i come to you like to an old friend lost in some forgotten table of past lunches and teas though for us it was late nights watching the sun creep over the cold dead of the in-between days the miracle peace between dead yesterday and tomorrow pulling, demanding. You, old friend, never change. Forever patient, […]
“Don’t take a taxi.” the girl at the hostel said. “They can tell you’re not from around here.” “But I’m Chinese too,” I said. “But you’re not from here. Your skin, the way you dress, the way you walk. And then you open your mouth and you’re definitely not from here.”
Beijing was beautiful that day. The sky was a disconcerting blue, and the Blade Runner-esque skyscrapers were actually visible. The late summer sun formed streaks of sweat down our necks and a dryness in our throats. It glowed through the white curtains of the mercifully air conditioned expat apartment –professionally cleaned twice a week, I was […]
The Game: There were five classes a year. Grades were given every semester. Goal was to get the highest average. Regular classes counted for four points, Honors for five, AP for six. (Those were for A’s, of course. B’s were an integer lower, C’s lower than that. But if you had to worry about B’s […]
Beilin Ye 