Of parallel journeys and coalescing cultures

Rachel DeWoskin's life has been a psychedelic romp compared to that of her protagonist, Aysha Silvermintz. But both Aysha, who appears in DeWoskin's debut novel Repeat After Me, and her creator start out as 22-year-old English language teachers to foreign students in New York.

Aysha, whose journey across continents (from New York to Beijing) and time (from 1989 to 2003) is the subject of DeWoskin's novel, can hardly match the extraordinary life of her gorgeous creator, who at 37 is long accustomed to being under public gaze.

DeWoskin came to Beijing in 1994 to be a public relations consultant, but went on to star in the hit TV series Foreign Babes in Beijing, playing the glamorous, bad American girl Jiexi, running after Chinese men. Her popularity soared, so much so that she would be recognized even in downtown New York, long after the serial went off air.