Big Straw Magazine 2016

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City Chaos / VIVIAN FU / acrylic paint, newspaper, watercolor

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editor’s note.

Dear Readers, The editors and staff of Big Straw are very excited to bring you the 2015-2016 issue of our magazine.

The eye on the magazine's cover represents one interpretation of this issue's twofold theme: first impressions and layers. Despite what you may perceive immediately, there is always something else—perhaps an entirely different story, or many different stories—under that first layer, beyond that first impression.

With that theme, we also hope to make a statement about ourselves. We are not a homogenous group, despite what others may believe based on a quick glance. We are a diverse and exciting team. We've come together to express ourselves in some way, and to create a magazine that provides an outlet for others to express themselves however they want (whichever layer of themselves they choose to show).

This is my third and final year leading this wonderful publication and organization. I have seen it grow immensely since my freshman year, and I have grown so much by being both a leader and a follower in Big Straw. I want to sincerely thank all of the editors and staff members I have worked with, and I also want to thank every single reader who has ever picked up a copy of the magazine. We spend the time we do on producing this publication every year so that it may make our readers more aware of the world and the people in it.

Although I am sad to leave, I believe I'm leaving Big Straw in a good state and in good hands.

Readers, whether you are new or old, I encourage you to experience this magazine with a curiosity to discover the layers that exist beyond the surface, beyond what is visible, and I hope you find that your views may change. And I hope you are okay with that.

Enjoy your travels.

Sincerely,

Lana Li Editor-in-Chief

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editors.

Editor-in-Chief LANA LI Decision Science, Professional Writing North Brunswick, NJ Business Manager ERIC LEE Statistics, Machine Learning Millburn, NJ

Content Director KATHY HUANG Biological Sciences Princeton, NJ Illustrator VIVIAN FU Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering Beijing, China Publicity Director GRACE WONG Art, Global Systems & Management, Human-Computer Interaction New York, NY

about.

The Asian-interest publication that started over a cup of bubble tea.

Big Straw is a student-run Asian-interest publication that celebrates the creative talent and intellectual depth of the Asian and Asian American Community at Carnegie Mellon University by providing students with an outlet for artistic expression, cultural identity, and thought. Big Straw was founded with the goal to cultivate and spread ideas relevant to Asians and Asian Americans.

mission.

1. Provide an outlet for Asians and Asian Americans at Carnegie Mellon University to think, express, discuss, and create.

2. Explore the complexities of Asian and Asian American culture and increase awareness about relevant cultural and sociopolitical issues.

3. Break down barriers and enable students to discover more about themselves and others rather than defining or reshaping Asian or Asian American culture.

4. Produce an insightful, educational, and professional magazine.

submit.

Big Straw accepts submissions year-round. All forms of writing (articles, creative writing, reviews, surveys, tips/recommendations) and art (photography, illustrations, paintings, sketches, comics) are accepted. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following: news & current events / culture / feature / arts & entertainment / personal narratives / food & travel / lifestyle / creative writing / student & professor profiles Submit your work via email to bigstrawmag@gmail.com.

Culture Editor KAYLA JIN Computer Science Seoul, Korea

Assistant Editor SOLOMON NG Design New York, NY Assistant Editor YIYI ZHAO Business Administration, Mathematics Pittsburgh, PA

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staff. layout.

Eric Yu Ying-San Ooi Rosie Zhao Melissa Lu Christine Yang Lynnette Ramsay Chie Wach

Lana Li Eric Lee Vivian Fu Grace Wong Solomon Ng Kathy Huang

web.

bigstrawmag.org || facebook.com/cmubigstraw

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table of contents.

Cover || Vivian Fu Editor’s Note || City Chaos| Vivian Fu Table of Contents || Light, Natural | Lana Li 06 || To Be Frank | Lynnette Ramsay 12 || Around | Lana Li 14 || Elements of Surprise: A First Impression of China | Kathy Huang 19 || From Above | Eric Lee 19 || Shadow | Eric Lee 20 || Tourist vs. Resident in Own Ethnic Country | Yiyi Zhao 22 || Learning Acceptance from the Unknown | Christine Yang 24 || Learning Chinese | Lynnette Ramsay 26 || It’s About Time: Voicing the Asian Side of Affirmative Action | Yiyi Zhao 28 || This Morning | Lana Li 29 || Fighting Love | Eric Lee 30 || On Life, Happiness, and Self-Discovery | Grace Wong 33 || Photography | Chelsea Kwong 34 || Centerpiece | collaborative 37 || Abuelo | Emily Charleson 38 || Faceless | Tiffany Jiang 38 || Ollie | Tiffany Jiang 39 || Greet Yourself Arriving | Victoria Yong 40 || Shop Smart: The Art of Bargaining | Melissa Lu 42 || Not Just for Eating: 6 Alternatives to Using Rice | Grace Wong 44 || Recipe: Milk Pudding | Rosie Zhao 45 || Recipe: Sticky Rice Cake | Melissa Lu 46 || Hot Off the Press: Good Eats in the Burgh | Grace Wong 48 || Chinese Philosophy Comic| Allison Ngo 52 || Girl in the Orange Turtleneck Under the Sun | Lana Li 56 || Sunset | Eric Lee 58 || Girl Series | Grace Wong 62 || Come Back Tomorrow | Kayla Jin 65 || Art Inspired by German Artist 1010 | Vivian Fu 66 || Cycle | Vivian Fu 67 || Survey: Tartan Express | Big Straw 68 || Stool | Gene Hua 69 || Dreamy | Lana Li

Light, Natural / LANA LI / photograph

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To Be Frank An Interview by Lynnette Ramsay Photographs Courtesy of FRANK DOLCE

Believably, Frank Dolce, a Ph.D. student in the Modern Languages Department, has had seen more than a few double-takes from his students on the first day of class. So how does an Italian American come to teach Chinese at Carnegie Mellon? After a weekly meeting of the Culture Corner (see end interview for details), Frank, also known as 杜老实 (Dù lǎoshí), shares his thoughts on his own “layers” of identity, culture and life experience.

Where are you from? What is your culture?

I am from Buffalo, New York and in terms of my “culture,” I would say I grew up very American, and very urban American at that. I went to a very diverse inter-city high school. I was the captain of the basketball team, and that was cool. I still love basketball.

Your family is Italian, but you didn’t speak Italian?

Did not speak Italian. My dad would have grown up in an inter-city neighborhood that was really Italian, but then as part of the white flight in the fifties and sixties, my grandparents moved out to the suburbs. So, my parents both grew up in the suburbs, but then moved back into the city because they were kind of the black sheep in their family who were not that Catholic. They didn’t want me to grow up Catholic; they didn’t want me to grow up in a monotonous suburban life. They wanted my brothers and I to grow up in the city, so we moved back in. I didn’t grow up with the Chinese culture or anything other than what I would call the American cultural experience growing up, but I did have this appreciation for exploring different things. My parents really encouraged that. Like, they kind of pushed. You know, there’s always doors opening if you’re willing to push.

Is that how you found the Chinese language? Did your parents introduce it to you?

No, Chinese was in college, as an undergrad. I’m a teacher of Chinese now and people often ask “Why did you start learning the language?” and my honest answer, my very frank response, is just “Because I didn’t want to take French.” I went to Carlton College, a liberal arts school, and they required you to learn a language and I never had a good experience with French. My curriculum was very strict in high school and very focused on memorization, autolingualism, repeat-after-me sort of stuff. It never really stirred my interest. I was like “What can I find? I’ll just take a term or so of Chinese and just get it out of the way.”

But I’m sure that your perception of Chinese is not just an evasion of French now. How has your perception changed?

No, not at all! It’s not just that anymore! I came to the culture and Chinese life and Chinese society—all these things that are such a meaningful part of my life now—through the

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language. My initial interest was in the language, and then I developed these interests in these other things as I used the language to connect with people, to go to places. It’s a very wellrounded interest now, but it didn’t start out that way and while everyone’s path is different, I think it often is that way. Maybe someone’s interested in one aspect of Chinese culture or they have a Chinese friend, or Chinese heritage and because of that they want to learn the language. But the next step is really when a small minute interest in the language or the culture turns into this much bigger, and more relevant, and well-rounded interest, and a way of life.

How did your friends and family react when you became so interested in Chinese. Were they surprised?

I feel very fortunate. My folks are very open-minded people, so they thought it was kind of cool. At first it was just like “Oh wow, look, he’s off at college and he’s studying this…”

Then when it became a major, and then when I wanted to go and live in China a few years after college, then all of a sudden it came like “Wow, this a big deal.” I think the only time there was any sort of hesitation was “Yeah, he’s moving to China and, like, we might not see him for nine months or a year.” That’s always tough on families.

Even when you were going to marry into a Chinese family they were calm about it?

Yeah, but keep this in mind: We’re here now and my folks are in Buffalo so I get to go back quite a bit. It’s only a three and a half hour drive away. The distance is much harder on my wife. We don’t get to see her family as much. In terms of like cultural differences, I

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really feel like I grew up in an environment that didn’t see difference as difficult. Regardless of whether it’s cultural, or if it’s linguistic, there’s something wonderful about difference.

Being married to someone who comes from a different cultural background means, there’s never a dull moment. There’s a little bit of cultural confusion sometimes and even minor conflicts, like “Oh, I think it’s this way. You think it’s that way,” but that’s the spice of life in my opinion. I see that other people want to have someone that can relate to them, maybe someone who understands the warmth of Christmas for example, but I think that it’s way more special when you take something that you grew up with that’s special to you and introduce it to somebody else, and vice versa when you experience something that’s meaningful to someone else. I feel like that broadens you and challenges you. It’s a cliché, but I see variety and diversity as the spice of life. That’s what I’ve learned from my family values growing up and I approach life with that attitude.

Who do you speak Chinese with now?

