During this virtual school year, we were thrown into a loop with our schedules, discovered how to pass time in the uncertainty, and got a fresh perspective about ourselves along the way. Despite the unpredictable nature of the virus, this period of time gave us the opportunity to pick up a new hobby and learn […]
The second of a three part series about food as both an international cultural experience and nutrition education. What memories about food do you take away from your childhood? What kinds of foods are your comfort foods? What does this say about your culture and how you were socialized into thinking about food? Does this […]
While I consider myself a Mexican since I was born and spent my childhood in that country, in reality I became who I am in a midwest town in Indiana called Terre Haute. I spent all my teenage years there, enjoying and learning from the people who gave me and my family a warm welcome […]
When I was in Tokyo my freshman year, March arrived with hanami. My friends and I packed some chilled drinks and mochi, got on our bikes, and rode through the streets. We rounded a corner on Yasukuni Doori and I was hit with a ripple of pink flowers in the air that I had never […]
6 a.m. in the morning, I was standing at the entrance of Prague airport with a huge and heavy backpack sitting on my hips, hiking boots I got on sale only a few days prior and a sweat-free outfit that still had the pungent smell of just bought clothes. A cold wind gently blew from […]
A historic election in Malaysia. An intrepid reporter. A scandal so big, it’s being investigated by more than 10 different governments. It was all supposed to come to a head this week, in the now-postponed corruption trial of Najib Razak. But how did we get here? The first time I visited Malaysia, I noticed a […]
Philadelphia, with one of the largest Asian American populations in the continental United States, was an ideal location for the eleventh annual Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, PAAFF. Featuring a variety of musical performances, workshops, films, conferences and galleries around Center City Philadelphia, the aim of the annual festival was to spark questions rather than […]
Today, unlike other time periods in history, we have more of an opportunity to expose ourselves to cultures foreign to us. We no longer interact solely with people who practice a similar lifestyle or who hold the same beliefs. Thanks to globalization, we are more aware of how people on the other side of the […]
Language learning is not always the easiest path. I am currently in Japanese Advanced Level One, and I ask myself why I spend hours drawing miniature kanji, glaring at grammar notes, and breaking pencil tips over vocabulary I can’t remember after a week of studying. The reason I persevere though is as easy as this: […]
There was a hiccup, a cough, and the jumbled clip-clop of high heels and work boots. I was surrounded by a seething mass of humanity closing in at me from every angle, jolting me and rocking me until I became one with it. In that moment of unity, I felt a sense of freedom I […]
What do you think about when fall arrives? What do you associate it with? Fallen leaves? Cold? Wind? Or autumn? Pumpkin Spice? Halloween? Oranges and Reds? Warmth? Whether you like it or not, fall enters like an unavoidable old friend coming to say hello every year. Traditionally, the fall season in the U.S. is marked […]
I’ll admit that I haven’t properly sat down and watched Doctor Who in years, but there’s something new and exciting in this season: this is the first time a woman has been cast as The Doctor. Jodie Whittaker kicked off the most recent season, leading the cult classic in the title role. The show premiered […]
Central America’s widespread criminal activity and violence drives thousands of families out of their countries in search of refuge. The “Violent Northern Triangle” is home to organized criminal groups such as MS-13 and drug cartels that control the police forces of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. Organized crime groups facilitate tactics made to lure in […]
The message was clear from the beginning. The day John McCain was announced dead from terminal cancer, my mother frantically called and relayed the news as if I hadn’t seen it everywhere already. “Did you know he helped normalize Vietnam and America’s relationship?” My mom started her eulogy with the accomplishments of the late McCain, […]
Have you considered what kind of job you want to do after you graduate from university? Hopefully the answer is yes. It is very fortunate to be hired in your ideal job. What if you get a job that is quite different from what you imagined? The movie Departure will tell you the answer. This […]
Can you think of a movie that you love so much that you would choose to watch it again and again? I can! One movie that I have seen many times is called Sunny. It’s a Korean comedy-drama that was released in 2011. The movie is about a middle-aged woman called Im Na-mi who tries […]
Bram Stoker likely had no idea how, his mythical creature, Dracula, would have a massive and international influence on modern pop culture and film. We have the original blood-hungry and cruel vampires in Interview with the Vampire: Vampire Chronicles starring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, we have the adorable vampire school girl from Japanese manga(comic […]
Willkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome! It’s Berlin in the early thirties. In a dimly-lit establishment called the Kit Kat Klub, guests dine, drink, and watch salacious performances. A clown-like master of ceremonies (Emcee or M.C) would often tell his guests, “Leave your troubles outside,” swinging his arm with an exaggerated flair. Sally Bowles, the club’s wild and […]
Theodore Roosevelt once said, “the more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future.” Hit the Wall, written by Ike Holter and directed by Brandon McShaffrey (MFA ‘12) is a play that takes us a step back in history, specifically to 1969 in a New York City club called Stonewall, […]
We want to extend a huge thank you to everyone who entered our first annual Beyond Borders Writing Contest! We received so many diverse entries about different experiences, and we really enjoyed reading your stories and hearing from your perspectives. You’ll get the chance to read them soon, too, because all of the winning submissions […]
