Australia 2017

As promised, I am posting about my trip to Australia this past spring break.  I have successfully been able to finish uploading some of the photos I’ve taken along my trip.  This week, the first week back from break was really hard…we were thrown at new work, already a test, and new major projects, in addition to getting back our grades.  We are restarting school again and hitting the track hard.  

We left for Australia the day break started, Saturday.  I don’t believe I’ve ever taken a longer plane flight.  The total flying time to Australia was over 20 hours, and this didn’t include the flight transfer time at a west coast airport.  We arrived in Melbourne, Australia on Monday morning.  

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MELBOURNE

My aunt and her family live in Melbourne with my grandparents.  This past summer, she visited Boston.  Now, we’re visiting the city she lives in.  We stayed at with my family in

 Melbourne for four days.  My highlight in Melbourne was probably going to see the 12

12 Apostles

Apostles the second day of our visit.  The drive from Melbourne to the 12 Apostles is legitimately 4-5 hours each way.  Thus, that particular day, my uncle, who drove us around the various lookouts at the national park, and my family drove for 10 hours! That really just reinforced the idea of how vast the country is.   The 12 stones that protruded high into the waters and the way the sun was sitting cast a shadow across the stones.  In sunlight, they appeared an orangy yellowish and reddish stone color, reminding me of the Grand Canyon in Arizona.  As I captured photos from different angles, I heard the perpetual crash of waves against the rocks.  I have a notion that once, the 12 Apostles were linked to the land behind them, except over time, that chunk of land eroded, and now, 12 stones stand in the middle of the blue ocean.  The water was a greeny-blue hue, not quite as turquoise as the caribbean islands, but bluer than the oceans in Florida.  

Other lookouts which are part of 12 Apostles National Park

PORT DOUGLAS

Our next stop in our vacation was to Port Douglas.  Essentially, from Melbourne, we flew to Cairns, drove an hour, and arrived in Port Douglas.  The activity that most attracted my family to Port Douglas was snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reefs.  We arrived in Port Douglas on Friday, and on Sunday, we booked a trip abroad Quicksilver, to view the Great Barrier Reefs.  These two weeks in Australia had been consistently rainy, and may family was worried as we headed out into the ocean.  The rain somewhat yielded, so we hopped into the ocean with snorkeling gear on.  I believe my first reaction when I slipped into the water was

either,  the water is as warm as my shower temp, or, there are so many giant red fish here! I believe the giant red fish I saw swimming around the Quicksilver dock were red snapper and the guides on the dock confirmed that the giant blackish ones were tuna.  Snorkeling for about 1.5 hours, I was able to see so much coral!  I rented an underwater camera to pictures with.  This place reminded me of my snorkeling experience in St. John’s, one of the US Virgin Islands.  However, I think the major difference I noticed between these two places I snorkeled was that the Great Barrier Reefs had soft coral [anemone] and more colorful coral while St. John’s had more fish swimming about.  A beautiful sight seeing all the coral!

In Port Douglas, there was also a large national park, called the Daintree Rainforest National Park.  This rainforest is recorded to be the oldest rainforest in the world…older than the Amazon.  On various days during our stay in Port Douglas, we visited different parts of the rainforest.

SYDNEY

I am fortunate enough to live in the suburbs close to a nice city, Boston.  I’ve also visited many cities around the US and a few in other countries.  I’ve told myself that I want to live in a city when I grow up and for some time, I remember bugging my parents about buying a house in the city.  There are three cities I said I was interested in living in when I grew up: Boston, New York City and San Francisco.  I had never been to Sydney prior to this spring break and now, it’s made the list of cities I’m interested in living in.

I would argue that the two most famous places to visit in Sydney are the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Sydney Opera House, and the Blue Mountains.  Having stayed for another four days in Sydney, my family was able to visit all these attractions.  We took a tour of the

Sydney Opera House on our first day in Sydney.  If I remember nothing else,  I will remember the unique, one of a kind architecture of the building.  The exterior is quite well known, resembling layered white sails sitting in the middle of the harbour.  Meanwhile, the inside of the building that was equally stunning.  There was a lot of modern detail and as our tour guide mentioned, the style of the interior was inspired by both modern design, ancient design and contemporary design.  I loved the wooden beams on the ceilings and wall in

particular and the sunlight that flooded through the ample glass windows.  The Sydney Harbour Bridge lies right across the river from the Opera House so we were able to view it simultaneously as we explored the Opera House.  

