There are two weeklong public holidays in China per year. For the first of these, National Week in October, I went to Mongolia, which is still one of my favorite trips I’ve ever taken. The second (and most important) is Spring Festival—otherwise known as Chinese New Year. This was my first time truly celebrating CNY, … More Spring Festival: Singapore and Vietnam
I’ve been terrible about updating this blog. It’s this paradox where there are so many things happening all the time, so I don’t know what to write about; I’m not sure where to begin. I finished my first term of teaching a few weeks ago, then my family visited, and I’m heading to Taipei for … More An Ode to Beijing
I blinked and two months passed. Yesterday marked exactly two months since I arrived in Beijing and began my new life. I remember so clearly the feeling of boarding the plane to come here: like taking a deep breath, preparing, a little uncertain. Now, two months in, I’ve finally let that breath out. I’ve decided … More Two Months In: A Day in the Life
I [Genghis] Khan’t believe I’ve been living in Asia for almost two months now… About a week ago I returned from a trip to Mongolia for 国庆节, or national week, which is basically like Chinese Fourth of July when the whole country gets a week off and everyone travels. Not Inner Mongolia, which is part … More Steppe-ing in Style: 7 Days in Mongolia
Time has flown; I’ve been in Beijing for about three weeks now, and I’m finally beginning to feel like part of the city. I know my way around Dongzhimen, have a couple of favorite food places, and at last got a Chinese bank account, which makes a HUGE difference when navigating Beijing. With a Chinese … More Settling
你好 from Beijing, and the beginning of my year as a Princeton in Asia Fellow! I’ve been here for just under one week now, and what a week it has been. I’ll start with what brought me here: the job. After spending the weekend before in Bangkok visiting some wonderful friends, I got off the … More Move-ins, Malls, and Millipedes: Week One in Beijing
This past May I graduated from Harvard. I’m not quite sure where these four years went, but I know they’ve left me with an unbelievable amount of knowledge I never thought I’d have, and more importantly, friends I will carry with me for a lifetime. One thing I still don’t know is how to be … More Bound for the Bĕi Area
In the past few months I’ve traveled to Bangkok for spring break, finished my sophomore year at Harvard (marking the halfway point of my undergraduate career… where did the time go?!), and caught an airline mistake fare that got me a week in Dubai and Abu Dhabi for $200 round trip flights. It’s been quite … More Bangkok
As it’s been over two weeks since I came home, this post is a little bit late—however, since during those two weeks I packed for school, moved into school, shopped for classes, and officially made my schedule, I think I can be pardoned. Regardless, I wanted to take a moment to share my thoughts about … More Tokyo
Catching Thoughts 