"As a Chinese adoptee (I was born in China and adopted as a baby, after which I grew up in the U.S.), my Chinese appearance means that people I encounter throughout my semester abroad naturally expect me to understand Chinese and be versed in the language of daily life here in Beijing. Although my Chinese heritage is something that I value as a part of my identity, so too is my New England upbringing, which is usually unnoticed in China."

"...I painted me and my housemate’s nails the same glittery iridescent as we spoke about gender roles in America and Japan. I explained how I find gender to be completely socially constructed and subsequently why I enjoy breaking down the barriers between masculinity and femininity and she told me she didn’t know anyone could be a feminist but that she’d quite like to be. My heart melted a bit."

"A new chapter of vocabulary every day is overwhelming at times, but I remind myself that every word and grammar pattern we learn is for a reason. Sometimes, I talk to my roommate and realize that she just used a word that we had learned that very day, and I simultaneously think, “How convenient!” and, “How did I even survive without that word yesterday?” "

"After he finished a winding discourse that touched on the former Iraqi president, American foreign policy, and, much to Coleman and my confusion, Muslim women, I purchased one of the Saddam trinkets he kept stockpiled in his glovebox for my research, and he gifted one to Coleman for free."