2013-09-04
“Bienvenidos a Quito and welcome to Ecuador,” the woman working at immigration told me, as she told every other person that walked by her window. But for me, I was being welcomed to my new home, Ecuador. Because our flight arrived at midnight, I had no choice but to submit to my body’s needs, immediately...
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2013-09-04
What are you doing? What are you thinking? Where are you going? What’s the point? What is life? Why do we live? What meaning do we have? Do we have a set destiny? Can we change anything? Are we just here for the ride or can we choose every part? Why did that happen? Why...
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2013-09-04
While other families brought their old clothing to either a homeless shelter or a secondhand store, my mom brought them to her job. Our clothing, like many other family’s clothing, was donated to homeless families, yet in our situation, there was no middleman. Instead, my mom gave the clothing directly to her clients: homeless families. My...
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2013-09-04
I’m doing it. Yes, I am. There’s no going back. That’s it; the boy-cut Mom used to give us was coming back. Remember when we lived in Vietnam and she always cut our hair short so we can run around like crazy boys? I look back the old pictures now and laugh at our innocent...
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2013-08-29
The plane landed for the last time, finally arriving in California. I got my bags without a problem and headed towards baggage claim 3. After 10 minutes of walking with 50lb bags, I fall to the ground after finally reaching the meeting place, threw my bags on the ground and look for my group to...
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2013-08-29
“Actually, I will be spending next year in Ecuador…” This Thursday at 7:00 AM, I will climb onto a shuttle bus with 50 other Fellows, my duffel and backpack packed under the bus, and depart Stanford University for the airport. We will all check in together. We will all go through security together. We will...
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2013-08-29
6:30 AM. I roll out of bed and trudge to my bathroom like a lifeless zombie, wishing for just ten more minutes of sleep. After getting ready for school and always seeming to miss breakfast along the way, I arrive for orchestra rehearsal by 7. Then comes my long day of school until 3. I...
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