The Blue Mountains is a whole other story.  The main attraction of the tour we took was Jamison Valley, which houses the 3 Sisters, which are 3 stones that sit next to each other at approximately equal heights above the valley.  We did some hiking in the rainforest in Jamison Valley, while our tour guide told us of the legend surrounding the 3 Sisters.  Apparently, there was a chief with three beautiful daughters.   However this Chief was very greedy and desperately wanted his daughters to stay with him in his village when he grew old.  In another village, there were three warriors who wanted to marry the chiefs 3 daughters.  But the chief couldn’t let that happen, so he took his three daughters into the forest and hid them behind a shrub while he awaited the warriors who were coming to rescue his daughters.  As expected, the warriors arrived.  Feeling threatened, the chief took his magical bone wand

3 sisters in center left

and turned his three daughters into stones so that the warriors could not take them away.  Then he turned himself into a lyre bird and flew away, tossing the magical bone into the forest.  The bone was never to be seen again and this is why every time you see a lyre bird, it is very likely digging around in the soil, looking for the lost magical bone to turn its 3 daughters back into humans.  I found that legend to be very intriguing, yet unfortunately,  I did not happen to see a lyre bird in my hike in the rainforest.  

I love the vibe of Sydney, which is why is draws me to the city.  The mild and temperate climate of the city allows people to come together outdoors.  This is what’s so beautiful about the city.  I saw lots of businessmen and women walking to and from work everyday and in the

evenings, and there were consistently people relaxing, dating, dining and partying at and near the Harbour.  In reality, I think I saw more people by the harbour in one night, walking, talking, exercising and partying than I’d see walking down the most popular street in Boston for the whole day.  There was also a sense of relaxation in Sydney, people are not as reserved at people in Boston.  I felt there was always some hype in the air.

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So that concludes the highlights of my Spring Break 2017.  What a wonderful way to spend it.

Gift giving

For spring break these past two weeks, I’ve been in Australia, which is why I haven’t been posting for some time.  Hopefully next week I will be able to post the recap of my trip...after I put together the photos I’ve taken along the way!

However, over the trip, I’d been thinking a lot about gift giving.  We bought gifts for my family in Australia and it was quite interesting to see each person’s reaction to the gift presented to them.  But really, I was thinking about how meaningful they were…almost a symbol for how well I knew the person.  Before break, when I was neatening up my room, I saw the gift my cousin from China gave me a few summers ago: a set of pencils that when lined up in the correct order like a puzzle, showed a picture of a red flower.  Thinking back, I remember how happy I was receiving that gift and how well I thought my cousin knew my taste.

I notice myself beginning to care more about gift giving as well.  I remember in the past, when I had to purchase gifts for friends for birthdays, I was a little more reckless.  I often saved the duty of shopping until there was barely enough time to purchase anything special.  In Australia these past two weeks, I did some shopping for gifts for my friends.  I put more thought into the shopping and I found myself genuinely caring more.  As I was walking out the store with the gift for my friend, I found myself repeatedly saying, I think she’ll really like it.  And that alone made me happy, to be able to give someone something I believe they’ll love.  

Gifts can be used as a symbol of appreciation, of recognition, of celebration, of tradition, of a holiday.  And what’s so beautiful about gifts is how differently they manifest themselves.  Parents give their children the gift of life, while friends may give each other the gift of a friendship.  There are concrete gifts and there are abstract gifts.  Either way, I’m beginning to see the power of gift giving and the resonance in each individual gift.

This is to have succeeded!

These past few months of eighth grade have been busy.  I've been looking out at different high school options.  Today is March 10.  Today is also the day when we get the results.  

This morning, I awoke with mixed emotions to the results of one school I applied to.  Apparently, the result was quite evident at school, as my friends and teachers were concerned about my countenance.  
At my free block, I decided I needed some inspiration to push me onwards.  As many people know, pacing is one way I calm myself down [I'm a kinesthetic learner and thinker], when I found this poster in the arts building by the front door.  I share it today, remembering that this is really success.  In case the picture isn't clear, it says, 

"To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better…to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded!" ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Our small, yet unfathomably large world

Our world is unfathomably large.  When I awake in the morning, reading the latest news on my iPad, I hear about pollution in Beijing to the extent where people can barely be outside safely without a mask, I read about the terrors of the war in the middle east, I read about the Trump administration and the laws they create, hoping to influence Congress one way or another, thinking how inconsiderate and discriminatory some laws are, yet judging them not

fully beholding its effect on my own community.  I have noticed myself judging, perceiving and soaking in everything that happens in the world with a sense of detachment, as if this would never happen to me.  Yet I always know, in the back of my head, that I am as susceptible to becoming threatened in a war as anyone else.  Climate change, war, new laws etc. just haven’t managed to reach me at a personal level yet.  And this is how I’m observing the vastness of this world, and noticing how often I just hear something with that sense of detachment, thinking about how distant that world news is. But the reality is it’s not that far.  

