-
Photo credit: Abe Forman-Greenwald
Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Tribune
December 20, 2021
“I am a Disney fanatic,” said Lynn Chen, who portrays Dr. Michelle Lin on the ABC medical series, “Grey’s Anatomy.” “(My dream trip would be) visiting all the Disneylands outside of the United States with my entire family – the nieces, nephews, in-laws, everyone.” Based out of Los Angeles, Chen’s resume also includes roles in “Saving Face,” “Shameless” and “The Affair.” Fans may follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
Q: If you had to cancel travel plans due to the pandemic, where were they to?
A: I had plans to world premiere my directorial debut, “I Will Make You Mine,” at the 2020 SXSW Film Festival and found out via a breaking news update on my phone that it wasn’t going to be happening. From there, I knew that the other film festivals I had planned on traveling to (in Cleveland, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia) were most likely going to be canceled as well. We missed a big family trip, too. But because we knew we would be home so much, we did end up adopting a dog, and he has been everything to us.
Q: What kind of trips have you taken during this pandemic?
A: I took a few trips with my husband, Abe, and (our dog) Miles, where we could drive directly from Los Angeles. We rented a house in Julian (San Diego County) and another up in Marshall (Marin County). We also stayed nearby for a few days in Pasadena at the Langham Hotel. Just recently, I took my first flight so that I could see my family in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving. Sometimes, I feel like just figuring out the logistics of travel and packing and unpacking is enough mental stimulation for me when I am going stir crazy.
Q: Did you travel for work at all?
A: I actually have not had the opportunity to travel for work during the pandemic, but I would guess that I’d have mixed feelings about it. Traveling for a job is a real blessing and I feel like being able to explore freely during your off-time would no longer be the same. There is a general layer of having to be more cautious and I would imagine it would make the traveling part of it feel much more like work than a cool perk. Exploring with the cast (and) crew on off days was always my favorite part of filming on location. Now, you’re not even supposed to eat a meal at the same table. I’m not sure how much bonding would happen. But maybe it is bringing people closer, having this experience together.
Q: What is your best and/or worst vacation memory?
A: I went to New Orleans for Christmas one year and got food poisoning on my birthday. I spent the rest of the trip very sick and unable to eat anything, so the following year we came back again and gorged successfully on beignets, gumbos, po’ boys and muffaletta sandwiches.
Q: What is your favorite vacation destination?
A: I went to Botswana for safari over a decade ago. As I took an outdoor shower and witnessed a baby elephant crossing a stream with its mother, I remember thinking, “Nothing will ever top this moment, ever.” And I was right. Never again have I experienced an emotional or spiritual feeling like I did then and there. And I still know better than to compare anything to that experience, which has been imprinted deep into my memory bank.
Q: What was the first trip you took as a child?
A: We went to Taiwan a lot to visit family when I was a child. It feels like it was every summer until I graduated high school, but I don’t think it was actually that often. I still remember being excited to watch movies on the plane, to eat at my seat and watch strangers fall asleep. And I loved how I could witness the different weather, language, customs. My father told me it was culture shock and I remember loving that feeling, of being “shocked” or, as I pictured it, immediately zapped into a completely different world than I was accustomed to. It felt magical, and it still does.
Q: What’s the most important thing you’ve learned from your travels?
A: How to handwash clothes in the sink. Shoutout to Uniqlo’s AIRism line because it dries quickly, overnight!
Q: What kind of research do you do before you go away on a trip?
A: I like to watch movies that have filmed on location wherever I’m going, then visit those places. When we were in Paris, we did a little “Before Sunset” tour, making sure to visit Le Pure Cafe and Shakespeare and Company bookstore. Imagine our surprise when we spotted Ethan Hawke himself at Sacré-Coeur the next day! In recent years I discovered I have a rather serious gluten allergy, so I always look up places to eat where they can accommodate people with celiac, or where I will be able to easily communicate with the chef about my special dietary needs. I find message boards and communicating directly with the restaurants to be the most helpful.
Q: Where have you traveled to that most reminded you of home?
A: I went on a culinary tour of Taiwan in 2015 and just felt so at ease, so comforted by everything. It was my first time traveling there without my parents and I felt like the entire country was looking out for me. I remember seeing foods I had never tried before and my stomach immediately grumbling, “Eat that!” even though I wasn’t exactly sure what “that” was.
© 2021 JAE-HA KIM
DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.