I think the question is who don’t I speak Chinese with now! If there’s one thing I want to improve on, it’s to not ask permission like “Oh, can we talk in Chinese?” If I meet somebody, and think they can speak Chinese, then I usually start in Chinese. I love meeting people on the bus. You just met my good friend, Mary (马芮). 马芮’s husband is my best friend in Pittsburgh. I met him on a bus in Pittsburgh three years ago. Just because he was wearing basketball shorts, I was like, “Hey, where do you like to play basketball?” I asked him in Chinese, “你 在哪里打篮球?” (“Nǐ zài nǎlǐ dǎ lánqiú?”) and he said to me, “Wow, you speak really good Chinese!” Next week, I’m having dinner at his house and before you know it, we’re really good friends.

We’re only on this planet for so long; so, we should connect with other people, get to know other people. Language is something that allows us to do that. Like I tell you as students to speak with reckless abandon, that’s how I do. I just speak Chinese. I’m not afraid of making mistakes. You never want to offend anybody, but I always come from a good place, with an innocence and curiosity.

You’ll learn a lot that way and you get to practice a lot. My interest in Chinese is really just my interest in getting to know people, and getting to connect with people. If you approach learning language from that direction, you’ll never stop because who wants to stop connecting with people?

There’s a reason the worst punishment you can give someone is putting them in solitary confinement. We thrive off contact with others and languages enable that contact.

As you meet more people and really understand people, you see superficial differences, but you realize that deep down, people are the same.

You were in China for a couple years and you got to experience the culture there. What parts interested you?

What were your favorite foods?

So, I’m severely allergic to peanuts and shellfish. My first time in China, in Beijing, I had to be very careful about what I ate and I had to deal with a terrified mother who would call me everyday like, “Oh my God, okay, what did you eat?” I was being very careful and, in terms of exploring Chinese foods, it took a while before I realized how to maneuver a menu and be okay. But, oh my gosh, in Beijing, the dumplings were delicious! I mean, like really big northern Chinese dumplings. And I loved eating 包子(bāozi) for breakfast.

A lot of street food in Beijing was really good, and then when I lived in 山西 (Shānxī) province for a couple years, the noodles were a really cool thing for me. 山西 is known for

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its noodles. I mean, they have different ingredients, very different cooking methods, but I’m Italian American so the idea of eating noodles is something that just makes me very happy. I was putting different stuff in and using chopsticks, but, the similarities, the parallels always blew me away. I enjoy most types of Chinese food, um, my wife and I we cook mostly Chinese and we eat mostly Chinese. But every now and then I just need cheese. I just basically go on a cheese binge, but other than that, I’ve loved Chinese food.

The other thing about living in China was that every place is different. Cities are different from each other and like living in a big city like 北京 (Běijīng) versus a small city like 汾阳市 (Fényáng Shì). I lived in 山西 province for a couple years and in 汾阳市 I was the only foreigner and it was such a different experience! One thing I really encourage my students and all students with is “Okay, so go to this abroad program in 上海 (Shànghǎi), go to this big city, but get outside the big city, too. Meet all sorts of people. Even if you’re in a big city, don’t just be college students. Meet different people, at different ages, on different paths in life.”

So at this point, could you identify as Chinese or Asian?

I definitely don’t identify as American in the same way. I don’t know if this is the answer you want but this is the answer I have: Honestly, I just don’t pay attention to national boundaries as much. When my wife and I go to the airport, I understand the practicalities of visas and keeping track of who needs a visa and who doesn’t, but that just—I mean, people are people to me and that’s the way I feel on a bus and that’s what I feel when I’m interacting with people. As you meet more people and really understand people, you see superficial differences, but you realize that deep down, people are the same. Even if the foods you eat are different, or the utensils you use to eat them are different, people are gathering, families are gathering. Human emotions and feelings and behaviors are not that different, actually, they’re sort of universal. I feel like we overemphasize the differences way too much. Given that, I still see myself as very American, and I feel like even in Chinese language, I can still be very American. I’m very direct. There may be stereotypes of who is direct or indirect and what language they speak, but I don’t think I’m less direct now, I feel like I’m just as brash and outgoing as I used to be. Being around other people and other cultures, and acting in a different language, you still can be yourself. Really, it’s an opportunity for others to see those differences as well and then to realize that they’re all just superficial, right? Maybe the way I ask for help from a friend is different from how a Chinese person would ask for help, but the fact that we all want friends to help us in times of need and are willing to help others—that’s universal. Now, I’m certainly more open-minded, but I wouldn’t say I’m more Asian.

The theme of this year’s issue is layers, especially regarding our identity. What are your thoughts on layers and personal identity?

Wow, that’s a really good question. I think learning language and having diverse

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interactions with diverse people really gets you thinking about yourself and reflecting on who you are. Those sorts of self-reflection are so, so important, because I think often times, especially in the academic environment, we always want to figure it out like you’ve got to figure out a paper, you have to figure out the answer, the thesis, but in life you never really have it figured out. You’ll never be like “Oh now I understand who I am. This is who I am” or even just have a sense of it without explicitly stating it. A much healthier way to go through life, I think, is to view it as a constant process of understanding, of self-exploration.

That being said, and in regard to layers, I think that as you go into new situations and meet new people, you don’t know what you’re going to find, what you’re going to expect, and that adds an excitement to life. I don’t view identity as layers so much as pieces. Because layering means that some layers have more depth than others and that would imply that there’s some sort of core of me, but I feel much more like, every day, I’m adding things that could affect my core, things that will impact me as a person. There is nothing intrinsically me that’s different or special or anything; I just seem me as an embodiment of all the relationships I’ve had and all that I’ve done in the world. As you keep doing more stuff, you’re adding more layers and what you do, your behaviors, those impact yourself, your soul, your psychology, all that. I guess the more experiences you have, the more layers you’re going to have, the more people you meet, the more languages you learn, like all of that, is a testament to yourself.

That doesn’t mean that the most interesting people speak the most languages! I’m talking about the people who have the most meaningful interactions with others and experiences in the world. And that’s such a qualitative thing that you could never compare one person with another.

I’m glad you came to the Culture Corner today. That’s an example of having a meaningful interaction. It always gets awkward for some of the time. We always have people that know each other really well and people that are just coming for the first time. We have people who speak two or three or four languages really fluently, and we have people who have just finished their first week of foreign language class. There’s awkwardness there, but if you let the awkwardness ride out and go away, then people just get to doing what they’re doing: laughing and having fun and learning from one another. That’s the important stuff and some times you don’t get that in classes. I really love that they have all these cultural groups at CMU and the diversity here is a real opportunity. I hope that the student body keeps taking advantage of that.

Notes: The Culture Corner is a casual and fun gathering of Pitt and CMU students and faculty who share an interest in speaking Chinese (Mainland, Taiwanese, Cantonese etc.). Although it is relatively new, Culture Corner membership has grown rapidly since it was founded by Frank. Meetings are every Friday from three to five in the Cathedral of Learning, room 314. Regardless of language ability, everyone is welcome!

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Around / LANA LI / photograph

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Elements of Surprise: A First Impression of China An Interview by Kathy Huang Photographs Courtesy of GLORIA SILVA

You may know her as the organic chemistry professor with a highly contagious way of saying “carbocation.”

Born and raised in Córdoba, Argentina, Dr. Gloria Silva completed her bachelor’s and Ph.D. studies, and then became a professor, at the National University of Córdoba in Argentina. Since she came to Carnegie Mellon for the first time in 2000, she has held the positions of visiting professor, special research faculty, and assistant teaching professor.

This past August, Dr. Silva visited China (and Asia) for the first time, where she spoke about “Teaching and Learning in Carnegie Mellon University” at the Institute of Materia Medica in Beijing and Wenzhou University in Wenzhou. Beyond giving lectures, she explored the cities of Beijing, Tianjin, and Wenzhou, and I interviewed her about her adventures. During our conversation, she graced her stories with many hand gestures, which I took as an inevitable quirk of her Italian heritage.

[Note: Dr. Silva previewed the interview questions and wrote down short answers, to which I refer throughout the interview.]

KH: At what moment did you have a realization that “yes, I am in China,” like that “wow” moment? (GS laughs.)

Was it when you landed at the airport, or when you stepped out on the street for the first time, or...?

GS: It was not as I expected, so it took a while to settle that I was in China, because I couldn’t reconcile what I was seeing with what I had as a preconcept. So, maybe when I walked the streets on my own, it was the first time I said, “Okay, I’m here.”

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KH: What was your preconcept?

GS: Well, it was like you see in the movies: a very crowded city, low-rise buildings, a lot of shops. Colors. A lot of bikes, and it was not what I found.

KH: Then what did you find?

GS: I found a very modern city - Beijing was the first city [that my husband and I went to]. Very modern city.

Huge buildings, amazing streets and avenues and highways, and so clean. So unbelievably clean, that it was nothing of what I expected.

KH: Let’s go a little bit with your talks…so you talked about teaching and learning at CMU, and there was somebody who stood up to ask you a question, and they wouldn’t sit down till you said they could.

GS: Yes, this person was in Wenzhou, and he was part of the group of about 18 people, all students. He stood up to ask a question, and he would be standing there until I told him to sit, and he was the only one asking questions in that group. But then I had people talking to me after the talk, so they didn’t ask questions but they talked after the fact.

KH: How comfortable were you with listening to them ask you questions, like do you feel you understood what they meant pretty well?

GS: Yeah, the people who asked, they had relatively clear English. Now, our host [a colleague from Wenzhou] was not...had difficulties to communicate. It was difficult for us to figure out what he wanted to say, but we spent so much time with him, that he was more clear toward the end of the visit.

KH: So he was not your translator, per se?

GS: No, he was our host, and he traveled all the time with us, so he translated for us [between English and Chinese] if we needed something.

KH: When I asked you about the student-professor dynamics, you said you noticed that the relationship of the graduate student with their advisor seemed more similar to that in Argentina in the Wenzhou group than in the United States. What did you mean by that?

GS: In Argentina there is a closer relationship between the advisor and advisee. Here, in America, it’s...in some cases, it’s as close as in Argentina. In some other cases, the professor doesn’t closely relate to the student and it’s pretty much as a business relationship.

