Mandy Chang: Wanderlust
Fulfilled
Oh,
the places Mandy Chang went.
Sure, she had traveled far in business, immigrating
from Taiwan in the mid-1980's, getting a master's degree
in the computer field, working her way up to a management
position at the First Commercial Bank of Taiwan. But Ms.
Chang's true passion lay in her travels outside of the
United States, sizing up new places, making new friends
and, wherever possible, testing the swimming pool at
every hotel.
Egypt. Russia. Turkey. Latin America. She had been to
them all. In fact, Ms. Chang wanted to visit every
continent by the time she hit 50, said John Goldman, who
befriended Ms. Chang during a May 2001 trip to Turkey.
She was 40. She had only Australia and Antarctica
left.
"We were always having meaningful conversations about
world events or traveling," said Tracy Grinker, another
friend, who had talked with Ms. Chang shortly before
Sept. 11 about taking a ski trip to Europe. "She was
really interested in trying new things."
Ms. Chang once wrote Mr. Goldman that she fancied the
idea of retiring in Spain. Naturally, it did not matter
that Spain was one of the few places she had not yet
visited.
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