Biography
Multilingual Adult Third Culture Kid
The name is Ivy Tan. I was born in the morning of December 19, 1985 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia although my passport says that I am Singaporean. I studied at Jakarta International School, Singapore American School and finally graduated high school from the International School of Kuala Lumpur in 2004.
In June 2008, I graduated from the University of Toronto with a BA (Honours). I majored in political science, minored in rhetoric and East Asian languages.
I have since returned to Singapore to become a corporate slave communications officer at major Asian telco overseeing the local social media scene and digital communications.
I have spent 23 years living in 5 different countries: Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Canada. As a result of my nomadic life, I currently speak 9 and a half languages; English and Hokkien natively, Mandarin fluently, French passively, Cantonese and Malay colloquially, Spanish, Indonesian and Korean basically. And the half of a language is my latest interest - Japanese. I have been teaching myself hiragana, basic grammar and have been watching lots of animes to try to understand a little.
Agnostic Theism
I don’t have a religious affiliation, and am not the greatest fan of organized religion. Nevertheless, I am a firm believer of the existence of a higher force.
Short-Term Goals (1-2 years)
- Prepare for Advanced Chinese HSK Test (TOEFL in Chinese)
- Learn Japanese
Long-Term Goals (5 years - 7 years)
- Be equally proficient in English, Chinese and Japanese
- Relocate to Shanghai, China
- Go back to grad school for a Masters in Communication or an MBA