North Korea By: Alex Voisine South Korea President Moon Jae-In and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met last Friday at a historic summit in Panmunjom, South Korea, marking the first time a North Korean leader had set foot in South Korea. The purpose of the summit was to discuss denuclearization and the brokering of […]
Students and faculty members that showed up in the #YouAreWelcomeHereWeek (Photo Credit: Hoa Nguyen) Temple’s International Student Affairs office launched its first #YouAreWelcomeHereWeek event in March to celebrate a more inclusive campus atmosphere, and it was so successful that another is already being planned for next year! A variety of innovative activities throughout the week […]
As a sophomore at Temple, I am still in the process of exploring on-campus resources. One of my favorite on-campus resources, the Writing Center, has been a lifesaver. Last year, I was struggling in a course that required lots of writing assignments. I was not familiar with English writing, and felt kind of helpless. As […]
Syria By: Alex Voisine On the eve of Friday, April 13, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a series of air strikes on alleged chemical weapons facilities in and around Damascus, in response to allegations that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons against civilians in the province of Douma. American forces were joined by the […]
Caption: Snowy owl flying over snow field, Canada COPYRIGHT:©Theo Allofs Last summer, I went to visit friends in Baku, Azerbaijan. As part of the visit, my friend, Faik, took me to the Heydar Aliyev Centre, famous for its unusual architecture. In case you do not know, Heydar Aliyev was Azerbaijan’s President from 1993 to 2003; […]
To read this article in english, click here. Pour lire cet article en français, cliquez ici. Creo que siempre hay oportunidades para encontrarnos a nosotros mismos. Momentos que nos permiten conocernos mejor, que nos permiten estar seguros de nuestros principios. Gracias a estos momentos, podemos caminar en paz hasta el próximo momento de dudas y […]
To read this article in english, click here. Para leer este artículo en español, haz click aquí. Je suis convaincue qu’il faut saisir toutes les opportunités qui nous permettent d’apprendre à mieux se connaître, et à nous conforter dans nos valeurs. Ce sont ces expériences qui nous font avancer en paix lorsque nous doutons, lorsque […]
Para leer este artículo en español, haz click aquí. Pour lire cet article en français, cliquez ici. I believe there are always opportunities to discover ourselves. Moments that allow us to learn more about ourselves, to be sure of our values. It is thanks to those moments that we can go forward in peace when […]