Simultaneously, this world sometimes feels small.  There are at least three kids who attend my school [private, so not everyone is from the same town], who live on the same street [they’re in different grades].  Two of them are neighbors.  What again makes this world feel so large, is that they don’t even know they are.  

Two weeks ago, I was walking home, when I saw a kid from Belmont Day School that I hadn’t seen for about 4 years.  Somehow, we still recognized each other.  That afternoon, I was walking home from school, and he, after getting off at his stop on the public bus, passed me on the street.  And then there are other incidents where my friends both traveled to another country over break and seen each other at that foreign location.  

I believe coincidence, chance, luck, and fate, partially control whom we see.  Sometimes we go to school with our neighbors and don’t even know it.  Other times, we see people we haven’t seen in years in a foreign country.  It all quite amazes me.  

 

Girl's Math Collaborative 2017

This past Wednesday, I attended the sixth annual Girls Math Collaborative at the BB&N Middle School.  Sure, after two and a half hours of solving gruesomely challenging, yet equally brilliant problems, this amazing group of 22 girls this past Wednesday afternoon was able to open the treasure chest.  Chocolate was our little treasure.

Mr. Ken Fan, who I believed initiated this Collaboration at BB&N, handed the group of 22 a giant packet at the beginning of the session.  Inside, there were around seven sheets of papers.  The first sheet explained the context of this giant problem, which illustrated that a girl–whom we shall call Hunter since I can’t remember her exact name–who had traveled through to many different cities around the world in order to find the treasure chest that Mr. Fan brought with us that contained the chocolate.  There was a lock on the treasure chest, and in order to open it into the treasure chest, you had to move the lock in particular directions, which symbolized the locations of the city Hunter traveled to.  The remaining six pages in the packet were the problems [each page had 5 different questions], and the numerical answer to each problem gave a coordinate point, representing each city Hunter visited.  In the end, all the points we had solved would be plotted on one coordinate plane, the group had to work together to find a pattern to move the lock [the one that had a slider] so that no city locations were “visited” twice, and ensure that Hunter never traveled horizontally across the coordinate plane, only right to left, up and down.

Now, this doesn’t all seem so difficult.  There were 30 questions, 2.5 hours, and 22 girls solving them.  Yet it proved difficult, since, as Mr. Fan pointed out, these were high school level math problems, some even college levels.  I believe few middle schoolers, if any, could complete this challenge by themselves.  And this leads me back to strongly implanting belief in the power of synergy.  

I’ve talked about this before, with the Olympics, which I first became aware of through Sean Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens.  Yet this past Wednesday vigorously exercised synergy, thrusting it into full force.  The group succeeded only because everyone contributed.  Some problems one group struggled to solve, were solved by another.  I witnessed and experienced this powerful network of girls collaborating with each other, with no one holding back.  The group soon realized, after maybe half and hour of experimenting how vital it was to the team’s success that any and every piece of information was shared.  Even if the information or point brought up appeared useless, we still welcomed it.  It no longer became a competition between our group members to see who could solve the most problems, which is a game we frequently play in math class, but it became a team competition.  It was fun, it was challenging, and it made many laugh, there were screams of excitement, and groans of impatience.  And this heterogeneous mixture of emotion was very powerful for me.  

It was also called a Girl’s Math Collaboration for a reason…boys couldn’t attend.  This was also a powerful statement.  No more ascendancy grasped solely by the male members of the community.  It was empowering to experience and be a part of, especially after I’d just written about gender roles a little over a week ago.  

Three days later, today, I’m reflecting on this experience again.  It’s a wonder how powerful synergy is and the great places it can take you.  This most certainly was an experience I will truly treasure.

The Commencement of Spring

I can’t help but observe how spring is slowly holding grip of itself, seconds away from thoroughly exploding behind the shadow winter left upon Boston.  These past 3 days have been remarkably warmer than the previous weeks.  It must be a sign that spring is approaching.  

Friday must have been the first sign of warmth through this winter.  I must admit, this particular winter has been considerably generous to us in terms of lowest temps and amount of snow.  I remember that one year  [I believe 3 years ago], when it snowed three feet of snow one night.  Friday was 72 degrees.  It was so much warmer than the previous days that my body hadn’t adjusted to the temperature yet.  I changed into shorts at school.  

