Stephanie Tsai Karlik
Writer. Storyteller. Warrior. Wolf. 老師。
About
My name is Stephanie Tsai Karlik. I am an earthling with mostly Chinese, Iberian, and Irish roots. I am also a writer, teacher, and mentor.
Having lived in vastly diverse locations (Nebraska, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, Madrid, Taipei, Seoul, Tokyo, Bali, Shanghai, Las Vegas, Long Beach, Tainan), I enjoy exploring and examining all kinds of absurd global cultural collisions.
I’m particularly interested in themes related to geopolitics, colonialism, war, Taiwan, Taiwanese folk belief and customs, nostalgia, America, East Asia, cultural cosmopolitanism, diaspora, womanism, pan-Asianism, and ancestral healing.
Shanghai Seduction, my first novel, is a colorful and realistic portrait of Shanghai's French Concession foreigners' scene in a time of great growth, wealth, and expansion for China's sexiest cosmopolis. The book was ranked #7 on Amazon’s top 10 bestselling Shanghai travel books and was known for being an addictive read.
My next book is a book of Taiwanese folk, aboriginal, and Taiwanese-American tales and spells. I am passionate about sharing the healing wisdom of my Taiwanese ancestors that helped me overcome severe illness, taking me from being bedridden for years to a place of empowered and embodied living with community.
Stay tuned for that.
I also do some writing at my Buy Me a Coffee site. Please feel free to follow me there and of course, if you’d like, to buy me a coffee.
Nowadays, you’ll mostly catch me in the south of Taiwan writing, reading, and working with young adults to cultivate their voices, personal and linguistic expression, emotional wellness, global awareness, and liberation journeys as my students teach me about this human life in return.
I also globally mentor those who are wanting to heal wounds and transmute pain into beauty and liberation, particularly from a perspective of ancestral healing and family lineage pattern breaking. My research and personal experience has made me specially adept at working with those in the Taiwanese and Chinese diaspora.
Recently, I have begun hosting visitors and retreats in Taiwan for those interested in exploring decolonial spiritual work and healing in a place of respectful and reciprocal relationship with the land and its people. I believe Taiwan is uniquely positioned to teach us all some of the most important lessons of our time regarding colonization, community care, individual and community trauma healing, ancient Chinese medicine, Japanese thought, and Austronesian indigenous wisdom.
Thank you for your interest and support. May all beings be happy, healthy, and whole.
Languages Spoken:
English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Korean
Education & Certifications:
2024; National Cheng-Kung University Chinese Language Center Scholarship; Tainan, Taiwan.
2023-2024; Advanced Chinese Language Certification; Taiwanese Language Coursework; Classical Chinese Coursework; National Cheng-Kung University; Tainan, Taiwan.
2021-2024; Advanced Japanese Language Coursework; University of Hawaii at Manoa; Honolulu, Hawaii.
2018; Art & Design Coursework & Training; Otis College of Art and Design; Los Angeles, CA.
2015; Hado Instructor (Love, Gratitude, and Mindfulness) Certification; Hado Institute; Tokyo, Japan.
2014; Advanced Feng Shui Certification; American Feng Shui Institute; Los Angeles, CA.
2012; M.A. in International Relations; Cultural Anthropology Focus; Dean’s List; Waseda University; Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies; Tokyo, Japan.
2010; Japanese Ministry of Education (MEXT) Monbukagakusho Scholarship; Tokyo, Japan.
2010; Japanese Language Program Completion; The Naganuma School; Tokyo, Japan.
2009; Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK); Level 8 (highest score) Mandarin Chinese Language Certification; Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China.
2007; Korean Language Program Completion; Korean Language Institute; Yonsei University; Seoul, Korea.
2005; Advanced Chinese Language Certification; National Taiwan University; International Chinese Language Program; Taipei, Taiwan.
2005; Taiwan Ministry of Education (MOE) Taiwan Studies Scholarship; Taipei, Taiwan.
2004; B.A. in International Studies, B.A. in Spanish; Valedictorian; Pepperdine University; Malibu, CA.
2003; Spanish Language Certification; Universidad Nebrija; Madrid, Spain.
Select Professional Work:
Assistant Director, Travel and Communications; Dunhuang Foundation; Global; Jan 2020 - June 2020.
Created websites, plans, and original ideas for donor tours to Dunhuang, China, located in the Taklamakan Desert, for the purposes of preservation of this ancient center for Buddhist worship and learning. Also created educational tours of other sites along the Silk Road (Japan, Taiwan, Korea, et al.) to put Dunhuang’s unique history as a 2000-year-old Silk Road outpost in context.
Travel Show Host & Writer; American Express; Taiwan; Oct 2012 - Nov 2012.
Wrote and presented an island-wide multi-city travel show in Taiwan for the clients of American Express and the Taiwan Tourism Bureau. Wrote and presented an island-wide multi-city travel show in Taiwan for the clients of American Express and the Taiwan Tourism Bureau.
Ethnographer & Cultural Anthropologist; Waseda University Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies; Tokyo, Japan; Dec 2010 - Sep 2012.
Performed ethnography & social scientific research in Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Bahasa Indonesia, and English in and outside of Japan. Research projects include: ethnography of Latin residents of Tokyo for Japan's national immigration policy development; ethnography of Latin dancers in Tokyo's underground salsa scene; ethnography of Hindu plays and Balinese dancers in Bali, Indonesia; ethnography of "new gold rush" Chinese-American professional migrants to Shanghai, China.
Government Affairs Liaison & Speechwriter; Taipei Economic and Cultural Office; Los Angeles, California; Aug 2008 - Sep 2009.
Composed speeches for the President of Taiwan to deliver in the United States. Drafted and pursued political projects for Taiwan in the U.S. (UN membership, Taiwan Relations Act, sister city relations). Received various Taiwanese delegations, functioning as Chinese/ Spanish/ English interpreter and liaison.
External Affairs Officer; Pacific Council on International Policy; Los Angeles, California; Sep 2004 - Aug 2005.
Collaborated with External Affairs team on communications planning and strategy. Co-planned and executed the organization's 10th Anniversary Gala, PCIP's biggest fundraising event.
