing every article of clothing and bedding with two hands and a bucket.

Travel has opened my heart and force-fed my fears down my throat until I somehow digested them.

 

Time, our most precious possession, has allowed me to recognize and heal.

 

As time spent out of the bounds of ordinary society continues to reveal what truly matters, I increasingly feel that we are all here to help each other.

 

One day this trip may feel done. Whenever that might be, I would be honored to attend medical school and work as a physician for Doctors Without Borders.

Until then, I will be chasing calories and writing on real food.

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Around the World in 2,190 Days

Retired About Vivian Alive page.

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Featured Food

Chasing Calories destination guides on what to eat and how.

Monthly Mood updates in a newsletter style.

Hitchhiking, normal hiking, volunteering, confessions.