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(11/14/24 7:46pm)
Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
November 23, 2024
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Coming to Hopkins as an international student during the pandemic, I really had no idea what to expect. We were still under some pandemic restrictions, especially on the Homewood Campus, and I had barely met anyone who would also be attending Hopkins that fall. I felt scared and a little isolated. But my parents had been insistent on me giving it a go. Specifically, I remember my dad saying that I would make a new life for myself here in Baltimore, and that the chance to live in a country like the U.S. during university would open my eyes to a whole new range of perspectives.
In Irish, “sláinte” is the colloquial term used for toasts and other cheers. My Irish grandmother often uses it at birthday and holiday celebrations to start a meal and celebrate our family’s togetherness. This summer I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Ireland for two and a half weeks. Going into the trip, I was relatively nervous because it was my first time traveling alone internationally, but I was mostly excited for the chance to experience a foreign yet familiar culture in such an immersive way. So I boarded an Aer Lingus flight with my suitcase and guitar, looking forward to the time I would spend across the pond.
I used to say that I was from nowhere, everywhere or from the South China Sea. All were true enough.
Being African in the mid-2010s earned me rude comments on my appearance, my food and my way of communication. I used to evade inquiries into what I wore to Nigerian parties out of fear that people would see pictures and deem my clothes ugly. I refused to bring anything African for lunch because in my majority white middle school, I had experienced kids making fun of the savory smells or asking for a taste and spitting it out in disgust. I was even afraid for my friends to meet my parents because 1) my mother and father are extremely judgmental, and 2) they would remark on how loud we all laughed or talked.
Bharatanatyam is an ancient, classical dance form that originated over 2,000 years ago in Tamil Nadu, India. As a result of its distinct quality of movement and emphasis on storytelling, Bharatanatyam has grown in popularity over the years and is practiced around the world. In a typical, full-length Bharatanatyam presentation, pieces are performed in a traditional sequence, known as the Margam, which translates to “path” in Sanskrit. This structure is a skeleton that is followed for every performance. A complete Margam is typically made of seven to eight pieces of which there are hundreds of compositions to choose from. It provides artists with a general sense of direction — a foundation upon which they can then rely on when exploring their own creative ideas. The possibilities are endless.
Was it a week or two into Hopkins? It was just another day when the bustling noise of people packing up their bags was subtly pressuring the TA to dismiss the section. In between the hustles were warm exchanges of “great work” and “good job” amongst groups. I opened my mouth to join in on the formality — when I realized that no English word could be a medium for the 수고했어 (“sugohaesseo”) I wanted to convey. When entered in Google Translate, “수고했어” is translated as "great job," but this does not hold the same connotation. By acknowledging the effort regardless of the result, 수고했어 conveys a sense of camaraderie and thus is commonly used in both professional and casual contexts. There was simply no English word that touched on this base, and I uncomfortably stooped to reciprocate “great work!” as I packed my bag.
Today, I share with you some experiences from living in Brooklyn, China and Hong Kong: three places that have shown and given me a greater appreciation of my own life and the meaning of home.
I grew up in the world of films and Hindi tunes, colloquially termed “filmy music,” a world that extended beyond wedding Sangeets and obligatory family-friend parties. No nightly meal was complete without my parents’ favorite childhood songs quietly filling the room with their nostalgic rhythms and beautiful words, and no car ride was truly perfect without playing either the Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara or Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani soundtracks with the windows down. I can still recall three-year-old me falling asleep to my dad singing Aa Chal ke Tujhe, a song I still know every word to despite not having heard it in years.
As a Brazilian-American Jew, being Jewish is something that has always transcended my nationalities.
If you are a cuisinomane (a Quebecoise amateur food connoisseur), look no further than this recipe of apple turnovers cherished across generations, made with many hands and ingredients chosen with love and enjoyed with family, old and new.
“What does zhong 忠 mean to you?”
Spicy stir-fried squid is one of my favorite Korean meals – it’s a good pairing with rice, simple and heartfelt. This recipe is from my maternal grandmother. This squid dish is one of the many Korean dishes she made for a number of reasons: My dad is a seafood lover, the dish is diverse in ingredients and nutrition, and it’s a perfect blend of spicy and filling. To be completely honest, it was difficult for me to get this list of albeit simple instructions, because it was the first time she had to put into words something that had always been second nature to her. My grandmother split her years between staying in South Korea and staying with my family and I in the U.S. because when my sister and I were younger in elementary school, we needed someone to be in the house while both of my parents were out working.
As an International Studies major, my entire college education is learning about the multitudes of global cultures and how they intertwine with each other in a continuous ebb and flow. Sharing my own South Korean culture and seeing how it fits in to the puzzle of the world has been a constant undercurrent both in my life and at my time here at Hopkins, and so I wanted to share some of my favorite pieces of Korean media with all you dear readers of this edition of The News-Letter Magazine.
It’s been a good eight years since I first left China for high school in the US. All these years of going back and forth with fifteen-plus hours of flights, living with host families, Covid quarantines in both countries and college feel like a whirlwind, but I indeed lived through every second of it.
My journey started in a bit of an unusual way. I was born prematurely, and, after talking to a doctor, my mom was told that exercise would help with my development. So, she took me to a nearby pool. Before long, I was really making a splash. I got pretty good and ended up spending about 10 years swimming competitively. But I was just a little girl, and, after a while, I got bored; swimming laps can only hold your attention for so long.
This summer, I had the opportunity to study abroad for two weeks in Germany. As a pre-med who’s always wanted to study abroad but has always had obligations preventing her (I’m looking at you, Organic Chemistry and Physics), I jumped for joy when I realized I’d found an interesting program that fit into my schedule and took me to a country I’ve always wanted to visit.
During my time in Cape Town, I was able to navigate the country of South Africa for six weeks with seven other Hopkins students. As I reflect on my time, I think about the memories I gained at CampusKey, the residential site I stayed at. CampusKey is home to many South African students studying at the University of Cape Town. There, I was able to be vulnerable and compassionate and, most importantly, learn from those around me. No matter if they were raised in the townships or in mixed (Coloured) communities, they treated us as family and welcomed us with open arms.
Do you also have those words, phrases or idioms that exist in your native tongue that you could never translate to another language? When I moved to the U.S. last year after living in Turkey for 19 years, I had plenty: I still remember the first few weeks of being here and how naked I felt without my witty Turkish vocabulary.
When I am at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, I feel right at home. My hometown Hamburg is built around rivers and ports, so every time I see ships, water and container cranes, my heart jumps a little. But even though I feel the resemblance like waves in my veins, Baltimore is also completely different from everything I know, and I am growing fonder of this eclectic city with every new part that I discover.