KH: I see. So...you tried to buy peaches in the market by yourself...

GS: Oh, that was fun! That was in Tianjin. I had some time on my own. Actually, I wanted to be on my own, because our host wouldn’t let us do what we wanted! (KH laughs.) Of course, when someone comes to your city, you don’t want them to see what is not pretty, right? So that day, my husband was working with our host and other people, and I went out of campus [where we were staying], and I expected to walk in the secondary streets. So I crossed [the main avenue] and I entered the neighborhood and there were small markets selling all kinds of stuff...

KH: So this was like an open-air market…

GS: No, actually, they had their store in a sort of garage, but there were many, along the streets, and people were shopping, and I was told that it was going to be safe, and I walked several blocks around. And there were these huge peaches, beautiful peaches. (Inhales.) Amazing. And I had them before and wanted to buy more. The problem was to ask for the price, I didn’t know anything about Chinese. I thought that I could point to the product, and then show my hands, so they could tell me one, two, three, or whatever, but it didn’t work. I went to this place and I asked, but I didn’t get what this person was saying because she didn’t show the fingers, she didn’t point at a number or anything. And then I thought I could show the money, and point at the product to make the other person understand that I wanted to know how much were [the] peaches. And this was funny because I got my ten dollars out, to show the ten dollars, and I asked the price, and she said something. She didn’t say “that” or “this” with the hands; she said a number in Chinese, what I didn’t know. And so there was a young girl in the shop and she said, “Four.”

KH: In English?

GS: In English. Sorry, I didn’t have ten dollars, I had ten yuan*. The girl translated that it was “four.” Four yuan, which was okay. And so I pointed...the woman told me, like, just, pick them. So I picked one, and gave it to

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her, and I gave the ten yuan. She looked at the ten yuan, and the peach, and she took a plastic bag, put my peach... she took two other peaches, put them in the bag, and gave them to me, and no change. So, I paid...three yuan, per peach, but I didn’t want three! Maybe she thought I was asking as many peaches as the ten yuan, when I was just trying to pay for one. When we were in Wenzhou, I went for a walk, again, and I wanted to buy more peaches.

Close to the hotel, there was this sort of garage-shaped room selling produce and there were peaches, and two young girls, teenagers, were in charge of the business. I stopped, and I called their attention, and I pointed at the peaches, and I said in English, “How much are those?” And this time, I had four yuan, you know, so I will not have so many peaches! So I had the coins in my hand, and she said, in English, it was four. I said, “Okay, I want one,” in English.

And she said, in English, “It’s four, per kilo.” Oh! Now I realize what happened at the first place, she was selling me a kilo! This time I wanted just one, and so she weighed it and charged me just two yuan. But I was surprised that she spoke English, and she understood very well.

KH: Did you see anything similar about China and Argentina that maybe you don’t see in the States, I mean besides the advisor-advisee thing we were talking about earlier?

GS: I think maybe...crowd behavior? I say crowd because this behavior happens when there are many people, in a place, just trying to take advantage and just passing each other in the line, or pushing to get to their goal. It was more than in my country, though, it was more...but the concept is the same. So, jumping the queue to be first on the bus...but you know, they don’t get upset, and that is strange, because nobody pushed the person who was trying to cut the line. We did try to prevent that from happening, even in the airport. We were in the line, and someone just jumped in front of us, so my husband put his Chinese hat—he bought a hat—in the middle, because it was his turn—and my turn. And this person just stood there, nobody complained in the back. I don’t understand that! In Argentina that would have generated a big problem.

KH: Do you remember or can you describe some of the food that you tried that you thought was good? I know about the sea cucumber, but the other things...

GS: Uh, they were all good, at least the ones I chose to taste, because there were so many foods, maybe ten dishes at a time, and sometimes [there] were only three or four [of us], and we had all those dishes. And so I tried from most of them, and I liked them all. There were maybe a few, that I think probably was after I took that sea cucumber that I wasn’t ready to eat anything else from the sea, but I tried almost everything, and I liked everything. I think I didn’t try duck, because, I don’t know, it’s too dry.

KH: Did you try most of these in restaurants, on the streets (GS: Restaurants.) or...did you ever eat at someone’s home?

GS: No, but we ate in a 400-year-old village in Wenzhou, and there were two women cooking for us. We could see their kitchen and were visiting their backyard, and the people who came with us told us that that was pretty much as they do it at home, so it was homemade food, and it was good. I was feeling sick that day, because of the sea cucumber I ate before. It was kind of a strange feeling. I ate it because our host said [the sea cucumber] was a delicacy. I looked at it, and I looked at him, and he was looking at me like, “That’s a delicacy!” Like, saying, we have to eat it because it’s expensive! I tried one, and...the flavor wasn’t bad. It was salty and the consistency was like gelatin. But then, remembering the shape, the color, and probably something else was going on because I didn’t feel like having any seafood for days.

KH: Mm-hmm. So, you said you were more interested in the non-touristic sites, but you did go to the Imperial Palace and the Temple of Heaven, the more touristy places. What did you think of those?

GS: The touristic places? They were very crowded. It was really hot. It was really tough to visit because of the heat and how many people were there. So, in the Great Wall, we were pushed. I didn’t appreciate a lot of that because of the tremendous number of people that were in the path. We didn’t know it was going to be like that, but my husband asked, “If you knew that it was going to be like that, would you go?” And I said, “Yes, because it’s once in a lifetime!” I think it wasn’t as I expected because those parts are renovated, at least the ones that we visited, and so it’s not as old as I expected [it] to be. And when we got up to the top, I thought we could go through these towers, and go to the other side...no, it was closed. So it was just go up, and go down, and get in this mass of people just trying get back down. It was very, very hot. But the breeze was beautiful. The view was beautiful, but it wasn’t very enjoyable, due to the heat, and due to the people just trying to pass.

KH: Did you have any exposure to bargaining? (GS: Yeah!) Did you try to bargain for anything?

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GS: No, I didn’t try, but the people who were with us bargained for us. (Laughs.) But that was impressive, because one, I didn’t know that it was part of the culture, and two, I didn’t know they could reduce the price to 50%.

KH: Oh, sometimes more!

GS: That’s crazy! That’s ridiculous! I was trying to buy a little...bowl? It was clear, and at the bottom it had a fish. And it had a shape, almost a 3D shape, like it’s [swimming] into water, and I liked it a lot. That was 60 yuan. I didn’t want to spend 60 yuan because comparatively speaking, it was expensive. And so, the person who was with me in that moment asked if there was a discount. She said, “Okay, 30.” That was 50%! (Laughs.) I was like, what’s wrong with these people?

KH: Oh! (Laughs.) You don’t bargain in Argentina, is that not a thing? (GS: No, not at all!) Oh wow, okay! Was there anything you felt that you weren’t really prepared to experience that you did in China?

GS: The heat? I was told it was going to be hot, but that was hell. Because in my country it’s hot, but it’s not that humid.

KH: What do you think are some of the major differences between your expectation and your experience, what stood out to you the most?

GS: The architecture. The roads. The architecture was impressive, I never ever expected those magnificent buildings—one-block-long buildings. It opened in my mind a lot of questions about energy, so we asked about how they’re powering all those ACs, and all of those public lights and stuff. Apart from that, it’s how they clean all these it’s so huge. So those were the first impressions because coming out the airport, you get in the highway and you start seeing all these huge buildings and how clean that is. And the gardens - so there is a lot of landscaping on the sides of the road and in the middle that is very well maintained for kilometers and kilometers. We took the fast train from Beijing to Tianjin and I could see everywhere there were these trees all supported to be straight. And matching colors of green on the side of the road, and different types of trees, all arranged in a certain way, to give a good impression.

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My husband asked, ‘If you knew that it was going to be like that, would you go?’ And I said, ‘Yes, because it’s once in a lifetime!’

When the towns came into the view of the train, they were blocked. When I started to see one street, suddenly there was a wall that covered everything so I wouldn’t see anything else! So I guess if you go as a tourist, you get probably a wrong impression, that that is grandiose and behind those walls there is a different reality further back. I wanted to see that. There’s a lot of people that live very comfortably, but then there are many, many more that live in these very small spaces, so they have their business and their life in the same place. In fact, when we went to the old village, the guy of the house was doing some fixing and some stuff on one other table that was available in the same room where we were eating. Yeah, so that’s uncommon for my country.

KH: Oh, okay. So in Argentina, everything is sort of partitioned, is that what you mean?

GS: Everything is...if you have a business, that’s your business, you don’t do anything else in that space. But I guess there’s not much room for them to have that [space] just for the business. I’m not sure how much they sell because there are so many of these businesses that they may not be earning a lot, and they are crowded in that space, so they have a lot of other stuff. Someone was selling old parts for motorcycles, and this small room was so full of stuff that he was sitting on top of this pile of things, with almost no room for anything else.

KH: I see. Um, hmm...anything else I didn’t cover in the questions that you wanted to bring up?

GS: Well, I found some things that I thought were really interesting. On the sidewalk they have tiles that are special for blind people. I haven’t seen that here in America or anywhere I went before. They are yellow—of course the blind person would not see that, but the pattern is different, so if you go with your cane, and you touch them, they feel different, and when you get to corner, there is a big square with all dots, and that’s telling you that you got to the end, on the sidewalk. That was impressive, and most of the sidewalks I walked, even if there was some tile that was missing, it wasn’t in that yellow [tile]; those were fine. One other thing that was…impressive was the way in which they drive. At some point, we found someone just coming straight to us, and we were in our right lane, you know? But this person was coming right in front of us, and we stopped, and he just went to the side, because he was crossing from one side of the street to the other side, and it wasn’t a small street, you know, it was an avenue, so he crossed maybe five lanes, to get to his destination. Our driver did the same at some point, we were just driving against the flow. (Both laugh.)

KH: Were you scared at any point?

