I was born and raised in Chengdu, China, where pandas thrive and hibiscuses bloom. When I was little, my country was also quite a child herself, having opened up to the world just over a decade ago. As people's curiosity and hunger for unfamiliar cultures grew, learning English became a national pursuit. I started learning English when I was only six years old, unswayed by either good cartoons or a bad flu. And since then, I've never stopped. English has indeed taken me places: Phoenix as a student delegate of cultural exchange, Singapore as a Model UN'er, and Prague as a government-sponsored exchange student. I harvested from these experiences a childlike fascination with the world, a stubborn faith in humanity, and a painful understanding of still existing injustices. After I earned my B.A. in English (translation and interpretation), I came to the United States for graduate school and received my Master's degree in Ethics, Peace, and Global Affairs from American University. Equipped with years of experience in Chinese-English translation and a solid knowledge of international affairs, I want to advance the missions of human rights, civil society, and Internet freedom advocates through the art, craft, and science of words. I take the greatest joy and satisfaction in helping my clients communicate more effectively with Chinese or English-speaking communities. I now live in the Washington, D.C. metro area with my husband Richard. In my spare time, I am an avid reader of non-fiction and a voracious consumer of hot sauce. I enjoy making home-cooked meals and peanut butter chip cookies. I love all sorts of word games, and my proudest achievement was beating my husband in Scrabble one month after he introduced me to the game.