After school, I went out for a six mile run around town.  I was planning on doing a 4 miler, but I couldn’t resist the sunshine or the freedom running in shorts felt like.  And there were people.  Lots of people.  Running.  Walking.  Biking.  Pushing baby strollers around.  It was quite different than what I had observed running outside merely a week ago.  I run outside through the winter [unless the temps drop below 32 degrees, then I’m on the treadmill], and for the first time in what felt like months, I saw many people outdoors, enjoying the sunshine, enjoying the ability to walk outside without shivering in a parka.  It seems to me that this springback from winter lures more people out of their doors than the peaks of summer, or even the approach of winter.  

By January, many people just can’t stand the cold any longer.  By February, they’re peeking out their windows to see whether spring is coming or not.  And by March, when the warmth finally hits, people can’t wait to dash outdoors.  

I feel my mood lightening.  I’ve talked about how the weather impacts our moods, but this weather, the commencement of spring, is a symbol of the resilience nature possesses.  The days weather, is often my minds weather.  And for this reason, I see this time of year as inexorably magical.  

What I like most about myself: my ability to speak out

One of my goals as an eighth grader is to be less self-denigrating.  Thus far, 6 months into the school year, I feel that I have made significant progress.  I’m able to let go of things I don’t do well, instead, grasping the lessons I learn and I focus more on things that went well that day.  But another aspect to this journey is figuring out what I’m really good at and what I love most about myself.  Here’s my answer, to a question that I’ve been pondering for some time: my ability and courage to speak my mind, and my ability to communicate with others.

After dinner tonight, my mom and I were talking about how many Chinese people from China behave in the work force, [though this observation does not stand true for all Chinese].  My mom had previously observed how during large company meetings, Americans and Europeans who were part of the group talked the most, while she noticed that Chinese people didn’t talk as much...in fact, the majority stayed quiet.  I believe there is nothing inherently wrong with this, but I view it as a cultural construction, or what people from various are taught earlier in childhood.  My mom then talked about how as a student in grade school, conversations in class were strictly monitored.  No open discussions were held, either, as many schools in the US practice.  When my mom came to the US for college, she said how she was very surprised at how students spoke in open discussions, something she’d rarely experienced in grade school.  She was also surprised at how people could say whatever they wanted, whenever, in the conversation.  The quietness, and seemingly lack of participation from the Chinese could be the result of a habit they’d been taught.  

Then I asked my Mom, if she could speak up, would she.  Her answer was: it depends.  She said that since biting back her tongue had been a habit she’d nurtured since childhood, it’s very difficult to make adjustments now, though it is possible.  I then asked her, if you knew the right solution to a problem, would you speak up?  She replied: maybe.  She said she felt her English discouraged her to speak up.  

I feel very fortunate to be raised in a society where I can exercise freedom of speech.  What I say is not monitored by the teachers, and I can speak when I want to or feel a need to [in China, my dad said that the news is monitored by the government, thus creating bias].  I believe this is what I like most about myself, my extroverted persona.  My love for talking, yet equal earn to sit back and listen.  My ability to speak up when I feel a point is missing and not have to worry about being quieted and restrained.  My ability to communicate with others effectively, a habit which I have been encouraged to do since Kindergarten, in class discussions.  I truly believe I would not be the same person without my voice.  This I am grateful for.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

As a middle schooler, I find it difficult to save time for reading outside of the books required for school.  Yet on Saturday, I finished The Nightingale, which I must say, was worth the precious time I spent indulging in its plot.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah is a story filled with sophistication and emotion, primarily focusing on the themes of love and loss.  Starring two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle, both of whom lead very different lives, the story is set in France during World War 2 and tells the experiences of these two women who have loved and simultaneously lost what mattered most during the war.  

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Isabelle and Vianne’s mother passed away long ago, after their father, Julien returned from the war.  Since the war, he has not returned the same man.  He abandoned his children after Mother’s death, and Isabelle barely remembers her.  Julien sends Isabelle away to various school [all of which she was expelled for her notoriously mutinous behavior], and Vianne marries.  Despite the war, Isabelle cannot help but wonder whether she will ever be loved.  Her father’s abandonment of her furthers her belief that she travels this world alone, which drives her to aide the French against the Nazis.  Meanwhile, Vianne couldn’t have imagined living a better life before the war, until her husband is drafted.