GS: Yes, yes. Oh! One thing that surprised me a lot was that they were...hanging their clothing on the street, outside on the sidewalk, and...in their business! So, they are doing their laundry, by hand, I imagine, in their business. I don’t think they have a washing machine there. I don’t know if the employee or the owner of the business would do laundry and hang it outside of the business. This was in a pretty downtown area. So, if you have a motorcycle business, and you need to do laundry, you do laundry, and you hang it outside, even the underwear.

That was kind of surprising. That was like, “Oh, no. Three red underwear? This guy?” (Both laugh.)

KH: So overall it sounds like you had a good time! (GS: I did!) Would you go again?

GS: Of course! I will probably go, because they invited me to teach for a week in...probably May? But everything needs so much paperwork that I don’t want to say, “Yes, I’m going.” Yes, I wish I could go! If they approve the paperwork.

KH: Would you go just for vacation?

GS: Probably not, if I don’t have someone that’s going to be with us, translating. We saw that there were people that do that job, that would stay with the tourist. I’m sure the fee is not high, and they would stay and accompany the people wherever they go. We saw this type of service in the Imperial Palace. And so I’m sure you can hire someone. But probably not, I wouldn’t go without someone telling me where to go. *Yuan is the Chinese unit of currency. As of the writing of this article, one U.S. dollar is equivalent to about 6.5 yuan.

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Shadow / ERIC LEE / photograph

“Even though I’ve been to New York multiple times, this was my first time looking at the city from this perspective.”

From Above / ERIC LEE / photograph

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Tourist vs. Resident in Own Ethnic Country Yiyi Zhao Illustration by VIVIAN FU

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Last summer, when I found out that my parents were taking my sister, my brother, and me to China for vacation, I was displeased to say the least. To be honest, I didn’t want to spend my summer void of technology and in the company of thousands of relatives I didn’t even know. I just wanted to stay home and have one more relaxing summer to myself before my future summers get really busy with internships and summer classes.

Instead, I was going to be a tourist, an outsider, to a place I once lived until I was three, and then moved to the U.S. So, I convinced myself it was going to be one of the worst experiences of my life.

Once we landed in China, we were warmly greeted by a lot of relatives on my mom’s side of the family. I didn’t recognize any of them, so I focused primarily on my surroundings. The air was thick and full of smog, and I felt like I was breathing in soup. Although the hotel we stayed in was better, it was nothing compared to what I’m usually accustomed to in America. Pretty soon, I realized that there were two types of air conditioning in China; the first is the kind that blows so hard it will give you a fever and the second makes a really loud noise to make you think its working, but in reality it is not really doing anything.

The first couple of days in China went by uneventfully, and after the first week or so of touring Beijing, my family and I moved to Tianjin, another major city in China. Because my dad had to go to a high school reunion, I went shopping with my mom and sister. Normally, I would despise going shopping with my mom and sister, since they always spent forever trying on clothes when I was already done, but I have to say that this was the first semi-interesting experience I had on my trip so far. Shopping in China was nothing like shopping in America, as everything could be bargained for a cheaper price. I have to say that it was really entertaining watching many people hassle for lower prices, and I may have even learned some Chinese in the process of observing them.

After a few days in the city, we went to the rural areas of China where my dad’s family lived.

They lived in the kind of villages you would typically see in old movies. The people I met were really nice, and I was kind of inspired at how happy they could be at their simple lifestyles. The air was a lot cleaner in these parts, and I would have to say that this was my favorite part of the trip. My trip to China wasn’t turning out to be a disaster after all.

I realize that we don’t appreciate the luxuries enough, and not until they are taken away from you do you realize how much you miss them.

Our last destination was Urumqi, where my mother’s family lived. They lived in apartment buildings and treated me like their favorite niece.

I started to enjoy myself a little more and even began to speak more Mandarin than English. Each and every one of my relatives was super nice and accepting of me, and I felt like I may have gotten the wrong impression of China. As it turned out, when I changed my mindset, things were a lot smoother than I thought. Like, for example, instead of complaining about the poor air conditioning in your hotel room, you could think positively and use fans to cool yourself down.

As I reflect on my vacation to China, I realize that I enjoyed the trip and learned a lot about the culture and history, even though I may not have thought so at the time. At first, I thought my trip was going to turn out bad, with the poor air conditioning and smog, because there are just a few things you get used to in living in a more developed society like the United States. I realize that we don’t appreciate the luxuries enough, and not until they are taken away from you do you realize how much you miss them. If you go into something with the mindset of it being terrible, it will be terrible. On the other hand, if your mindset is positive, you might surprise yourself by how much fun you can have.

Furthermore, in addition to my negative mindset, I went to China feeling like a tourist, or in other words, someone who didn’t really belong there, since I was so immersed in America’s culture.

Therefore, by feeling like an outsider in a place that was once my home, I was reluctant to embrace and accept China’s culture and environment at first. However, I was soon able to break out of my shell and realize that you can be both a tourist and resident in your ethnic country; you don’t have to be either or. There are always new things to explore, but you can also feel at home by being surrounded by the people you love.

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Learning Acceptance from the Unknown Christine Yang Illustration by ERIC YU

Be open-minded about the things you don’t know. That was all I wanted when I moved back to Taiwan the summer of first grade.

I convinced myself that I could speak pretty decent Chinese. I told myself that everyone in school would be 8 years old just like me. I thought about the fact that mom and dad always explained to others that they are from Taiwan and I’m pretty sure that also makes me a Taiwanese. If your parents are something you must be that same thing too; it just makes sense. So I squashed all the insecurities I had about the idea of moving, goodbye Fishkill, New York and hello Hsinchu, Taiwan. I had no idea what to expect and frankly I wasn’t even aware that life could possibly be any different. Needless to say I couldn’t be more wrong.

It was the first day of school and the teacher was eyeing me. I could tell that she was going to call on me in 3, 2, 1 and…

Yes, I can introduce myself and yes, I understand you. No, you did not need to tell everyone that I just moved back from the United States.

I remember so vividly the way my classmates’ gazes changed the second they knew I was from the US. The mildly interested eyes suddenly pierced through me to scrutinize every part of me. I could see every one of them making some type of judgment about who I am and trying to decide what to make of this foreign girl in class.

When the bell rang for recess, the girl next to me immediately started grilling me about America. The thing was, she tried an odd combination of Pictionary and charades to ask me things like what my house looked like, do I really get presents from Santa on Christmas, is the tooth fairy real? The other students had started gathering, waiting to hear about America, hoping to listen to English combined with broken Chinese.

Eventually they realized I completely understood everything they said and could answer in Chinese without an accent. I could see their puzzlement, unsure of how to categorize me. I wasn’t the kind of foreign they wanted.

They were expecting someone who couldn’t speak Chinese, someone who had a “white” parent and I was

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neither. To them, I wasn’t American enough nor was I Taiwanese enough.

This American vs. Taiwanese idea was especially obvious in the way my teachers treated me. The climate in Taiwan is warm and humid. In 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit), I think it was more than justifiable to wear tank tops. I recall my teacher insinuating that it is inappropriate for a young girl to show her shoulders. She did not say explicitly that I should stop but she suggested that only Americans allow young girls to wear tank tops and as a Taiwanese it may be wise to stop this behavior. Similarly, she was not particularly thrilled of my ear piercing because my classmates were fascinated with the earrings I wore every day. She wrote to my parents saying that my earrings are too rebellious for second graders. Only then did I notice that people tend to have a set of social norms they associated with a particular culture.

Anything that was outside the parameters of accepted social behavior was frowned upon and should be stopped without question.

I was confused and conflicted about myself. I really didn’t know all that much about what it meant to be Taiwanese. I know how to interact with my parents but that’s the extent of my exposure. I knew I was more of an American than Taiwanese but at the same time maybe I wasn’t. I desperately wanted to choose one over the other and be done with this feeling of being a half-assed outsider. I made that decision in the afternoon of open house.

Mom and dad couldn’t make it so I had no one to lean on for moral support when the masses of parents walked into the classroom. You need to understand that parents are very authoritative in a kid’s life in Taiwan. So whatever they thought of me at the end of open house would be immediately reflected in the behavior of their children tomorrow in school. I didn’t want to lose my friends so I made an effort to be extra “Taiwanese”. I could also tell that the parents were eager to assess this American addition to the classroom and so they all wanted their kid to introduce them to me. They asked what my parents did, whether Chinese was too hard to learn, whether life in Taiwan was too difficult for me and wondered if I wanted to go back to my easy life in the States. I noticed that every question was about how difficult it must be for me in Taiwan and how easy everything must have been in America. I could tell they didn’t think very highly of me, thought that my parents were cheating by throwing cash to move the family to the States and probably ran out so now we’re back. I decided right then and there that I would assimilate to become a proper Taiwanese so that I would never again face this type of judgment from anyone.

And that was always the first thing I thought of when I woke up. I would tell myself that today I would not do something out of the ordinary to remind people that I’m actually Asian American. I learned that it was considered extremely rude to interrupt the teacher even if you had a question. My job as a student was to listen and write down what the teacher said. I figured out that grades were a very important factor, or maybe the only factor, to how people perceived a child. I learned to read and write Chinese and finally shed the sympathy score of 85/100. I started reading in between the lines of what people said to figure out what people really said. I learned to not speak my mind without a filter and express my thought as euphemistically as possible. Until one day, I didn’t have to think about it anymore – I was just one of them and nobody could tell that I grew up in the States when I was younger.

When I decided to move back to the US for college, I was scared. I spent the last ten years of my life becoming a Taiwanese and college here meant that I would have to start over. I knew without a doubt that I could fit in like any other college freshmen but is that honestly what I wanted to do? Looking back, I clearly decided to be proper Taiwanese for all the wrong reasons. I wanted to choose a culture to identify with for the rest of my life. I pit the US against Taiwan hoping I would arrive at the better one or maybe the right one. But I am not the little girl who needs to feel like she belonged to derive a sense of self worth any more, I was not about to wipe out my past just to be a proper American. I am comfortable with who I am and the ambiguity that comes along with being American and Taiwanese at the same time. I don’t value one culture above the other because they are just different, not better or worse, just different. I’ve come to meet a lot of people like me, who identify with more than one culture. The acceptance of the unfamiliar they naturally offer or the openness they have to learning about the foreign without judgment.

