A puppet shop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
My Journey to the East: In Search of Hermann Hesse, W. Somerset Maugham & The Singapore Sling
Jeff Vonder Schmidt
17 August 2016
I do not bring back from a journey quite the same self that I took. W. Somerset Maugham The Gentleman in the Parlour
I can now easily locate my fascination with Asia when I remember certain events and people of my childhood. I’ve already written about Harry Woo of Hong Kong, who worked for my parents, reading to me in Chinese while pointing to his calligraphy. My first memory of a world outside of my family is of being taken to Chinatown for dinner in Los Angeles. I doubt I’ve ever forgotten the blue silk dress and lavish blue mascara of the server. And my pediatrician’s nurse was Japanese and the kindest soul on earth to me whenever I was a sick child.