Shanna & Languages – Of translation, books, languages and me

May 11, 2026

Back to blogging, maybe

It’s been a while since I logged in, and sometimes I can’t help but scoff a little at how consistent I am over the years, that some things don’t change. I tend to feel an urge to blog when I have a lot on my mind, as though I feel the need to release some of that emotions / thoughts out into the world as a way to find my balance again, which is why a lot of my posts tend to sound . . . emo. 🙂

I was just looking at my drafts, and found one dated 11 December 2024, on how terrified (and excited) I was about something I was going to embark on. I had finished writing the post, but hesitated on hitting that ‘publish’ button, as if doing so would ‘jinx’ it somewhat. Well, I just published it. Belatedly.

It feels almost surreal to think that I’ve done it and come back. And to think of everything I’ve achieved, lost, and found in the year away. It was a time of stepping forward, going backwards, circling in no direction for me. There’s still a lot to unpack from that experience, some of which I’d hold so close to my heart for the rest of my life, for good or for worse, I don’t know.

For now, it seems like I might put forth a tentative foot back into the world of blogging.

December 11, 2024

I’m excited, and terrified

Honestly, I wanted to just write I’M TERRIFIED in caps, but at the thought of positive manifestation or whatever you call that, I added the bit of *excitement*. Don’t get me wrong, I am very excited, but at the same time, I’m beyond terrified.

When an idea takes root in my mind, I get obsessed over it, and this time round, I found myself acting on it. Within the span of a couple of days, I got the ball rolling – and unfortunately, things that I get obsessed over often cost a lot.

I’m going to keep talking in circles and vagueness, because this was how I was brought up. *don’t talk about things or you’ll jinx it* *talk about it after it has happened* I guess this is all part of the growing-up trauma that I’ve never got to process. So perhaps you will only see this post after . . . *waves vaguely*.

So what is making me so terrified?

I’m taking a leap of faith and will be studying Thai language for a while *again, vagueness* in Bangkok! Right now, at this undisclosed date (god, I hate myself at times), I’ve paid for my course(s), bought a one-way ticket to Thailand and I’m trying to navigate all the other 10001 admin stuff that I need to do.

How do people move overseas and make it look so … easy?! I’m doing nowhere near that and I’m freaking out. For real.

In some sense, what I’m doing now is fulfilling a longtime dream, a dream I never quite get to realise when I was younger. I so badly wanted to study Korean in Korea, but back then, it was impossible. Of course, I would never let that pull me down. I am fiercely proud that I managed to self-study Korean to the level that I am now and I’ll never let anyone make me feel I’m any lesser 🙂 I suppose I can do the same for Thai, but I really wanted the experience of studying a language in that country.

But this decision comes with a lot of trepidation. Like … I love going to Thailand as a tourist. But will I really like it when I live there? Do I like Bangkok so much because it’s so far removed from my daily life. What happens when it becomes my daily grind? I had a lot of mixed feelings when I tried, more than a decade ago, to move to Korea. It left me with so much mental scars that for a while, I struggled with my relationship with the language too.

But then again, I’ve decided to take a leap of faith, and I can only hope that things will be much better this time 🙂

I’ve got this.

June 7, 2024

意難平

凌晨一點。剛看完了一部劇，久違的感動與悲傷。在黑漆漆的房間敲打鍵盤，鼻子酸了一下，乾澀的眼睛和心中的情緒起伏一樣，似乎無法在一瞬間平息。

一開始就注定沒有結局的故事總是戳中我心房。人生的軌道本該沒有交集的人和事最終還是無法走在一起。短暫的幸福是否能支撐我們的一生，安撫即將面臨的空虛呢？也許很多人與事都沒有所謂的答案。

人鬼的愛情故事注定沒有一般定義的圓滿結局。剛看了網評，推薦這部劇的人不多，看過劇的也有人吐槽中間的漏洞，和結局的種種。如果在開始之前看到了這樣的評論，或許我根本不會給它一個機會，也因此錯過了這段機緣。所以說，看劇還是不能單看點評或是人氣度，人多事還是得自己去嘗試、感受。

圓滿的結局不一定是幸福的。也許帶著遺憾、些許的淒涼。

這部劇提醒了我如何珍惜、放下。

多年以後，我未必會記得劇情。但隱隱約約，它留在我心中的某種情緒應該會陪伴我走到下一站。

April 6, 2024

Happy Pub Month to My Translation of DAKOTA

Technically there’s no pub day (it’s “Published in Apr 2024”), so I shall celebrate for the whole month instead! I can’t believe DAKOTA by Wong Koi Tet is finally meeting its readers – both in an expanded Chinese edition and my English translation.

DAKOTA is a project that has been with me since the early days of my foray into literary translation and it has seen me through my very newbie days to my less newbie self now. It’s indeed a very special book to me, for many reasons.

It brought me community and taught me so much.

And as a Singaporean, I’m very glad that my first translation from Mandarin Chinese is a Singaporean work 🙂

Our publisher, City Book Room, is also a bookshop – mainly Chinese-language books.

It’s not a big space, but it is indeed an oasis from the hustle and bustle of life. It’s quite hidden, located in a condo x commercial building and you actually need to ring the intercom to get buzzed in.