That is what diversity means to me—acceptance—and it would have been nice to have that all those years ago. It would be even better to extent this courtesy to those who are still conflicted about their identities.

It is not the most important that you understand every culture there is out there or that you have travelled the world. It’s accepting that there will always be an unknown and instead of dismissal or pretending you know it all, be open to hear about it.

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中文 Learning Chinese Lynnette Ramsay

Somewhere, between a slow boat from China and where we are now, my family lost Chinese. To be fair, we’re all fluent in American English, but no one born in the States can speak Shanghainese, Mandarin or Cantonese half as well as my grandmother can. My mother and her siblings have had plenty of encounters with people who rushed up to them, ecstatic to see another Chinese person, only to run into the language barrier once again.

Generally, my mom can get an idea of what is being said to her (or about her). She’s just unable to respond.

Today, the basic assumption is still that people with a certain face are going to speak a certain tongue. My stories are very different from my mother’s since I’m mixed race. I’ve been mistaken as a Mexicana or Native American. Practically no one expects me to speak Chinese. That

would seem for the better because I can’t understand Chinese either.

There are several possible explanations for this generational language decay. Although Chinese was their first language, maybe Mom and her siblings didn’t spend time with other Chinese families when they were growing up. Perhaps Grandmother didn’t want her family to face discrimination for sounding like immigrants. It’s even been rudely suggested that my mom was simply too stupid to learn Chinese from her parents. Regardless, the second generation can’t learn Chinese from parents who struggle to speak it themselves. The saddest part is that once it’s been forgotten, Chinese can be hard to re-learn. Try as we might, my family and I know that learning from classes, books, movies, adventures in Chinatown and even talking to Grandmother now cannot

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中文 make us native speakers.

Chinese, Mandarin especially, is not a dying language by any means, but when English is so preferred in the U.S., why should anyone here take the time to learn Chinese? It’s not worth the effort just to avoid those occasional embarrassing moments, or to be able to talk to people who outwardly look like you. The reason has more to do with culture and communication, being able to understand people who might just get you too. For me, studying Chinese feels important on multiple levels. More important than my general interest in languages is my desire to hear any one of the millions of Chinese speakers today. It’s important because we’re business partners, friends, family. When my uncle whispers to me how I can win the game of Ma Jong, I wish I could understand him. And it would be easier to practice Tai Chi with my aunt’s mother if I heard her instructions.

Doesn’t it seem urgent now, when you could miss a moment like that? I need to make a sincere effort to hear my family.

I called Grandmother to give her my love on New Year’s Eve. She was sympathetic when I told her that I’ve been taking a Chinese class but I can’t say any words yet. I am not the first of her grandchildren to try to pick up Chinese. She is as optimistic about my journey as I am skeptical. Will I learn anything from the simple, super-repetitive lessons in Elementary One that I can say to her? It’s nerve-wracking not knowing if I’ll ever be able to speak Chinese, but she gives me some tips, like using the language whenever I can. Through the telephone, I assure both her and myself that there is no shortage of Chinese speakers at Carnegie Mellon. In fact, this school is full of opportunities to learn Chinese. As I wish my grandmother the best year ever, I can’t stop thinking of all the reasons why I should.

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It’s About Time: Voicing the Asian Side of Affirmative Action Yiyi Zhao

You’ve all probably heard countless stories of how Asian Americans with near perfect SAT scores and GPAs are constantly being rejected from Ivy League schools. This wouldn’t be an issue if those schools were accepting people based on merit, not race. We know that there are a lot of very impressive people in the world, and not every one of them can get into prestigious universities, but Ivy Leagues have been known to accept Asian Americans until they reach a certain “quota,” while giving out the rest of their spots to students with not as impressive credentials. Well, Asian American students are finally taking a stand against racial discrimination and it’s about time.

In the past couple of years, several Asian American groups have come together to sue Harvard and other Ivy League schools for using unfair admissions policies based on racial quotas that favor black and Latino students over higher performing Asian students. These groups prefer that these schools admit students based on merit rather than admitting students based on the consequence of their skin color. These students are absolutely right to reject affirmative action policies in the college admissions process. No matter the reason, it’s racial discrimination.

Schools that give racial preferences to minorities who’ve earned lower grades and test scores at the expense of white and Asian students whose records of achievement meet and surpass the standards set by the qualifying institution are guilty of stealing. They’ve effectively stolen opportunities from people who’ve earned them and given them to people who haven’t.

These policies are not only unfair to the students who lose out in the admissions process, but it’s also unfair to black and increasingly

Latino students admitted to colleges, who are academically unprepared for the standards and expectations set by the admitting institution.

Dropout rates and social promotion of minority students who’re academically unprepared for the rigorous demands associated with admission to elite colleges and universities necessarily increase.

What good is diversity on the front end of admissions when there’s no diversity on the back end at graduation?

There’s no question that black and Latino students deserve an educational foundation including an opportunity to attend college just like their white counterparts. But black and Latino academic achievements cease to be achievements if they’re given rather than earned.

Affirmative action and race-based quotas aren’t the key to helping blacks and Latinos get into and graduate from college. These programs aren’t going to magically make up the educational disadvantages blacks and Latinos received by attending substandard government-run schools.

If people are serious in wanting to help black and Latino students in the college admission process, aside from focusing and stressing the importance of redeeming broken families and their role in prioritizing education, primary and secondary education need to be reformed and improved.

No amount of affirmative action can overcome the obvious deterioration in our nation’s schools where current policy traps increasing numbers of minority students.

These Asian groups are right to sue and I hope they win. Their academic opportunities shouldn’t be sacrificed for the government-induced failure of improperly educating minority students, year after year.

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This Morning / LANA LI / photograph

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Fighting Love / ERIC LEE / photograph

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On Life, Happiness, and SelfDiscovery: A Personal Encounter with the Human Interaction Project Grace Wong

Back in December 2015, I had submitted my application to an amazing scholarship organisation called the Human Interaction Project. If you’re thinking this is another narcissistic application about all of my past accomplishments, it’s not. The Human Interaction Project is something completely different, and when I discovered this new initiative, I was blown away by how much positive energy it sought to create for the world. It was official, I had to apply to this scholarship. Little did I know that responding to the prompts would be one hell of a rollercoaster ride. I spilled my biggest dreams, confessed my long-term struggle with depression, wrote down everything I barely even told to myself, all to an online organisation that I barely even knew. But there was something that triggered this desire to be honest with myself and to tackle these questions on such an intimate level. Perhaps it was because we had the same dreams of creating an ideal world where human connection and happiness is vital.

Letter to the Human Interaction Project In a society ravaged by constant Facebook notifications, Twitter feed updates, and LinkedIn requests, it’s hard to find sincerity in virtual interactions. In fact, our online lives almost seem like sugarcoated resumes. I am just as guilty of that. So how do I convince the world that I’m more than just a profile? How do I convince you, the Human Interaction Project, that I am a living, breathing person who yearns to explore the world, rediscover human compassion, and experience the beauty of physical human interaction? Here I am, trying to convey my sincerity to an organisation whose goals have restored my faith in humanity, but even now, I fear my emotions will have been compressed into words.

“What do you want to do in life?” is a question I get all too often. If I were talking to a professor or a specialist in a field, I would tell them this: I

am sophomore major in Art, Global Systems and Management, and Human Computer Interaction. I’ve interned with Company A, B and C. However, I will be brutally honest with you, Human Interaction Project. There is nothing false about what I tell others, but it falls short in conveying what I truly want to do in life. Everything I have “achieved”, academically and professionally is not a ploy to create a stellar resume. I decided to pursue Art because I found something powerful in art and its raw ability to convey ideas and push boundaries. I decided to pursue Global Systems and Management because I crave culture and immersion. There is something beautiful about traveling to a new place, immersing oneself in something foreign yet exciting, and seeking to understand how different societies interact and function.

I decided to pursue Human Computer Interaction because I seek to make sense of the virtual world and how human interaction

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is drastically changing. Pursuing these majors gives me a feasible means to pursuing my idealistic goals. Because frankly, what I truly want to do in life is to discover the human capacity for greatness. Happiness, compassion, love, cooperation, goodwill—these are words that speak to me, and that I wish to devote a lifetime achieving.

Spending my spring break volunteering under your and UBELONG’s support would be the opportunity of a lifetime. But most of all, it will restore my faith that these are not just idealistic dreams I am latching onto. I want to believe.

Now is the time to make my first mark.

What do philanthropy and kindness mean to you?

Five years ago, I read “The Quiet Room”, an autobiography written by Lori Schiller. Lori a schizophrenic, who spent half of her life battling the inner voices within, overcame her struggles and lived to write her story. She inspired many others. She became my mental role model.

Often times, we are so caught up in our own lives that we forget the bigger things in life.

To me, philanthropy and kindness is both selfless and self-empowering. It’s the ability and strength to give away a part of you even when that’s the only thing you have left. At the same time, impact spreads, and you become a stronger person at the end of the road. For Lori, her biggest enemy was herself, but even when life seemed at wits end, she sought to share her story.

To be able to give away yourself is hard. I don’t expect philanthropy and kindness to be an easy goal to achieve, when there are more immediate life decisions to worry about. But to be able to look beyond the present, to strive for a more loving and communal world is beautiful.

Selflessness is beautiful. And it makes us as individuals even more beautiful.

I don’t expect philanthropy and kindness to be an easy goal to achieve, when there are more immediate life decisions to worry about. But to

be able to look beyond the present, to strive for a more loving and communal world is beautiful. Selflessness is beautiful. And it makes us as individuals even more beautiful.

How have philanthropy and kindness played a role in your life?

In summer of 2012, I volunteered abroad in Madurai, India where I taught English to kids and painted murals at a local orphanage. At the same time, I was battling with self-esteem issues and depression. I felt lost and disconnected from society.

We all seemed like self-absorbed zombies living every day to make it through the next. I had lost what it meant to be human.

