Rest, relax, and reconnect with us in Chiang Mai, Thailand 🌴

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Rest, relax, and reconnect with us in Chiang Mai, Thailand 🌴

Written by Joanna Ng, our Director of Operations

Back in March while I was running the AWW Summit in Taipei, one question from an attendee made me burst out into tears on the spot, “Are you taking enough time for yourself?”

Throughout making preparations over the year, I’ve taken small breaks, but it never felt as though I was fully-rested. Whenever I was asked about self-care, I’d always respond with, “I’ll take a good break after the summit.”

Perhaps many of us feel this way, but when we’re faced with a significant responsibility, it’s hard to let go until you’ve seen it through. And it’s not just about one project; we’re constantly conditioned to push forward, promising ourselves a relaxing vacation after the next few months of hard work. But even then, we often exhaust ourselves trying to cram in all the sights and activities once we’re finally on that hard-earned vacation. 

Even though I understood the concept of self-care, it was actually hard to put it into action. With limited time, how do we actually prioritize self-care while still fulfilling my desire to travel? Conversations with the well-traveled ladies at our Summit opened my eyes to the concept: Intentional travel.

It may seem odd to set a goal for a trip purely meant for relaxation, but firmly declaring, "I'm only going to chill and avoid anything intense this vacation," can reinforce that intention. Months after the summit, that's exactly where I'm at.

When Emily proposed an intimate retreat with the theme "rest, relax, and reconnect," I was immediately onboard. I want to unwind without any hustle and bustle, but I also don't want to do it alone. The joy of connecting with AWW ladies at the summit, even those I'd just met, felt like reuniting with old friends. I wanted a space to relax, chat, learn, and bond with other women.

In Chinese, there is a word “放空,” which means spacing out. I never liked that word when I was younger; it implied inactivity, and the “Asian” in me always felt like I was losing out if I wasn’t constantly productive. But now, that word has taken on a new meaning. If you don't allow your brain to declutter, how can you gain fresh insights and clarity for the questions you seek answers to?

If you’re also like Emily and me, looking for a place to decompress, set mindful intentions, and find clarity for the next year, then we’d love to invite you to join us in Chiang Mai, Thailand. 

Throughout the four days, you get to enjoy the following:

• Sit in the peace and tranquility of the nature surrounding our private villa. 

• Enjoy traditional Thai massage with stretching, acupuncture, and yoga-like poses. 

• Partake in cultural workshops led by Thai locals and stretch your creativity. 

• Make meaningful connections with our group through bonfire-like gatherings and share your hopes and dreams for the next year.

Check out more retreat details here, and book your spot here.

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🌈 Notable Opportunities and Programs

📚 Social Fellow - Literary Arts: Gold House is hiring for their dynamic social team and craft engaging content that celebrates books and authors from our vibrant community. From collaborating with top publishers to connecting with libraries and beyond, you'll be at the heart of promoting diverse voices.

🐯 Untiger Your Self (Aug 8th - Sept 5th) - a 5-week program for healing your inner child and generational wounds through community, designed especially for Asian women & daughters of immigrants who were brought up by tiger parents.

🤙 Jobgether - they’re hiring a fully remote role as a Sales Dev Rep (from Europe, Africa or Americas timezone only); they’re building an AI-matching tool to help talents and companies find each other better

🩵 Our Recs from the Team

Joanna - Recently found ALLIE, a sustainable UV brand. I wear their primer that has sunscreen protection during my recent Yunnan, China trip and I didn’t get sunburnt at all! ☀️

Justine - Vapur is my favorite travel and every day water bottle at the moment because it’s so lightweight and foldable.

Ali - I love Shupatto, an expandable and reusable bag. Also, it’s water resistant! I carry it with me wherever I go. 🎒

Emily - Currently reading Yellowface by R.F. Kuang, a satirical and suspenseful novel on cultural appropriation in publishing. TLDR; the narrator is a highly unlikable yt writer who steals writings from her dead Asian friend and we examine the themes of reverse racism, exoticism, and the power of social media. I binge read it 😂

Upcoming AWW Events

📍Taipei, Taiwan (July 25th at 7:40 PM TPE) - Join us on Thursday, July 25 around ~19:00 at eslite art house to watch Inside Out 2! Let's get into our feels and enjoy this sequel together.

📍San Francisco (August 3rd from 10am-1 pm PST) - AWW, Wholesome Day for Solopreneurs and Friends: we have pilates and meditation in the morning, followed by light appetizers, drinks, and connecting with new friends in the Arden Cove retail space. 5 tickets remaining!

📍Singapore (August 17th from 3-6 pm SGT) - Snack and Learn: Chill, Snack & Learn together with other AWW women in Singapore. Everyone has to prepare something to teach others (5 mins sharing) and each participant will contribute SGD$10, all of which will go to snacks & drinks for the session.

Want to be featured in our content?

🔎 We’re always looking for these 2 types of personas:

• Solopreneurs or side hustlers who want to share their business story. Members of the business collective get first priority. To get started, you can fill out this form and our Director of Programming Ali Dunbar will contact you directly.

• Any AWW who has recs they want to share! This can be an article, book, product, etc. that they LOVE and want to share with the AWW community via newsletter 💌 just respond to this email + your socials

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