Passport Nationality

The United States

Current City

Boston

University

Northeastern University

What Chinese cities have you lived in?

Shanghai, Beijing, GuangZhou

What schools did you attend in China?

Shanghai American School Pudong , Western Academy Beijing, Utahloy International School of GuangZhou

What was one China stereotype that you thought before moving?

I didn’t have any… I was born and bred in China.

How wrong were you?

Well if I didn’t have any, that would be kind of difficult to be wrong!

Favorite spot in your China city

I love the big old hotels on the Bund.  Like the Peace Hotel, The Waldorf Astoria, and the Peninsula.  The view from the roof top of the Peninsula has to be one of the best in Shanghai!

Coolest travel experience while living in China

For my grad trip I backpacked around China with my best friend. Hiking 黄山 – Huangshan (The Yellow Mountains) was my favorite spot!

Favorite school trip

In the 8th grade we traveled on an overnight sleeper train to Inner Mongolia. We slept in Yurts in the Inner Mongolian grasslands and got to ride camels and sand board in the Gobi Desert!

What were the top school activities you were involved in?

I played Varsity Soccer all four years of high school.  I was also heavily involved in theatre (acting, directing, and theatre tech).

While in China did you win any awards or work on any awesome projects that you wouldn’t have been able to back home?

I was involved in a project raising money for a rural Chinese local primary school, that was damaged during the 2007 Sichuan earthquake.  The money we raised went into rebuild the school. After the initial rebuild was complete, we traveled to the school for their grand opening.  Our group was received an ‘Award for International Understanding’ from the European Council of International Schools.

Write a piece of advice you would have liked to have before moving to China.

Having been born here I wouldn’t have really needed any advice… But if I were going to give a piece of advice, it would be to not give up an amazing opportunity to learn the Chinese language! It is not an easy language to learn, but I truly believe that it will enhance your experience and understanding of China!

What is your fav Chinese dish?

鱼香肉丝 – yu xiang rou si.  Which roughly translates to ‘fish flavored pork’… it actually tastes nothing like fish, but it is AMAZING!

Got any fake market tips?

Start your bargaining price 1/3 less than you actually want to pay. That will give you some wiggle room while negotiating.  Stay strong out there! 

What was one special opportunity or activity you got to participate in while living in China?

My dad worked in sports marketing in China for many years and because of that I had the opportunity to meet and hang out with a lot of international athletes! Athletes that came for events raising awareness of their sports in China and also for big events like the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  This was definitely something I wouldn’t have gotten to experience had I lived in the US!

What else did we miss in your life that you’d like to share?

I know China for most people is not easy or comfortable moving to, it is the place I consider home though. I have been blessed so early on to have experienced China like very few others have. I am only 19 and I am fluent in Chinese, I have had the opportunity to travel many places inside and outside of China.  I won’t lie, it is not like China and growing up moving around was always an easy, but I wouldn’t ever change it.  My experiences in China are the reason I am the person I am today!

What is one thing you wish you had done or gotten involved in while living in China?

My school where I grew up the majority of my life in China, taught after school language.  I was always jealous of my friends who were from Europe, and spoke in there mother tongue at home, had school in English, and took chinese as their language course at school. So I definitely wish that I had learned a third language.

What did it feel like leaving China?

I was really excited for a new start! However, I was also very sad. China is my home and I was moving across the world by myself for the first time, to live by myself for the first time.  That is a very daunting experience. 

How do you think you are differently equipped for life than the people around you are who didn’t get to experience international education? [better or worse]

Haha, other than the odd, learning how to do laundry or having to wash dishes without Ayi… I think I am better equipped, I think I have a larger awareness and understanding of different cultures than most of the people around me, which makes me more sensitive to a myriad of different social and global issues. Also the habit that my family has had moving my whole life has given me a strength of adaptability, not to mention the fact that I have been traveling internationally since I was 13.