So I asked my professor for recommendations for a book to read this summer and he gave me this excellent read. An unexpected blockbuster, it has 638 reviews on Amazon.
Stanford
[Day 33] How they arrived
This essay is about those from a poor country who get scholarships to attend university in the US. I was inspired by the transition theme of NoViolet Bulawayo’s “We need new names”. The style of “How they arrived” mirrors the style of three short stories in the book: “How they appeared”, “How they left” and “How they lived”. I love the way NoViolet used the third person voice in those short stories. Her “they” sounded impersonal yet emerged to be oddly personal, with a face, a voice, even a personality I can sympathize with.
Continue reading “[Day 33] How they arrived”
[Day 32] London vs Silicon Valley
Disclaimer: I live in Palo Alto and even though I make frequent trips to San Francisco, San Jose, Berkeley, and the surrounding cities, a lot of things I mention below might only apply to Palo Alto.
It’s always fascinating for me to get out of Silicon Valley. I have been there for so long that I have almost forgotten how ridiculous it must be like to people outside the bubble. Even though both London and Silicon Valley are multiracial, they are like two different worlds.
[Day 23] Just an evening on campus
I left the study room at 1am feeling nauseated. 4 more days and I will be done with my 2nd year. People told me: “You’re halfway there.” Halfway there and I’m already burned, exhausted, and cold. I couldn’t bear going back to my room so I just wandered around campus. This reminds me of something I wrote two years ago, on the day I arrived on campus. How things have changed!
[Day 19] Why are we such cowards?
Today, I had dinner with a really nice guy. Like two adults, we talked about our life goals. There were 6 things I was looking for–yes, I made a list, had it printed out and tucked away in my phone case. But when he asked, I told him only two. I wanted to be healthy and I wanted to make it as a writer and that was all. The other four, I couldn’t tell him. The truth is I hadn’t been able to tell anyone. There is something about admitting to what you want that makes you feel so vulnerable. Isn’t the more you want, the weaker you get? Would people make fun of me, the oh so needy and desperate?
[Day 18] How to become a better person
I have two friends who do the same personal project: actively trying to be a better person every day. Let’s call these two friends Marie and Paul. They are both college students living in the Bay Area. They reflect a lot on what they do, how it affects other people and sometimes seek other people’s opinions as well. They have a list of things they want to improve about themselves and practice these every day. I was having dinner with Marie the other day when the waiter asked us if he could take our plates away. We hadn’t finished our meal yet. It was a busy night at the restaurant and we had been sitting there for a while. Continue reading “[Day 18] How to become a better person”
[Day 17] That feeling when you have to be protected from your own country
Since I will be traveling outside the US over the summer, my advisor *strongly recommended* that I visit the travel clinic before I go. So I did. I told the doctor I plan to visit the UK and Vietnam.
“UK is fine but for Vietnam, you’d need to be careful.”
Continue reading “[Day 17] That feeling when you have to be protected from your own country”
[Day 14] Shit Stanford students say
“I wait at least three hours before accepting any friend request on Facebook just so it doesn’t look like I’m too eager to become their friend.”
“My boyfriend is like only 1 connection away from Bill Gates.”
“In my free time, I work on my PhD.”
[Day 8] Who exactly is the Thai cafe lady?
We call her Thai cafe lady because she runs a take-out Thai restaurant known as “the window.” It’s a window on the basement of the Psych building. There is no sign, no table, no chair, and during the hours when the window is close, there is nothing to show that behind this window is the most feared woman at Stanford.
Continue reading “[Day 8] Who exactly is the Thai cafe lady?”
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