Only one week later and Beijing feels so distant, both literally and figuratively. There's plenty not to miss in theory about the city, but the familiarity of my routine there, the sorts of people you see and interact with, the ways of interacting ... I miss it all. While it's nice to have birds chirping down a tree-lined street of rowhouses, free ( Read more... )

reached DC yesterday. turns out i'm not really housesitting anymore, as ann is no longer traveling to china this summer. yesterday we went to the jewish community center where she volunteers to hear a talk on radio and its role in society, where i promptly fell asleep. after visibly nodding off twice in the talk room (a cozy little one), i figured ( Read more... )

Greetings from Beijing, where the smog is incredible and the streets are always dotted with people, bikes, and cars. I finally settled into a dorm room at Beijing Univ., and am gradually getting used to a much simpler (and communal) lifestyle. The bathrooms down the hall are really something, especially the squat toilets that are all over the city ( Read more... )

i am leaving for beijing tomorrow! in the meantime, i've been watching re-runs of dawson's creek (joey and pacey forever); it's definitely time for me to leave the country.

i've been living in denial for the past few months, but college is over. my id card no longer lets me into lamont. in a few hours, i will hand over my key to jorge and he will drive me to allston, where i'll be for september. even though i'll be back in the square periodically over the next few weeks, it won't be the same -- i won't be turning onto ( Read more... )

my essay class has been consuming my emotional life lately. i haven't been used to drawing upon myself for material to probe -- this digging has been uncomfortable, embarrassing, painful, and oddly enough, cathartic. there's a really interesting relationship between writing and talking about my subject matter. by talking about x, i find that x is/ ( Read more... )

home is always bound up in the comfort and frustrations of routine, and the past that bleeds into the present. i have mixed feelings about being home - it means not tackling work; indulging in nostalgia; realizing that some friends have changed a lot, but perhaps these changes aren't so unexpected; seeing my sister go through the frustrations of ( Read more... )

I love that people can be so good to each other.
It has been a long past few weeks. Terrified of the unknown, but learning to face it; have been deeply moved by people's immense generosity and selflessness.

this is a totally superficial entry.
and not to objectify the male race,
but this boy in my class is so
tan tall long legs great hair rugged cut jock
and he's working at an orphanage next year.
wow!

This is one of the gems of my day, which in all was quite lovely. A note from one of my IEL students:

Dear Andrea C. Yang

Thanks for your e-mail.
I am happy to be a student of Harvard Summer School,
and happier to be a member of Adams House F entry.
And I think it is the happiest thing that you are our proctor.

Summer days fly by.