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Tag Archives: Gap Year
We Fly High
I can do this, I told myself. There were the rocks glaring down at me, coaxing, warning, daring. There was Rick behind me, no doubt wincing at my foolhardiness. We had come to the Tibetan Plateau, the land of monks, … Continue reading
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Tagged China, Dalian, Gap Year, Gregory Kristof, rock climbing, Tibet
2 Comments
Fables
Here are two Chinese fables you may have slept through (if you’re like me) in world history class. In the first fable, a throng of artists gathered to see who could draw a snake the fastest. This was pre-Crayola, so … Continue reading
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Tagged China, chinese culture, chinese fables, draw a snake and add feet, Gap Year, Gregory Kristof, huashe tianzu
2 Comments
Highs and Lows of Chinese Education
Merely saying the word curdles the juices of Chinese high-schoolers. It’s a word that invades their minds from diapers onward, piercing, commanding, enervating. The thought of it boomerangs around their insides like a bouncy ball made of needles. It is … Continue reading
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Tagged altieri, China, chinese education, gaokao, Gap Year, Gap Year Blog, Gregory Kristof
11 Comments
Lamb of God
I had to fill something that was very, very empty. First the stomach growled just slightly. Then the growling grew louder, turning heads. Before long, belly machinery was grinding, train whistles were screeching, and long dormant forces were hissississing with … Continue reading
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Tagged altieri, Beijing, China, Gap Year, Gregory Kristof, lamb meat, street food, tsinghua
4 Comments
The Drinking Age in China is 18
To explain the Chinese word for a legal “right,” my teacher used the example of alcohol. “A little kid doesn’t have the right to drink beer,” she made the class repeat in Chinese, “but I do have the right.” A … Continue reading
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Tagged Beijing, Bridging Gaps, China, Chinese Drinking Age, Gap Year, Gap Year Blog, Gap Year in China, Greg Kristof, Rick Altieri
2 Comments
Our Large Russian Friend
Staring down the barrel of a Russian tank, I felt a feverish jolt running through my vertebrae. The tingling seemed a primitive reaction to confronting my mortality. Then again, it could have been a pulled muscle. I strained something while … Continue reading
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Tagged altieri, China, chinese military, chinese military museum, Gap Year, kristof, tank
3 Comments
Cold Showers Build Character
…I tell myself as I head to the washroom. Forget the gold-laced bathrooms of the Holiday Inn. I’m a full-throttled Chinese student, and I will live as the Chinese Everyman does. I will take a cold shower. Here I am … Continue reading
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Tagged altieri, amherst, Beijing, China, cold showers, Gap Year, harvard, kristof, tsinghua
3 Comments
The Trip
I suppose any blogger owes readers an explanation. I’m writing because I have a worthwhile story. Though I’m eighteen, I will not attend college this fall. I’ve deferred my enrollment at Amherst college for a gap year in China. In high school … Continue reading
