Whole in All Direction | Part 1: Between Bangkok and Alberta
When Mimi tells her story, it’s not a straight line. It’s a weaving together of cultures, sacrifices, and moments of reinvention. Her life has been shaped by the movement of generations – from her great-grandparents who left southern China for Thailand, to her own move as a 12-year-old from bustling Bangkok to a tiny Canadian prairie town. It’s a story of cultural layering, of learning how to belong when nothing feels familiar, and of discovering resilience when life throws its harshest challenges.
Roots in Motion
Both sides of Mimi’s family trace back to China, with her grandparents born in Thailand as second-generation immigrants. “My great-grandparents didn’t even speak Thai,” she recalls. The family left China for the promise of land, opportunity, and better living conditions – similar to why many left for North America in the more recent era.
There’s one unknown thread in Mimi’s lineage: her paternal grandmother was half Chinese, half Southeast Asian of uncertain origin. “We’re not sure what exactly,” Mimi says. “One day I want to do ancestry testing.” The mystery is a reminder of how migration often carries unanswered questions.
Bangkok Childhood
Mimi was born and raised in Bangkok. She attended a Catholic school that also taught Buddhist values and moral education. “They taught us about both,” she said. “We had a class on morals and ethics – values like honesty, compassion for kids – so those were instilled from a young age.”
Buddhist holidays, temple visits, and lessons about creating good karma were part of her early environment, even though her family wasn’t deeply religious. Her grandmother, however, regularly gave alms to monks each morning. Mimi often joined her. “I’d follow her to the market, and now that she’s older, I do it myself,” she said.
Moving to Canada
At twelve, Mimi’s parents decided to send her abroad. “I was hanging out with bad friends, so they shipped me to Rimbey to live with my grandma. Just like the Fresh Prince of Bel Air but prairie.”
Her grandmother had remarried to a Thai man who was a teacher in Canada. They met while he was on vacation in Thailand, both widowed in their 50s. “She took a leap of faith.”
Arriving in Rimbey, Alberta – population about 2,000 – was a complete culture shock. “No theater, no McDonald’s, all white people.” But the quiet turned out to be stabilizing. “Because it was boring, I had nothing else to do but study and play with friends. It was the right thing for me.”
Even so, she stood out. “People didn’t know much about Thailand back then,” she said. “Some thought it was a third-world country. But I had lots of friends who helped me adapt and they enjoyed home cooked Thai food.”