In that retrospect, volunteering in India

Because frankly, what I truly want to do in life is to discover the human capacity for greatness. was probably one of the best decisions of my life. The orphans I met had little to nothing. Food was scarce, clothes were shared, and toys were a luxury. Yet somehow they seemed so happy. One time, I tried to reward a kid for being the only one in the class to perfectly count from 1-100 in English. It was only a cheap little notepad, but even that, she refused my gift and just smiled to me. I was baffled.

We could barely communicate beyond simple gestures or basic words we had taught them in class but it didn’t seem matter—what we had going on here was real. It was a friendship that didn’t need virtual media or spoken language (although my understanding some more Tamil definitely would’ve helped) to find a connection. Love is universal and for that one month in India, I finally discovered the

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power of human empathy. Volunteering with these kids finally made me realise what I, and many others had been missing.

We are all capable of love, compassion, philanthropy and kindness towards one another—these are all attainable. We are simply being sidetracked by other seeming immediacies in life. The next paycheck, a serious text conversation, an important college decision—these are no doubt important things to consider in our daily lives. What I am talking about is that big goal out yonder, the whole reason why we even strive for more in life. I want to spend the rest of my life doing what I love with heartfelt passion. I strive to achieve in whatever profession I may end up pursuing, and that is with this overarching end goal: to love oneself, one must also strive to love the world.

What do you hope to gain from a travelphilanthropy experience?

Perhaps travel philanthropy is a true test of my inner strength. It’s one thing to say I wish to give back to my community through philanthropy. It’s another thing to stop dreaming and just do it. Whenever my friends and family ask why I decided to travel to place so and so, I give them the ultimate answer: why not? At age 19, I’m still young and continuing

to grow. When an opportunity of a lifetime opens up, I seize the moment. No second thoughts, just do it. Volunteering abroad would be a dream of a lifetime. If I were given the opportunity to volunteer under the support of Human Interaction Project? Sign me up. Forget about the little things for a moment, and just live the ultimate dream. I am ready to make my mark.

What places and causes are meaningful to you?

Interacting with children has always been an interest of mine. They are young, little balls of hope, with so much potential to grow and explore. Yet in so many impoverished parts of the world, they suffer from malnourishment, family-loss, and lack of education, and untreated medical problems. In order provide an extra source of income for their family, they often resort to child labour and sacrifice their opportunities to get educations. I wish to help these children in critically impoverished countries. I have no specific preference as to where, but simply the opportunity to help these children find better futures. Whether it be teaching them, preparing them professionally, mentally assisting them, or even just being a good friend, I am determined to give these children the opportunities they deserve.

We are all capable of love, compassion, philanthropy and kindness towards one another—these are all attainable.

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Photography / CHELSEA KWONG / photograph

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As an extension of the issue’s theme (first impressions and layers), our centerpiece this year depicts everyone’s outermost layer: what we (choose to) wear. We have chosen our most meaningful items of clothing and put together quite an interesting outfit. Don’t judge based on a first impression.

Ying-San Ooi: My pendant is important to me because it reminds me of my ethnic/cultural roots.

Kayla Jin: Stay warm and cozy.

Ying-San Ooi: My long-sleeved shirt is a nuanced representation of my favorite color.

Vivian Fu: Earrings make me feel special and good about myself.

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Eric Yu: Jeans, the renaissance pants.

Whenever I need to go out but don’t feel like dressing up, I just slap a pair of jeans on and start my day. Mine are mostly torn or covered in paint (I can thank the Fence for that), but I think they’re stylish. My parents don’t seem to think so.

Kathy Huang: The anklet highlights a part of the body that I rely on to walk, run, and dance, and represents the type of overlooked beauty that inspires me to write poetry.

Eric Lee: My watch keeps my life in sync.

Lana Li: I love a pair of classic black (heeled) boots as a wardrobe staple.

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2016

WRITING & ART CONTEST “Going to a better place” is an English euphemism for dying.

However, outside of that cultural context, there are lots of “better places.” Create a piece of writing or art that involves the idea of going to a better place. Your work can deal with death, but is not limited to that particular use of the phrase.

WRITING WINNER: Emily Charleson ART WINNER: Tiffany Jiang WRITING RUNNER-UP: Victoria Yong

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Abuelo Emily Charleson

I was fussing with the flowers, as the words tried to peel themselves from my heart and his crackling lips. The war with his eyes left a wilted body clinging to life. I knew it was time, but my eyes could only water the flowers, never meeting the crystal water of his pupils. I wanted to speak his words before it was too late, because Time had done all he could. My heart spoke his native language, but clinging to my lips were the words. I wanted his eyes to light up with pride, before the sun set in his eyes.

After this my memory is water, a blur between what I wish and reality. Clinging to this brings the question of the words I said. I’m unsure if I spoke; my heart would never lie, though Time still hasn’t given it the courage to talk. Time has left a false hope reflecting in my eyes and guilt resting on my heart.

The murky tears solidified from boiling water, becoming a coin on my chest. His words are branded on it. His memory is clinging to the engraved goddess, as I am clinging to him. Even though Time has kissed her face, fading the words of his memory, my eyes see love. The sea of water in his eyes will be carved into my heart forever. As my heart beats, the unspoken words clinging to each other, slide down my face. The salt water of the oceans melts the fragments of time since I saw his luminescent eyes and my mouth caged my words.

Even though my heart can’t stop clinging to his words and the cold murky water escapes my eyes, él está en mi corazón todo el tiempo.

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Faceless This is an image I took near Grand Central one year. I like the motion in it. These people are hopefully going on paths to better places.

I appreciate Grand Central and walking around the city in general just because you feel really anonymous.

Everyone is minding their own business going about their day. There’s something really calming about that.

Ollie This piece is an art piece following the trend of blackout poetry. It’s highlighting a story many people can relate to: death of a goldfish. This one resonates with me because I care for a betta fish that is really dear to me and losing him would be the worst but at the same time this page makes a good point.

Fish are kept in small tanks, with plastic fake rocks and a fake plant sometimes. They’re going to a better place when they pass.

TIFFANY JIANG

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GREET YOURSELF ARRIVING. Victoria Yong

In a long hallway Naked, rough concrete walls from an era of brutalism and honesty What’s beyond the walls is of no more use to you Continue down the hallway, and watch the cracked silty floor become more polished, bright, reflecting the sunlight creeping in from above They’re here. Your friends, everyone who has seen you and loved you are all here.

Take their hands, one by one. Smile sincerely and embrace them.

They were just greeting you at the door.

Open. It. Here you are, cast under a big, blue window in a dark room. She looks up in surprise, then breathes a sigh of relief.

La Dame Dans La Verre. The lady in the glass.

She’s here, you’re here, where to even begin?

She pulls up a seat, carefully carved from the best mahogany and poplar she could scavenge from the woodshop. A couple dents here and there, and a giant gash on the polished arms. She smiles sheepishly and hands you a cup of lukewarm strong black tea.

“I do my best. Wanna talk?”

Always, you say.

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Shop Smart: The Art of Bargaining Melissa Lu Illustration by VIVIAN FU

Most people in the U.S. may not be familiar with the concept of bargaining, as it is not something that people commonly need to do. So what is bargaining? Bargaining is when people haggle or negotiate the price of an item, often times resulting in the item being sold for a much lower price than what was initially set.

While bargaining is not something that can be done in a typical store setting, and is uncommon in the U.S., it is often used in street markets and vendors or other known bargaining areas in Asian countries. Many times, these vendors and stores will mark prices up much higher than the actual worth of the product to increase profit. This makes the price of the product higher than what they actually want to sell the item for.

Bargaining allows you to avoid the extreme markup and save some money. It may seem intimidating, especially if the seller is insistent on a price, but there are certain tips that will allow your bargaining experience to run more smoothly.

Here are some tips for effective bargaining: 1. Make sure to check out other stores before trying to purchase an item. That way you can gauge the differences in pricing for similar goods 2. If the seller is not willing to lower the price after much negotiation, show that the sale is not very important to you and begin walking away. The sellers are trying to make as many sales as possible, so they will typically compromise and take your price.

3. To help negotiate the price of a single item, offer to purchase multiple items at reduced prices. If there are multiple items that you want to buy, there is a higher chance that the seller will accept the price you give.

4. Speak to the seller with confidence. That way the seller will take your offer more seriously and will respect the price you are offering.

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Not Just for Eating: 6 Alternatives to Using Rice Grace Wong Illustrations by ERIC YU

Rice is a delicious part of a healthy meal, no doubt, but did you know that it serves a lot more uses than just eating? If you’ve always wanted to play with your food or simply be a little more resourceful with your materials, try out some rice alternatives!

1. Use as Poster Tack When I was a little child, my parents would give me cooked rice to use as a safer glue stick alternative. The concept is simple but smart.

It’s non-toxic, biodegradable, and delicious!

2. Make Art Rice art isn’t just a casual activity for kids.

In fact, rice even serves as a celebrated art medium in certain cultures. Rangoli is a folk art in India that involves using colored rice to make spectacular floor patterns.

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3. Recover a Wet Phone You might’ve heard this common quick fix, but putting your wet phone in an airtight bag of rice can actually revive it back to new. And this isn’t an old wives tale (been there done that). Because of rice’s high water absorbency, the rice sucks the phone dry within a matter of 24-48 hrs.

4. Scrub + Mask Have a bad skin day? No need to worry about buying expensive skin care products - just grab a handful of rice you probably already have, grind it up into powder, and exfoliate the rice on your face. It’s a cheap alternative and best of all, it’s a lot more natural than most chemically induced beauty products.

5. Heat Pack Need to make a cute handmade Christmas gift or just wishing you had a warm heat pack to last through the rough winters? Try making a rice filled heat pack! All it takes is a bit of fabric and rice, and you’ll be warmed up for the holidays in no time.

6. Water Bath Studies show that rice water is incredibly beneficial for the skin. Due to it’s cooling and soothing effects, practitioners often recommend users to try soaking in bath water to heal inflamed skin.

