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-April Feng | Monday, April 4, 2016
Whether you are on campus or abroad, whether you get your news from Buzzfeed, Twitter, The Washington Post or The New York Times, on March 28, you probably heard that there was a shooting in Washington, D.C. I happened to be working inside the newsroom of CBS News, located only 20 minutes away from Capitol
April Feng | Friday, February 19, 2016
It was a sunny afternoon in Washington D.C., and I was at my favorite Starbucks, holding a cup of hot chocolate with extra whipped cream. It was a busy day for the café shop. Every seat was occupied. As I looked for my favorite spot — the table in the corner next to the window
April Feng | Friday, February 5, 2016
Rebecca: Mom makes the best sweet osmanthus flowers sauce for our annual Spring Festival feast. April: Rebecca and I would put on our nicest clothes and follow my mom all the way to the supermarket to select the best osmanthus flowers. Rebecca: Mom thoroughly washed the bright yellow osmanthus flowers, picked a bright sunny day to
April Feng | Friday, January 22, 2016
Guī jŭ: Verb: To regulate, to limit, to straighten, to shape. Noun: Rule, good manner, limit, shape, self-control. One day when I was four years old, my kindergarten teacher walked into the classroom and announced: “Today we will learn how to sit.” She then introduced to us the concept of guī jŭ, the ability to
April Feng | Thursday, December 3, 2015
On the days of the ISIS attacks in Paris, Beirut and Baghdad, I was in New York, safe from all the bombings and shootings. In the dark subway station in New York City, time went back to Sept. 11, 2001. My mom woke me up from sleep. On the evening news, I saw a plane crashing into
April Feng | Wednesday, November 11, 2015
“What kind of base would you like?” “Can I have the Sichuan base?” “Sriracha?” “Um, no. Sichuan.” “What is that?” Helplessly, I pointed out my choice of stir-fry base on the menu: “This one, Sì-Chuān.” I pronounced the word with perfect tones: fourth, first. “Oh! You mean Szechuan!” The cook exclaimed in English, her native language,
April Feng | Thursday, October 29, 2015
I started my junior year prepared. On the first night of the semester, my roommates and I opened a huge bottle of diet Coke celebrating the fact that we were finally not starting from zero. Indeed, with six jobs, two majors, 19 academic credits, many close friends and a sense of familiarity, I firmly believed this
April Feng | Thursday, October 8, 2015
“Courage is not defined by those who fought and did not fall, but by those who fought, fell and rose again.” — Anonymous. When I first came to America two years ago, there were a couple of things about this culture I did not understand, chief among them football. After my “pitiful absence” from the
April Feng | Thursday, September 24, 2015
For all my international student friends who cannot be with their families during Mid-Autumn Moon Festival this Sunday. For all my friends who are experiencing cultural shock. For all those who are struggling to blend in and to find a home and to those who are still trying to find, accept and appreciate who they
April Feng | Thursday, September 10, 2015
There have been three sexual assaults during the first two weeks of school, leaving us deeply and gravely irritated by and disappointed with this reality. However, I have come to believe the darker the times, the more necessary it is to find hope and strength within ourselves. As someone who truly believes in the power