Archive for the ‘China’ Category
A hybrid port city on the coast of China: Shanghai, good and bad
The financial district of Shanghai, view from the Bund on the other side of the river
Rev. Young John Allen, the man I spent last semester studying, was a foreigner living in Shanghai in the second half of the nineteenth century. In his day, the city was the only port open to the outside, although more [...]
Adventures in an undergrad history thesis, or, four months with Young John Allen
The fall semester has ended, and with it, the largest writing project of my life (so far). The function of a senior seminar in history is to prove that you’ve acquired the skills to read and analyze scholarly work, do research in primary and secondary sources, and develop your own historical argument– one that contributes [...]
December 11th, 2009哈利 波特 or, a way to improve my Mandarin
“Harry Potter” in Chinese is one of those transliterations that is necessary when translating names across languages; and the sounds are nearly perfect– jokes aside regarding Chinese natives’ English pronunciation.
哈利 波特 literally sounds like “ha li po te,” with the “r” sound coming out like an “l.” In fact, when I say those syllables out [...]
Not from around here: one story of a Chinese immigrant family working in the restaurant business
A couple of months ago, I mentioned Jennifer 8. Lee’s book The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food, and included an excerpt about how very American it is to eat Chinese food. Chinese immigrants make up an enormous portion of the US Asian population; even so, I never really understood the [...]
June 11th, 2009An idol for the “emperors”
On the way to work this morning, I heard part of this report from NPR, about a wildly popular young writer who defines himself as “the voice of a generation.” He is a pop culture figure in China, a twenty-five-year-old who sounded a bit narcissistic to say the least. His appeal to the “little emperors”– [...]
May 28th, 2009Eating Chinese
In my Understanding Asia class (required for my Asian Studies minor, and one of the most engaging classes I’ve taken), we’ve been studying Asian-American literature for the last two weeks. We’ve been looking at several major elements: 1) what does it mean to be Asian-American, and to what extent do you remain Asian while at [...]
April 21st, 2009My bread-and-butter
Having finished the first half of the semester, I have finished writing one of the two main research papers that have been assigned to me this spring. The first was the easier one, and also the less interesting of the two. The second is the one I turn to now, to focus my attention and [...]
March 8th, 2009Comprehension
Mandarin Chinese is both a thrill and a challenge to learn. Approaching it from the beginner’s end, it seemed daunting and exhausting and impossible. After all, there are thousands of characters to learn and comprehend by themselves; then characters can take on completely random meanings depending on the other words with which they are combined. [...]
March 4th, 2009Reflections of Culture: Newfound Perspectives from Spending Eight Weeks in China
I would say that I am very independent, as an American yes, but even compared to some of my friends and others I observe—both my age and older than me. Eating on my own, enjoying my own free time and interests, and wearing things that are a little off-kilter do not bother me as [...]
July 19th, 2007The Study Abroad Blues (And a few tricks to overcoming them)
Blues #1: Rice Again?
The first thing to affect a newcomer to China is the food. Very quickly it hits you—when they said China, they meant China. To use a horrible cliché, you’re not in Kansas anymore. Using chopsticks came very naturally for me, but as the meals continued along the path of steamed rice, mystery [...]