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RECIPE Milk Pudding

Step 1. Put 250 ml milk, 30g starch, 25g sugar, and condensed milk into your pot on medium heat. After a couple minutes, some parts will be in sticky, and some will be watery. Just keep stirring.

Rosie Zhao Photographs by ROSIE ZHAO

INGREDIENTS 250 ml milk 30g starch 25g sugar condensed milk (add to taste) egg (optional) 50g low-gluten flour (optional) Have you ever wanted to make dessert after lunch or dinner, but didn’t have the time? Have you ever wanted to make milk pudding, but didn’t have an oven or enough supplies? Have you ever wanted to just make something in your dorm’s kitchen, but you thought it would be too complicated? Have you ever told your friends that you aren’t good at baking? Well, this is the opportunity to answer no to all of those questions. This fresh, delicious, and heart-melting milk pudding will only take 10 minutes to make. You can easily buy the ingredients at any store and make it in your dorm. (Special thanks to Benny Xu for helping out!)

Step 4 (optional). Cut the milk pudding pieces, put egg wash around them, and some low-gluten flour. Put them in a pan fry. After 5-10 minutes, they are ready to

into add and eat!

Step 2. Put the “hot pudding” in a bowl and tap it on the counter to get rid of air bubbles. Then put it in the fridge to freeze.

Step 3. After 45 minutes, your milk pudding is ready to be eaten. You can just simply eat it like that, or you can fry it in a pan (see Step 4 for the delicious fried version of the snack).

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Step 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

Step 2. In a bowl, mix together the milk and eggs. Pour the oil into the bowl, then slowly add the sugar and vanilla extract. Mix until well-combined.

Step 3. In a large bowl, mix together the rice flour and baking powder. Add the milk and egg mixture, and stir well until the batter is smooth.

Step 4. Pour the batter into the greased 9x13 inch baking pan.

Optional: Spoon in some sweet red bean paste into the batter and swirl the spoon gently to mix.

Step 5. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until golden.

RECIPE Sticky Rice Cake Melissa Lu Photographs by MELISSA LU

INGREDIENTS 1 bag (1 lb.) glutinous rice flour 2 cups milk 3 eggs ½ cup oil ½ cup sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon vanilla extract sweetened red bean paste (optional)

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Hot Off the Press: Good Eats in the Burgh Grace Wong Photographs by LANA LI

HIGHLAND PARK

Teppanyaki Kyoto

RATING 4.5/5

A savoury grilled blend of cabbage, flour and bacon topped with bonito flakes, mayo and okonomiyaki sauce. That, my friends is the quintessential okonomiyaki. It’s a sure classic in Japanese street food. How Pittsburgh didn’t have another okonomiyaki joint before this, I cannot fathom, but Teppanyaki Kyoto makes the classic dish ohhh so sexy.

The restaurant serves a variety of other casual Japanese fare, such as rice bowls and noodle dishes, but who are we kidding, the oko1nomiyaki is the star dish. We tried the gyudon and it was alright - nothing too special to note.

But the okonomiyaki, oh man, it was some hunk of goodness. We trekked far and wide to come to this place (it’s hidden in a small neighbourhood quite far away from CMU campus) and were forewarned of the 25 minute wait, but all our worries were washed away when we dined on the okonomiyaki. I’ve had better for far cheaper in New York, but this is the only okonomiyaki joint in Pittsburgh. My hunger for this fat, succulent dish could no longer wait. And skimp they did not.

They’re quite adventurous on their okonomiyaki too. You can opt for the regular or the hiroshimayaki (similar to okonomiyaki, but with yakisoba noodles below and a fried egg on top) and even add extra toppings for additional cost. Not sure if the authentic experience in Japan would be this liberal on the toppings, but hey, I wouldn’t mind a cheesy kimchi okonomiyaki.

Okonomiyaki

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OAKLAND

Fuku Tea

RATING 4.0/5

Coming from the makers of Pittsburgh’s rising chain star, Sushi Fuku, Fuku Tea and its bubble tea enterprise may not be heaven on earth, but it’s sure darn better than what you can find in the rest of greater Pittsburgh.

Now let’s get to most important part.

The taste. The bubbles are good, real good.

They’re freshly made, so you get them in your cup warm and perfectly chewy. So many times, I’ve experienced bubble tea that just went down the drain because the bubbles were simply not adequate - too mushy, too undercooked, too unfresh - it’s simply no good. Fuku Tea understands the importance of good tapioca bubbles, and thankfully, they’ve rejustified the gastronomic prowess that PMT has long reigned within Asian food culture.

As for the flavor and quality, the options are endless. Now that is a true bubble tea chain. Want jelly or pudding instead of the ol’ tapioca bubbles? No problem, Fuku Tea’s got it. Want something as crazy as a Plum Milk Tea with Lychee popping boba? Fuku Tea’s got your back. Okay, I have to admit, the flavors could be a hit or miss. I got the Matcha Green Tea with bubbles and it was a delight. My friend got the Passion Fruit with bubbles and it was regrettable. But I’m biased, because with all the options to choose from, the chances that I’ll get a darn good drink are far better than the chances that I’ll even want to order bubble tea from a different PMT establishment. That’s how good Fuku Tea is. Well, if we’re only talking about Pittsburgh at least.

It may not have the best bubble tea to date, but if we’re just talking regionally, this place is worth a trip. If it’s one thing we know for sure, it’s that Fuku Tea is booming in the ‘burgh, and it’s staying here for good.

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Chinese Philosophy Comic Comic by Allison Ngo

The philosophical Chinese comic on the following pages depicts how Chinese philosophy can be applied to modern day society. “I thought it would be interesting to see if Chinese philosophy could be applicable to modern times as well as in countries outside of China,” said Allison Ngo, a senior studying Business Administration and Chinese. The title of her comic translates to “Is philosophy useful in our world today?”

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Girl in the Orange Turtleneck Under the Sun Lana Li Illustration by VIVIAN FU

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“He basically asked me to marry him already. He asked me to promise him that I will never leave him. And I was like holy shit people can’t say no to this kind of shit. So I said yes. This was about a month into our relationship. He was really clingy at first, but I fixed him.”

----Last New Year’s Eve was the first time Harsha and I had seen each other in a year and a half. We met at a Dunkin’ Donuts near her house. She arrived early and had already gotten her coffee with cream and very little sugar, and chose a seat by the window. She always liked natural sunlight. Anything natural. The table she chose was on the other side of the restaurant, several feet away from the small cluster of customers looking down at their phones.

I walked in two minutes later. We spotted each other, smiled warmly, and hugged each other. I paused for a second—a pause so short that both of us sensed but didn’t dwell on—before walking over to the end of the line to wait to place my order. I was hungry.

“I’ve discovered that all that hype about eating breakfast in the morning is actually fucking legit. Like fuck lunch and dinner,” she proclaimed after I sat down across from her, stuck a straw into my latte, and began to unwrap my sausage, egg, and cheese croissant.

“I thought about getting a donut too,” I said, knowing the next thing she would say.

“Remember when you told me that you’ve never had a Boston cream donut?

I bet that hasn’t changed,” she said. That wasn’t entirely true. Since then, I have tried a couple bites of one. I knew that wasn’t enough to impress her, so I didn’t say anything. “What the hell is the matter with you?” she continued. “You have not lived life to the fullest.”

“I prefer plain donuts,” I said. I began to question my choice of donuts.

“I’ve figured it out. This is why you’re miserable. This is why I’m always the happier one.”

----Harsha loves talking about happiness. She loves talking about the things that make her happy: rain, running, drinking. She loves telling me about happiness.

She sees me as the type of person who needs to hear her talk about happiness.

When we were in high school, I was always stressed. Exams, projects, newspaper deadlines. Scribbles, tornados in ink, revealed urgency in my planner. Detailed schedules: start time, end time, travel time.

Harsha would take two-hour naps in the middle of practice exams. Playing outdoors in front of her house with the Princeton Review frisbee she got for

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free was often the closest she got to anything academic. Cross country running was probably the only thing she truly devoted herself to. She loved the wind of late autumn clashing against her torso as she glided past familiar trees. She felt as powerful as she was fast. She broke school records. She was not meant to be confined in buildings.

She once asked me, “Do you want to know how to be happy?” She didn’t wait for me to answer. She knew I would listen anyway. “You start by praising yourself.

You have to constantly chant this simple mantra in your mind: ‘Fuck everything.’

It’s like chanting Om but not acceptable by society.” She laughed. “Oh wait, we don’t give a fuck about society’s rules. Remember that. Chant away. And you have

‘We literally make a pros and cons list,’ she said. ‘Personalities and feelings and all that other stuff don’t count for much.’ to build a protective wall. Like the Great Wall of China. Keep the Huns from Mongolia out. The Huns are the bitches that you hate. It can’t be like the wall of the ovum. Not a single sperm cell should get in. Not a single bitch. And that’s all, folks. Three easy steps to live a happy life.”

I showed my appreciation by smiling as she folded her arms neatly across her chest, over the burnt orange turtleneck that she deemed perfect for all seasons except summer, and which she paired with faded everyday jeans and faithful black flip flops. No eye makeup behind the glasses she’s had since the sixth grade and nothing done to her hair. Simple, easy.

Her name means joy in Sanskrit.

“And stop being so goddamn nice. It gets you nowhere in life. It’ll get you into heaven maybe. But that’s after you’re dead.”

----In our senior year of high school, Harsha, a Hindu, had a crush on Raja Khan, a Muslim. He sat behind her in biology, and she would be the first to know when he was about to say something. She was the closest to him by distance, the first to hear the breath he invariably took right before speaking, the first, and only, to feel the light waft of the breeze when he raised his hand.

She thought everything he said was stupid. She was probably the first person to ever have a crush on Raja Khan.

“I’m in love with an idiot,” she told me. “But the only thing I don’t like about him is the way his legs are shaped.”

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“Would you tell him?”

“About his legs?”

“That you like him.”

