User talk:Aji

你们好! My name is Alicia and I live in Beijing. Prior to moving here I was in NY for ~17 years. This will be my first Burn and my first KK event. I've known about Burning Man for years and even attended a couple of Burner parties in NY but had not made going to Black Rock City a priority. Last year during the Burn I was at a 10 day silent meditation retreat in South Korea and every time my mind wandered all I could think was "I should be at Burning Man right now." The focus has not faded since them. Over the years I've learned that when I have that focus on something for this long I have to make it happen. When tickets sales opened back in February I was on a bus to Hanoi, Vietnam, and my first priority on arrival was getting online to buy my ticket; second priority was finding a place to sleep that night.

I love exploring new places, thinking about new ideas, getting to know new people, trying new (vegetarian) foods, and then connecting people/ideas/food/places. This week I literally grabbed a bull by its horns - it had escaped from its paddock and there were children nearby. I grew up moving around and consider myself both globally homeless and at home anywhere in the world. I can say 'thank you' in more than ten languages, and learned how to say 'goodbye' in Uygher from a three year old with whom I played on the subway. I teach business during the day and have a number of other projects I do on the side - social innovation/entrepreneurship, organic food, food safety (it's hard to find food in China that isn't overloaded with toxic chemicals). Someone recently referred to me as a 'culinary dominatrix' - and I had to admit that the title fit. While we're in Black Rock City I'll also be helping out with the China/Taiwan region effigy, an 18' seated Buddha.

I'll be going out early to help with the build and plan to stay a couple of days later to help with breakdown before coming back to China. Looking forward to seeing old friends who are returning burners and making lots of new friends!