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This episode begins with a mega sale of appliances at a factory in Hong Kong where Teresa found herself communing with fellow bargain hunters who were waiting in a VERY long line... about 30 years ago.

What unfolds is a conversation with her guest, Belina Raffy, about a time when smart phones didn't distract strangers from making conversation, how living abroad encourages adaptability in connecting with people from different backgrounds, and the scary situation Teresa found herself in as a result of NOT talking to a stranger in a New York subway.

Belina, who is a comedy teacher, international conference speaker, complexity coach, CEO and janitor, focuses her energy on making the world a better place in which to collaborate with delight, to navigate complexity in order to discover exciting possibilities, and to communicate difficult issues with more humanity, love, and laughter.

She shares about upcoming workshops she's running that blend comedy, complexity coaching, and compassion practices and you can learn more about them here: https://www.gigglingwithearth.com

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This episode kicks off with a newspaper column, written in December of 1994, that had Teresa Norton facing the realities of making a new home far from family and friends.

There's the fascination and fun of immersing oneself in a completely different culture and the feeling of helplessness when something scary happens to someone you love on the other side of the planet in what used to be your hometown.

What follows is a heartfelt conversation with 2CookInn shop owner Angela Yuen, that explores their shared experiences of moving from Hong Kong to new environments, the challenges and joys of adapting to different cultures, the importance of friendships both old and new, and how, when it comes to new cuisine, looks can be deceiving.

Angela shares her journey of opening her kitchenware shop in Lisbon and how despite her limited Portuguese, she has uncovered the universal language of friendship.

It's a warm and generous conversation that provides a hopeful portal into the new year ahead.

Learn more about Angela and her lovely shop here: https://2cookinn.com/about/

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In this episode host Teresa Norton (a confessed Barbie fan who still has her first and only Barbie doll ) is joined by her guest Melissa Chan as they dive into a nostalgic, affectionate and critical examination of the iconic doll.

Teresa's take in her 1990's newspaper column was that Barbie wasn't built to be a role model... she was a fashion model. Designed to get in and out of fabulous outfits. The column is funny... the conversation it opens up in the podcast is more serious.

They talk about the impact of Barbie on childhood and cultural perceptions of beauty, the evolution of representation in toys and media, and the complexities of identity and the importance of diverse role models for today's children.

Melissa shares her unique experience of wanting but not owning a Barbie, and why her parents said "no" to getting her one.

Lack of representation for girls of color during her upbringing in Malaysia and Singapore, contrasts with how her daughter, now 10, is growing up in an era where representation is the norm.

Teresa and Melissa remind us that while Barbie may have shaped their childhoods in different ways, the doll opens up important conversations for parents to have their children about the importance of not letting marketing executives set beauty standards for them.

Thanks to Melissa Chan for sharing her own Barbie story and... to Barbie for continuing to be a catalyst for controversy!

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A look back at a San Francisco Bay Area junior highschool music room circa 1968 and the imposing, mind expanding presence of one Carolyn Schwartz, glee club teacher and expedition guide to the sounds of the 60's.

While Teresa was having her mind blown by the sounds of the Jefferson Airplane and Jimi Hendrix along with fellow 7th graders in Mrs. Schwartz's classroom, this episode's podcast guest Tom Donald was sleeping in a closet in the Haight Ashbury honing the bass guitar skills that would provide him with a career as a musician and record producer.

The conversation gives Teresa an opportunity to confess to having been an extreme square in her "tweens", for Tom to share about his encounter with a grammar school teacher who had a Top 40 hit song, and the song he's written in his late 70's about mortality and what we leave behind.

A trip back to the Summer of Love and an exploration of how we can contribute to our own wellbeing and happiness of those around us as a living legacy, in this episode of The View From A Broad.

See and hear Tom's song "Never Say Die" here: https://hitrecords.co

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Separating facts from fantasy, Teresa as a young mother in the early 90's recounts having "the facts of life" talk with her young son. Film maker, broadcaster and University of Hong Kong lecturer Crystal Kwok joins in to unpack her "favorite subject" sex!