“Our religions clash, our cricket teams clash, our lives will clash. Lana, welcome to the world of Indian marital relationships. We literally make a pros and cons list,” she said. “Personalities and feelings and all that other stuff don’t count for much.”

----She broke up with the guy she promised she would never leave. They were together for a couple years, but he transferred to another school and they couldn’t do long distance.

She tilted her head back to catch the last drop of coffee before telling me that last month she hooked up with a medical resident at the hospital near her school in Antigua.

“He’s engaged,” she said.

“He told you?”

“No. He friended me on Facebook the next morning and it said he was engaged on his profile,” she told me, laughing.

“That’s terrible.”

“I’m not surprised though. A lot of male medical residents have a bad rep for cheating on their significant others.”

“Why would they do that?”

“Because the strawberry has its seeds on the outside and the banana has them inside. That’s the difference between a man and a woman.”

I thought about how profound that was because I didn’t really understand it.

I wondered if bananas had seeds. I watched as the sunlight snuck in through the window and fell flat on her dry, wild, curly hair that she sets free when she’s not out running. I noticed that the side of the table she was sitting on was where the sun landed. The sunlight didn’t reach me. The sun shined only on her, as if the sun chose her.

I knew she was watching me as I thought about the strawberry and the banana. She was about to smile. Her eyes gave it away.

“The other day my cousin said I could pull off wearing a potato sack,” she said, dropping the topic of fruits. “I told her I loved her.”

Before we left Dunkin’, Harsha changed her Facebook profile picture to a photo of her sitting outside her apartment wearing a pink and aqua blue near-neon dress. The caption: “#casual #NotAtAllPosed #0Effort.”

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Sunset / ERIC LEE / photograph

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Girl Series: Reflect / GRACE WONG / photograph

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Girl Series: Walk / GRACE WONG / photograph

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Girl Series: Pause / GRACE WONG / photograph

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Girl Series: Contemplate / GRACE WONG / photograph

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Come Back Tomorrow Kayla Jin

One ordinary day. Trees tried to brighten the street with their red and yellow hue, but it was all bland effort. People hurried along the 4th avenue with their heads wrapped under their overcoat collars. Amy was one of them. Protecting her wrinkled face with an old red muffler against the sharp wind, she turned quickly into the small dark alley where she found Music Nostalgia. She carefully went in - it was all too dim, with only one light bulb trying really hard to bring some life inside. The bell on the door began to swing gently. She gave out a glad sigh. The new Burberry jacket that her daughter bought for her seemed to be too cold in this weather. She gestured to the clerk.

Hello, lady. I haven’t seen you for a while.” The clerk inhaled in his pipe.

Amy smiled and turned into the shelves. Under the dim, brown light, there were some familiar shelves full of scratched and stained music CD’s. She slowly walked until she found her favorite spot. She picked up a CD and traced it with her fingers. There were five lean guys in black skinnies and silver chains and gaudy gem rings and lots of frightening piercings. The other side listed the tracks and pictured the boys all sitting back with their legs wide open. The bell rang again.

“You can find the Blu-rays across the street.” The clerk callously noted.

“Yeah? Well I’m not here for ‘em.”

An old, cranky man walked pompously around the shelves when he saw the woman in red muffler. They found each other and stopped still, as if the time had slowed its pace. The doorbell echoed in the distance.

“Do you remember me?” she said. *

*

*

The river flowed gently and the sharp winds had settled into a calm breeze. Only two streets down, the cars were jammed and honking at each other, but this site was very far from the discord. No one usually bothered to come watch the sunset at this place, but today, the two sat down in front of the river, and quietly watched the gradual closing of the day. Amy kept on adjusting her muffler but no design looked good to her.

The man, in his shabby padded parka, looked carefully into the water.

“So.. you came to our concerts?” the old man began.

“Of course. I almost never missed one. I even got your signature on a T-shirt, you know.”

“I’m sorry that I couldn’t remember you.”

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No one usually bothered to come watch the sunset at this place, but today, the two sat down in front of the river, and quietly watched the gradual closing of the day.

“No, it’s fine. I probably didn’t look anything special. I remember all the girls with this weird same curly haircut following you in a herd.”

“Yeah… for a while, I guess,” the old man smiled. “You know, I used to be this short skinny man and I’m not even sure why they liked me so much.”

They both laughed. They began to crack stories about the band, the music, and the times they shared memories of. The stories went on. It had gotten dark and the two silently sat.

“You know, after the band broke up, we all had to find ways to live. I ended up teaching little kids the guitar. Remember Jack, the drum guy? He began some business and got some money out of that.”

“I see.”

“We tried.. We tried really hard to let the world know about our music, but I guess it didn’t work.”

“I’m still your fan, if you remember.”

The old man smiled, “Thank you.”

They waited for each other to say something, but nothing was to be said. The sky was already dark, full of the romantic stars.

“We could … come back tomorrow to talk more.” the old man said carefully.

“Yes… We could.” Amy replied.

They both stared blankly into the still water. The bright stars seemed to resonate in the waves. *

*

*

Amy closed the door quietly. The brown moonlight was penetrating through the blinds. The room was small and warm and simple. She’d only kept a bed and a table — nothing more. She walked up to the table and opened the drawer beneath it. A whole cluster of photos poured out.

On the very top were her daughters in their youth, playing in a small rubber pool.

The next one was herself maybe 20 years ago in a yellow sleeveless dress during a solo travel. Then there was the divorce paper that she had crumpled so hard that it was about to fall apart. She dug down deep into the pile until she found photos wrapped in a plastic cloak. She pulled one out and saw her young self smiling rather awkwardly in front of a live club. Others depicted some young, wild-looking men throwing guitars and pouring alcohol on their heads. She held them closely to the chest.

“This is the greatest band, I swear,” Tina said, and pulled her into the entrance. It was very dark, very crowded. People bumped into her and hit her as they moved. She

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couldn’t breathe, and was somewhat annoyed. “Oh my god! What’s so good about this? I want to go home!” Then suddenly the kick drum bammed and filled the air. Her heartbeat began to follow the rhythm. The zeeing sound of the guitar soon followed.

She could feel the excitement. The dark stage, the loud music, and the crazy crowd that always pushed her back and forth until it hurt. Amy sat down in that posture for a while, perhaps for an unfathomably long time. She carefully wrapped the pictures with the cloak, and again hid them in the deepest part of the drawer.

The next day, nobody was at the riverside.

*

*

*

Everyone was sweating hard. Inside was still hot and stuffy, and everyone was trying to get back to their normal breathing. Amy shoved her way out. “Excuse me,” She shouted and people either glared or swore at her. When she reached the exit, she ran for the backdoor of the club. She held a pink, yellow-dotted box. On top was a small letter.

“Great job!” Jack shouted out as he threw his drum sticks onto the sofa. Keith was drinking his fourth bottle of water. Melvin struggled to zip up his bass case. They were out at the backstage room and they could still feel the energy. Jay plunged himself onto the sofa and slowed down his breath.

“You’re not going?” someone asked. “No,” he replied.

He began to write his song, scribbling notes and measures and lyrics. “You sing to me over and over...” he murmured as he wrote at the stand and stopped. The clock ticked and ticked and ticked and he could not resume his ideas. He sighed and looked at the clock. It was 4 a.m.

He came out with his guitar on his back into the chilly haze of the morning. The street was gray and orange by the streetlights, and a distinct black figure stood in the distance.

“What’s up?” He tapped her shoulder and she gasped. She looked down with her wide eyes. “Did you wait for me?”

She still looked down, breathing deeply. Then she handed him a box with a letter. She glanced sideways nervously.

He scoffed at the unexpected present. Funny, he thought. But he noticed her pale face and shivering hands. He gazed at her for a while, and loosened his red muffler and wrapped it around her neck.

The girl looked at him straight into his eyes, and froze in that posture.

“Here. This will do. Next time, don’t wait.”

Then he walked away.

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Art by VIVIAN FU (Inspired by German Artist 1010)

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Cycle / VIVIAN FU / acrylic paint, ink pen, marker

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Emily Su ’18 INFORMATION SYSTEMS “I think it’s a great concept and addition to campus, and I really appreciate their different sizes for food.”

Xinyao Ren ’18 CHEMISTRY “The food, though sometimes it feels rushed, does not fall short on quality.”

What are your thoughts on Tartan Express?

Big Straw asked students on campus what they thought of Tartan Express, the new food truck on campus that serves a variety of Asian food, including ramen, fried rice, dumplings, egg rolls, edamame, and bubble tea.

Hyeon Ju Song ’18 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING “I like that we have an ‘Asian’ option, but it’s too salty and over saucy.”

Marissa Okada ’16 PSYCHOLOGY “I don’t feel that the food is unique, but I like the idea of a food truck that serves Asian food.”

Adam Huenemann ’16 DECISION SCIENCE “The food is not that good and it’s overpriced.”

Canto Zhu ’17 MATHEMATICS “It’s pretty good. I like that it has variety. It’s also one of the few Asian options on campus.”

LANA LI

Ashley Wong ’17 INFORMATION SYSTEMS “The soup feels bland and the noodles are overcooked. I think the noodles feel like pasta.”

Joanne Lee ’19 ECONOMICS “I got scared after they closed down for uncleanliness and unsafe conditions. It made me not want to go back.”

Zhiqiao Lin (grad) MECHANICAL ENGINEERING “I’ve only tried their ramen, and it’s just fine.”

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Stool / GENE HUA / white oak & painted steel

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bios Lana Li ’16 is a story about searching, finding, (sometimes) keeping, and (sometimes) disposing.

Eric Lee ’18 is wondering if you are reading this sentence.

Kathy Huang ’17 is trying to preserve sunlight in mason jars.

Vivian Fu ’18 loves Sour Patch Kids.

Grace Wong ’18 poppin’ since 96.

Kayla Jin ’17 can’t afford to exercise.

Solomon Ng ’16 is a potato.

Yiyi Zhao ’18 is losing everything but weight.

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Dreamy / LANA LI / photograph

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the Asian-interest publication that started over a cup of bubble tea.

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