| Fifteen years ago, when I first moved to Seattle from Philadelphia (by way of China) I visited the Seattle Art Museum to check out a traveling exhibit of African art. Part of the show included a looping video that documented storytellers reciting West African folk tales. In one story, “pepper for the beast” is prepared and administered as a way for a wily protagonist to best a big meanie by getting them to sneeze after eating the pepper. I liked the turn of phrase; I liked the idea of smarts and creativity outwitting the bad guys; and I have always been a big fan of food that calls for a dash (or two or three) of pepper. I jotted the phrase down and knew I would use it in the future. Coming full circle to today, much of my work takes me to Africa and food writing has nudged its way forward to become a central part of my career that straddles both journalism and academia. Now it appears that PFTB well embodies many aspects of my work, from communications with a bite, gastro-ethnography writing, cross-cultural trainings, and visual leadership development.
Q: So, is PFTB what you do fulltime?
No. I have a patchwork quilt of paychecks. Happily, they all intersect well under the PFTB umbrella. Along with my freelance writing and cross-cultural trainings, I have a clinical faculty appointment at the University of Washington Department of Global Health and I direct communication efforts for two privately funded leadership and health initiatives at the University of Washington called the Population Leadership Program and the Global Health Leadership Program. In this capacity I work as part of a team that delivers leadership training modules in collaboration with overseas partners in Sudan, Pakistan, India, and Ethiopia. My current emphasis has been on strategic communication, storytelling as a leadership tool, and digital storytelling. I have lectured at the UW Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs on issues of cross-cultural communications and professional communication strategies for an international development setting. Starting in the fall of 2009 I will guest lecturer at the UW Masters of Communication in Digital Media program.
Q: What can PFTB do for me?
Well, that depends who you are and what you seek. If you are a fellow gastro-nomad-ethnographer, then do check out my blog Sneeze where I collect and comment on various articles and writings on the intersection of food, culture, and identity. If you are a media outlet in search of a creative food writer who knows a good story when she sees one, meets her deadlines, and lights up a page, let’s talk. If you represent an agency, organization, or school that wants a knock-your-socks off cross-cultural training, digital storytelling demo session, or presentation on any strand of my research, look no further. Finally, I excel at taking tired prose and spicing it up with a dash of pepper—from personal ads to annual reports.
Q: What is your favorite species of pepper?
Sichuan Pepper, or huājiāo (花椒). For all the dishes that these tingling peppercorns have made sing in my mouth. |