On both Cable TV and Hong Kong's RTHK radio, Crystal spoke frankly about human sexuality in a way that that shocked some and educated many.

This lighthearted chat delves into some deep topics including how young people are getting their curiosity about sex addressed, the part that culture can play in how or if parents talk with their children about sex, and the impact of Westernization on sexual discourse.

During the break, Crystal shares insights from her award winning documentary, Blurring the Color Line, which unpacks the history behind her grandmother’s family, who owned a neighborhood grocery store in the Black community of Augusta, Georgia during the Jim Crow era. https://www.blurringthecolorline.com

In the second half stick around for some true confessions story sharing as Teresa and Crystal recall their personal experiences of teenage exploration.

This is an episode not to be missed, and who knows? It may unearth some steamy memories/hilarious heavy petting mishaps from your own past!

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Teresa talks with theater director, visual artist and Founder of Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation, Lindsey McAllister, about a column written 30 years ago when Teresa and her girlfriend were picking out the replacement wives for their husbands, not in the event they divorced their spouses, but if they widowed them.

The conversation covers a everything from euthanasia to a cocktail party dress code SNAFU, an accident during a rehearsal of "Sweeney Todd" that led to a marriage proposal, and the importance of seizing the day.

Lindsey shares her amazing journey from Scrambled Legs (a fledgling dance class she started for kids) to the building of a foundation that now offers Hong Kong youth of all cultures, backgrounds, languages and abilities an opportunity to experience and perform theater, dance and the visual arts... for free!

Today HKYAF reaches over 800,000 young people each year, making it one of the biggest youth arts events in the world.

Lindsey’s creative spirit doesn’t stop there—she writes and directs original musicals, takes work to international festivals, and runs Lindsey McAlister Productions, giving local artists the chance to shine on stage in musicals like Sweeney Todd and Blood Brothers. In 2024 at the age of 64 she went back to her roots as a fine artist & created Lindsey McAlister Fine Art, she exhibits large abstract paintings in HK & internationally.

For her commitment to community arts she was awarded an MBE in 2006 & for her contribution to British Arts Overseas, she’s been honoured with an OBE and named Justice of the Peace in HK.

To support HKYAF click here: https://www.hkyaf.com/site/supportus

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In 1999 Typhoon York tore through Hong Kong and the resulting devastation inspired Teresa's newspaper column about the force of Mother Nature and the nature of forced displacement.

The conversation with guest Victoria Wisniewski Otero, Founder and CEO of RESOLVE Foundation, takes a similar journey, opening with an imagined conversation between the birds outside Teresa's window as they relocate from a tree felled by the typhoon, to the joys of open water swimming. From challenges of managing immigration, to memories of a childhood constantly uprooted, and the extraordinary epiphany of a 16 year old that changed the direction of the rest of her life.

There is much to inspire in this episode, not the least of which is the work that RESOLVE is doing to realize Victoria's vision of Hong Kong as a place where everyone belongs and upholds inclusion.

Victoria is a proud mother to four kids under four, and despite residing in a busy place known for skyscrapers, lives in a peaceful rural village by the sea. The day before this episode was recorded, a typhoon blew the tree in front of Victoria's house down.

Learn more about RESOLVE: https://www.resolvehk.org/

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A sentimental journey for Teresa and her guest and former FM Select radio co-host, Harry Wong, as they unpack a newspaper column of her's that looks back 3 decades to a magical experience she had at a little movie theater in Hong Kong's Wanchai district.

Popular children's entertainer, magician, puppeteer and television personality, known to generations of Hong Kongers as Harry Gor-Gor (Big Brother Harry) shares a bit of cinema history, his delightful interaction with an old school coin and stamp shop owner, and the good work he and his colleagues are doing to offer special needs children a "play shop" to explore magic, music and mindfulness.

The bonus at the end of this podcast is Harry's post morning meditation insight on the ultimate answer to any question that is troubling you.

An episode you won't want to miss!

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