At any given night at my host family’s house, I am probably hearing at least three different languages. These days, when we’re all at the dinner table, I can hear English, Chinese, Japanese, and French. Currently, there are five guests staying with the Oikawas: Sshan from Taiwan, Onee from China, Dina and Nora from Belgium, […]
Syria By: Alex Voisine On Saturday, the Syrian-American Medical Society reported over 500 admissions of patients suffering from what appears to have been the effects of a chemical attack by the Syrian government. Those brought to local hospitals had difficulty breathing, bluish skin, foaming mouths, burns on their corneas, and “the admission of a chlorine-like […]
请看中文翻译 I was a kid who stuck close to home growing up. From the minute I started school, the commute was never far. Going to the middle school from my house was a mere 1.7 km. Moving on to high school increased it to 4 km. University was a completely different ball game. Moving from […]
English version available here. 从小到大,我都是比较黏家的女孩儿,从我开始上学到长大的过程中,都不会离家太远,我小学距离我家只有1.7公里,上中学后也只是4公里的距离,待我上大学后,从马来西亚半岛东海岸的家乡跨州去到340公里外的西海岸念书,那已是一次我觉得离开家人很远的距离,不过那距离还是能让我任性地想回家就回家,爸妈也很体贴地三不五时来探望我。只是现在,15079公里,又是一个怎样的距离? 15079公里的距离,隔着的是12个小时的时差,每当我起床上学开始忙碌的时候,爸妈哪儿都已是夜晚凌晨,他们在白天忙碌的时候,我经常也在披星带月地埋头熬夜温习,想睡不能睡。其实我们没有太多时间相处聊天,但是爸妈总是会很准时地在我的每个傍晚时分,也就是他们起床的时候给我打一通电话,每次当电话另一端传来那熟悉的声音,总让我觉得很温暖。就算有时我很忙,只能聊上个两三句,我也很满足很开心了,每一次的通话都让我感觉我们并不那么遥远,还是生活在同一个城市,只是因为忙碌而没法见面而已。 15079公里的距离,是24小时的飞行时间,去年7月,我爸妈带着我妹妹来费城探望我,是我在这里念书之后最快乐的时光,那时候我深刻感受到,即使身在异国,但只要有家人在身边的地方就是家。隔了一年后看着他们踏出机场的那一刻,还真的不敢相信他们来探望我了,他们紧紧抱着我的那一刻,心里瞬间温暖了起来。感觉好久好久都没有人可以依靠了,看见他们的那一刻,感觉就像是小鸟回到了鸟巢一样,一种只有见到他们才有的安全感。那时候,我带着爸妈和妹妹到纽约市和大西洋城去游玩,和他们一起见识自由女神像,一起逛街购物,我感觉我是跟家人来旅行的,而不是只身来念书的。后来,妈妈为了陪伴我而留在费城的一个星期里,我重新体验了有家人在身边为我打点一切的感觉,可以说是衣来伸手,饭来张口,那感觉简直就像是有妈的孩子像个宝。 15079 公里的距离,也让我活生生地从16年的朋友圈里拉出来,丢进另一个陌生环境的开始。我的家乡不大,很多朋友都是小时候一起玩闹一起闯祸,一起上学一起逃学,一起参加活动,一起见证彼此的成长,甚至一起上大学念书还要一起同住,他们几乎就是陪我编制整段青葱岁月的主角,但或许因为我几乎都在同一个朋友圈里被他们呵护着长大,所以离开了他们让我觉得彷徨无助,不过庆幸的是,他们依旧会很贴心地陪着我视讯聊天,一句“只要你需要,随时打给我,我们之间没有时差”让我感动很久,至今偶尔我们还是会视讯聊天,聊聊大家的近况,一切都感觉像从前一样没变过。 15079公里的距离,是我492天的期盼,那天,我终于横跨这段距离,回到了家人身边。踏入家的那一刻,家里那个熟悉的模样,和离开时一样没有变过。打开房门,房间一如往常总是会“自动”的变得一尘不染。我知道,这是一位含蓄的母亲表达爱意,欢迎孩子回家的方式。只是,一切我以为没改变的,真的都还一样吗?在我离家的时候,我侄儿还未满周岁,那个当时还被我抱在怀里的小不点,现在已经学会走路了,当我很兴奋地跑向前抱起他时,他突然被吓得哇的一声大哭,我妈妈对他笑说:“傻瓜,这是电话里常常和你讲话的那个姑姑啊”。虽然这事儿说来好笑,但我不禁在想,在我离家这段日子,我是不是错过了什么?那些我以为因为保持联系而不变的温存,是不是真的还一样?如果是,为什么我会有一种莫名的陌生? 回到家的第一晚是冬至,大人总说冬至大过年,隔了这么久后再跟家人们一起吃饭聊天,心里还是温暖的,只是当我认真把大家看了一遍,才发现父母的脸上怎么多了那些皱纹?白发也这么明显了?婆婆的年纪老了,记忆力和听力似乎又差了点,就连从小就一直喜欢腻在她身边聊天的外婆也好像有了一些莫名的疏远感,没有以前那么亲密了;饭后,跟朋友开车兜风逛街,看着这个告别一年多的小乡镇,突然有种游客来旅游的感觉,这里什么时候建了大楼?那里什么时候开了这么多家餐厅了?怎么以前上学常去的早餐店关门了?在聚会上,那群伴我长大的朋友们也不一样了,不再是那群总是幼稚耍智障又肤浅的屁孩儿了,反而多了一种成熟,有些人多了经历,有些人多了创伤,大家都似乎在这段时间里多了一份历练,再也不像以前那样无拘无束地没心没肺了。 我知道的,我们到这个年纪,总会像雏鸟离巢那样,离开彼此的身边,离开父母的怀抱往外看世界了。或许是距离拉长的思念把所有的变化全都放大,也让我变得如此敏感,对这里一切人事物的改变都看着这么感触。其实我也明白,人总在变,我也经历了一些从未经历的事情,也成长了,甚至从不会下厨到现在可以自行解决三餐而不会饿死,看在我妈眼里大概也是种不可思议的变化吧!只是,这15079公里的距离,阻隔了我参与他们的变化,也阻挡了他们参与我的成长,我错过了他们,他们也错过了我;纵使大家再怎么经常联络,但毕竟圈子拉开了,他们也不太了解我在这里生活面对的问题和感受,我大概也不能真正明白他们的执着和坚持。虽然我们隔着荧幕的相处和问候很贴心很温暖,甚至让我忧“一切都还一样”的错觉,但错觉毕竟是错觉,改变的还是在变。 我朋友说:“我们不会忘记你,只是会慢慢习惯没有你的聚会”,其实我也在习惯没有你们在身边的生活啊,或许成长到了某个不得不分开的阶段,我们都必须学会将对彼此的思念放在某个回忆点上,直到我们再次相遇,再回温……只是,在那之前,我们都只能像两个保持联络的平行世界一样,你过你的生活,我走我的日子。 原来,15079公里的距离,是两个世界的距离。
