(Idk why I wrote this in third person. But it’s more fun that way.) * No one talks on the Shinkansen. She eats her colorful little bento and hears not a cough, not a beep of anyone’s ringtone. Quieter than every 7am subway she’s been on around the world. Outside the oval window, the countryside … Continue reading December in Japan: Vignettes
Tag: Winter Break
Disney, nocturnal me, Harry Potter
Classes are over for the semester, senior year is past its midpoint, but Thanksgiving break still feels like yesterday. I feel older, not wiser, still grasping at the last straws of magic — of a world slinking away. The gates of college contain within them a world of their own, as do amusement parks. At … Continue reading Disney, nocturnal me, Harry Potter
I, Istanbul
Note: Thank you to Harvard's Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) and to our phenomenal trip leader Jesse for the chance to spend two weeks of my winter break in Turkey. Harvard kids, apply!!! Check out the program here. *** The cypress and plane trees, the rooftops, the heartache of dusk, the sounds coming from … Continue reading I, Istanbul
2020 新春快乐 • Happy Chinese New Year
新春快乐！Happy Chinese New Year 🧧🥟❣️ 祝大家鼠年大吉，心想事成，平安喜乐 🐹 A week ago I was making manti (Turkish dumplings) at a cooking studio in Istanbul alongside other students on the CMES (Center of Middle Eastern Studies) excursion. Today, after waking up way past noon, I wander into the living room in my PJs and see my family making dumplings. … Continue reading 2020 新春快乐 • Happy Chinese New Year
winsome little nothings
S I N G A P O R E — engulfed in days of tropical thunderstorms and endless showers. The city is crying and I wake up to the pitter-patter of tears streaking a windowpane accidentally left ajar. The floor next to the window is slightly wet. I leave footprints all over the wooden floor, … Continue reading winsome little nothings
Selina Xu 