Many of us were raised to believe that success in our careers is the most important thing we can strive for in our lives, so we chug along climbing that corporate ladder without a second thought. Then suddenly for many of us, we hit a quarter life crisis and we're struck with the thought, "Wait, am I really happy right now? Is this what I want to be doing with my life?"

Our guest this time is Tong, one of Angela's former coworkers from her time working in tech. We talk about Tong's decision to take a two year sabbatical and immerse herself in nature, hiking and backpacking throughout Tibet, Yunnan, and Patagonia. By taking a complete break from the goal-seeking mindset she was raised on, Tong finally had the chance to slow down and think through what really matters to her and what direction she wants to take her life moving forward.

In this episode, you'll learn vocab like 走出職場 / 走出职场 / zǒu chū zhí chǎng ("to leave the workplace/to exit corporate life"), 空窗期 / 空窗期 / kōng chuāng qī ("gap year/period" / "sabbatical"), 人生課題 / 人生课题 / rén shēng kè tí ("personal challenges / life lessons (i.e., in self-growth)"), and more.

Tong is still setting up her Substack, but if interested you can connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tongzhang1/

The final module of our Real You Mandarin: Self-Expression course is dedicated to the topic of Self-Growth. If you're interested in equipping yourself with the tools to talk about this topic with your loved ones in Mandarin, check out the topics covered and consider joining the course. And if you haven't already, try a free lesson now at ⁠https://www.realyoumandarin.com!

P.S. If you want to go deeper with your Mandarin learning, you can unlock full episode transcripts with Traditional Chinese / Simplified Chinese / Pinyin / English, with vocab highlighted, by joining our Podcast Transcript Membership. To download the full first episode's transcript for free, head over to: https://transcripts.realyoumandarin.com/free-lesson-emails

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We received such positive feedback and immense interest from all of you when we had Zhifei on recently for an episode discussing psychedelics, that we decided it was important to have a follow-up episode on the topic!

This time we've invited Mei Yuan, a first-generation Chinese-American who grew up in China and moved to the States for graduate school, who now works as a therapist and has experienced the life-changing benefits of psychedelic therapy just like Angela.

We learn more about how guided psychedelic therapy differs from taking these medicines for recreational use, the cultural challenges Mei had to deal with to face her own past traumas and challenges, and why attitudes even amongst older first-generation immigrants are changing to be more accepting of psychedelic therapy as a powerful way to face tough life challenges head-on.

In this episode, you'll learn new vocab like: 心理健康 / xīn lǐ jiàn kāng ("mental health"), 抵觸 / 抵触 / dǐ chù ("resistance / conflict / contradict"), 靈修之旅 / 灵修之旅/ líng xiū zhī lǚ ("spiritual journey"), and more!

You can learn more about Mei and connect with her at her website https://journeystowholeness.com

While we don't talk about psychedelics specifically in Real You Mandarin: Self-Expression, the final module is about Self-Growth. That, coupled with the previous modules on Expressing Your Feelings and Interpersonal Relationships would equip you with a powerful toolbox of Mandarin vocabulary to share your own experiences and personal insights with those you love.

If you haven't already, try a free lesson now at ⁠https://www.realyoumandarin.com!

P.S. If you enjoyed the Chinese CC on this episode and want to go deeper with your Mandarin learning, you can unlock full transcripts with Traditional Chinese / Simplified Chinese / Pinyin / English, with vocab highlighted, by joining our Podcast Transcript Membership.

To download the full first episode's transcript for free, head over to: https://transcripts.realyoumandarin.com/free-lesson-emails

Follow us on Instagram at @realyoumandarin and on TikTok at @realyoumandarin

We're so incredibly proud to announce the release of our final course module "Self-Growth Journey" from our course Real You Mandarin: Self-Expression!

We reflect on our own personal experiences with these topics, from Angela's second-generation experience of trying to process her triggers and traumas with her immigrant parents, to Crystal's personal interest in manifestation and positive affirmations, despite it being counter the norm with her Taiwanese friends back home.

So many of us have been on a path of self-discovery learning more about ourselves, including what's shaped our pasts and how that's affected how we carry ourselves today. Isn't it time we empower ourselves with the words to express what we've discovered about ourselves with our family and friends in their heart language?

In this episode, you'll learn new vocab like: 自我成長的旅程 / 自我成长的旅程 / zì wǒ chéng zhǎng de lǚ chéng ("self-growth journey"), 顯化練習 / 显化练习 / xiǎn huà liàn xí ("manifestation practice/exercises"), 翻舊帳 / 翻旧账 / fān jiù zhàng ("dredging up the past"), and more!

What a journey it's been creating this incredibly meaningful and meaty course to help guide us through some of life's most challenging life stages -- from emotions, interpersonal relationships, fertility & parenting, caring for aging parents, to your self-growth journey -- won't you join us in unlocking the real you by joining the Real You Mandarin: Self-Expression course?

Learn more about all this course has to offer and try a free lesson now at https://www.realyoumandarin.com!

If you want to deepen your learning through this episode, consider joining our Podcast Transcript Membership to unlock full transcripts in Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Pinyin, and English with vocabulary highlighted. Download the free full transcript of episode 1 before you join. Learn more at https://www.realyoumandarin.com!

Follow us on Instagram at @realyoumandarin and on TikTok at @realyoumandarin