It is very difficult to talk to Chinese people without using emojis. Whenever a Chinese friend Facebook messages me, I feel compelled to reply with WeChat because there are messages and nuances that can only be expressed with emojis that only exist on WeChat. The difference between emojis on Chinese and Western apps can shed … Continue reading A Guide to Using WeChat Emojis
I’m Not Defined By My Major
“Where do you go to school?” “Harvard.” “Cool! What do you study?” “Psychology.” “Cool! So you’re gonna become a psychologist?” “….” I have been in this conversation for probably a hundred times. Each time I get asked the last question, I become frustrated and try to change the topic. People just don’t understand why I … Continue reading I’m Not Defined By My Major
Stranger in My Own Country
Every time my plane lands in Beijing Capital International Airport, my anticipation of returning to my home country is replaced by a nervousness about how to practically navigate a country that I have not visited for a year. First, I realize that I cannot text or call my family or friends about my arrival, because … Continue reading Stranger in My Own Country
Warm Water
I still remember the day when I realized that the concept of “warm water” does not exist in America. On a brisk winter morning my freshman year, I stepped into Au Bon Pain and asked if I could have a cup of warm water. The waitress looked at me as if I had said those words … Continue reading Warm Water
On Being Asian Non-American
I’m sure many Chinese international students in the US have had this experience before: we are filling in a questionnaire which asks us to provide some basic demographic information, and one of the questions says, “What is your race/ethnicity?” And we are provided with a range of options, including Caucasian/White, African American, Hispanic, Asian American… … Continue reading On Being Asian Non-American
10 Unforgettable Courses of the Moveable Feast
You get very hungry when you did not eat enough in Paris because all the bakery shops had such good things in the windows and people ate outside at tables on the sidewalk so that you saw and smelled the food. — Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast For most of my weeklong visit to Paris, … Continue reading 10 Unforgettable Courses of the Moveable Feast
How Harvard (and America) has changed how I eat
Eating at Harvard, in my opinion, is more about mental and emotional sustenance than it is about nutritional intake. I eat because I feel like a deserve it.
I came, I saw, I ate — Tasting Japan in Two Weeks
As I rounded up my second trip to Japan, I found myself having difficulty saying goodbye to what has officially become my favorite country on earth. Hailing from the Manchuria area in northeast China, which Japan invaded in 1931 following the Mukden Incident, I’m supposed to hold grudges against the Japanese, like some of my … Continue reading I came, I saw, I ate — Tasting Japan in Two Weeks
Several Thoughts on the Common App Essay
Your first three or four topics are most likely not good enough, so don’t be discouraged—keep trying, and stay open to new topics. Read some books by great essayists, such as E.B. White and Anne Fadiman. Read writing books like Elements of Style and On Writing Well, and take these lessons to heart. Stop reading … Continue reading Several Thoughts on the Common App Essay
A Common App Essay For Yourself
A Common App Essay For Yourself I remember the day in 2013 when I discovered that my whole life would depend on 500 words. As a high school student, I had always found writing assignments easier than math problems. But the Common App essay was still the most dreadful, daunting, and distressing thing that I … Continue reading A Common App Essay For Yourself
Zara Zhang 