The Liberty Bell, the Eagles, Meek Mill, Rocky, Cheesesteaks (wiz wit, obviously). These are all things that comes to mind when one thinks of Philadelphia. History, sports, food and entertainment are all things that come from Philadelphia’s intersection of cultures. But Philly is also known for the street art that pays homage to the cultures […]
Gaza By: Alex Voisine Last Friday has been declared the deadliest day in the Israel-Palestine conflict since 2014, following violent altercations on the Israeli border of the Gaza Strip, in which 17 Palestinians were killed and over 1,000 were reported injured. An estimated 50,000 Palestinians gathered along the eastern border late last week, launching a […]
The Oscars had a big job to do at the 2018 awards ceremony. It was plagued for two years by the #OscarsSoWhite campaign, pointing out how all of the actors and actresses nominated were white, plus an awards season rocked by sexual harassment allegations and the #MeToo and #NoMore movements. To top it all off, […]
Vivimos en una época en la que no es extraño ver películas. Es común ir al cine o pasarla bien en casa disfrutando de algún film que encontramos en Netflix. Al ver estas cintas, uno se acostumbra a viajar a tierras remotas y tratar de relacionarse con los personajes que muchas veces no son como […]
Catalonia By: Alex Voisine Carles Puidgemont, the former president of Catalonia and the foremost leader in the movement towards secession from Spain, was arrested by German authorities on Sunday as he was crossing the border into Denmark. Puidgemont, who had been living in self-exile in Brussels since October, faces a number of charges in Spain […]
The one thing I have missed the most while spending time in America is homemade dumplings (some say jiaozi). Back in my home in Taiwan, making dumplings is a special event that everyone loves to do. Funny thing is, every family has its own way of making them. For example, my grandmother’s version is a […]
Russia By Rachel Elliott On Sunday, Russian President Vladmir Putin won the presidential election, granting him six more years in office. The president received three-quarters of the votes in his landslide victory. While turnout rate was high–around 67%–European election observers reported a lack of real competition and restriction on freedoms surrounding the voting. For instance, […]
Jewish identity is a complicated and multifaceted subject, particularly regarding its historic relationship with antisemitism. Equally as complicated and multifaceted are xenophobic and other types of discriminatory behavior, which can be difficult to understand in both their origins and their persistence in our environment. At the lecture “Antisemitism: Yesterday and Today, Here and Abroad,” hosted […]