Who am I? What is this? Wha-whoah?

I have toyed with the idea of starting a blog for quite a while now. With my impending study-abroad semester, I started this blog to journal my daily interactions with the people, food, nightlife, and culture of Shanghai. That way, I will have something to look back upon at the end of the short five months, and others who read my blog will glimpse into what life is like as an American student in Shanghai.

As someone who moved to the states when I was ten, many people question why I would choose China as my study abroad site instead of somewhere I haven't been, somewhere like the culturally elite Florence or sunny Madrid. To this, I give two reasons.

Reason one is obvious, I miss my family. Aside from the small sub-pod of my mom, my dad, and me living in America, the vast majority of my family permanently live in various cities across China - including many aunts, cousins I'd grown up with, that crazy uncle (everybody has one), and my amazing grandparents who raised me. With the added pressure of securing summer internships and full-time offers creeping up, this study abroad semester would be my best chance of seeing them in a while.

 Reason two is a bit counter intuitive. The thing is, I "feel" more American than I "feel" Chinese. Although I moved here at a relatively late age, I was immediate submerged in an area of Long Island where the population was evenly split among whites, blacks, and Hispanics - leaving room for about four Asians in my entire high school. I never realized how NOT Asian I was until coming to college. In high school, I'd always been the "Token Asian," the one who gets good grades and eats with chopsticks at home. But being Chinese is not all about A's and chopsticks, and my new Asian friends at NYU quicked pointed out how different my upbringing was and how non-Asian I still am. I don't listen to K-Pop and I don't even know who Jay Chow is, I don't play the piano or the violin and I've never been made to miss a party to study for the SAT. I often wonder, what would my life be like if I never came to America? I would be a full-fledged Chinese girl, also in her second year at university. Would I still have the same interests and wear the same style of clothing? Would I be cooler? Happier? Studying abroad in Shanghai is my chance to answer these questions for myself.

I am most interested in the delicate and interesting details of everyday life that make Chinese culture so different, yet similar to American culture- Chinese ideas on consumerism, standards of beauty, and how it ties into and evolved from American/Western concepts. Look out for lots of blog posts about these.



Lastly, what is xiao long bao? Xiao long bao is a dish from Southern China, also known as soup dumplings. They have become very popular in America, and is a traditional dimsum dish. Many people wonder how the soup is put into the dumpling - do they use a syringe? How is this possible? Oh my this little pastry is simply magical! Here, on my blog, I will reveal to you the secret as to how the soup is put into the dough. Are you ready for this? The chefs...freeze the soup first! After the bun is steamed, the soup naturally melts back into liquid form.

Enjoy my blog!