Vianne must care for the German soldiers billeting at her home while her husband is off at war.  She witnesses the her most dearest friends be deported.  Vianne learns to rebel, by saving Jewish children and sending them to an orphanage.  Isabelle, on the other hand, infamous since childhood for being rebellious, goes off to Paris to aid the French rebels against the Nazis by leading fallen airmen across the Pyrennes mountain range to the Spain, where they can be sent back to their home countries to continue fighting.  Both put their lives on the line to do what they believe is right, unsure whether their traitorous acts, punishable by death, have been discovered.

These two plots, manifest to the reader as separate, finds a way to intertwine, bringing the sisters closer together than ever.

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I would absolutely recommend this book, for its sophistication will keep the most agitated readers on their toes, its harmonious blend of love and loss will keep a broad span of readers interested, its endless surprises never fail to surprise the reader [they made me very frustrated sometimes!] and Kristin Hannah’s vivid and at times, vulgar descriptions of the effect of the war on France will situate in readers to each scene as if he/she were there. An absolute must-read.

This Saddens Me

Each morning, when I awake before the sun [always the first one up!], I indulge in the pleasure of reading the news.

A few weeks ago, I read an article from sciencemag.org, which published a study showing how on average, as girls age, their belief in their intelligence decreases significantly. The study, published by Science, showed how before the age of 6, girls believed in their brilliance equally to that of boys. However, by the age of 6, that same group of girls, who’d believed in their intelligence as much as boys only one year ago, now assumed that their male counterparts were smarter.

Researchers conducted this study through asking children this question at the age of 5, and again at the age of 6 or 7: “A person in my office is really, really smart—they solve problems faster and better than anyone else.” They found that at the age of 5, boys believed that really smart person was a man, while at the age of 5, girls believed it was a woman. When researchers described this same scenario to a group of kids at the age of 6-7, they discovered that girls were 20-30% less likely to believe that really smart person was a female. This saddens me.

Researchers further studied older girls attitudes towards certain activities versus older boys attitudes. They discovered that boys tended to choose to play games that were described to the them as being designed for “really, really, smart children.” The girls backed out, instead, choosing games that were described as being designed for “children who try really, really hard.” I suppose this study is suggesting that girls tend to be categorized as the children who try hard, and boys are categorized as smart.

Meanwhile, while all these studies suggest that girls believe they aren’t as intelligent as men starting at an early age, Science did mention something I find both fascinating and contradicting, “Boys and girls both acknowledged that girls get better grades, indicating that children don’t necessarily associate success in school with brilliance.”

Yet the facets of all of these studies that startles me the most is how many girls are strongly influenced by these gender roles, evidenced by them choosing to avoid certain jobs that may require being highly intellectual, such as engineering. And this saddens me the most…girls curtailing themselves from certain decisions based off gender roles established when they were young.

To be quite honest, I’m not sure where to start to improve the mindset in the women in our society. The world is so marvelously vast, that at times, it makes it difficult to fathom where to start change. However, I have seen little improvements here and there that make me really happy to see. Last year, when I was talking to my math teacher about the advanced placement, he told me how each year, there is approximately 2-3 times as many boys in the honors class as girls. I believe that not only is that a low ratio, [1:2 or 1:3 ratio of girls to boys] but it further discourages other girls in the grade to put an effort into math. In a way, I believe it is almost a quiet implication that girls can’t be as good at math as boys. Last year, my math teacher also told me how for this years classes, they were striving to even out the numbers in advanced classes. Although the ratios are more even now, there still consistently continues to be significantly more boys than girls in the honors classes.

I strongly believe that women are needed everywhere, in fact, in order for a company, a business, a military, a hospital, a science lab, a research zone, the government and everything else, to be successful and reach its maximum potential, women need to be involved. Yet still, having so deeply ingrained this belief in my head, I’m disappointed to say that I still do not know where to start improving. But I do know this: it will not happen overnight, and not only is a societal shift is needed, but a cultural shift needs to take place.

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Link to Science study

Hope is the thing with feathers

This weekend for English homework, we were assigned to read 3 poems, one of which is called “Hope is the thing with feathers” by Emily Dickinson.  The extended metaphor about hope really touched me, in addition to how cleverly Dickinson related the bird metaphor to hope.  

For me, this poem describes my emotions thus far in 2017 quite perfectly.  I suppose I’m hoping for many things, high school applications, varsity tennis tryouts, passing a climate change initiative at school [in which I’m writing to the school Board], doing well in the Massachusetts Middle School Drama Festival competition [which my drama class at school is working on], performing one of Chopin’s Nocturnes at an annual piano judged festival, just to name a few things I’m hopeful about.  I hope this poem speaks to you as well.

Hope is the thing with feathers

By Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chilliest land,

And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me.