Ahh how do I even begin to explain my feelings about this being my last semester at Wellesley?
I feel a mix of nostalgia/sentimentality and excitement for the future. I’ll be working in Hong Kong starting next summer! Let’s see what Wall Street banks in Hong Kong are like… đ
I’m also going to China in January once I finish at Wellesley, to take care of aging (and ailing) grandparents. I’ll simultaneously work on my Mandarin–and possibly take calligraphy lessons!–while I’m there. đ
I’m graduating early to save on tuition, and because 4 AP credits from high school count for credit at Wellesley. That, plus taking 5 classes during Fall of sophomore year, and again right now, means I can reach 32 units by December!
Currently I’m taking a bunch of awesome classes! Don’t think I’ve ever been this excited about my coursework before. Well, I think having a job lined up post-graduation is also helping with stress levels (basically removing all stress–I’m taking my two hardest classes pass/fail :P).
Here’s what my Monday’s look like: (yes it looks like Death–BUT I have Tuesdays and Fridays completely free :))
8:30am – 9:40am Chinese Painting (art history)
11:10am – 12:20pm Behavioral Economics
1:30pm – 2:40pm Economics of Developing Countries
2:50pm – 4:00pm Translation Theory
4:10pm – 5:20pm Chinese Cinema
I’m also currently living in the Sustainability Co-operative (SCoop) this year, which is a 14-person co-op on the East Side of campus, where we cook our own food and have communal jobs, etc.! (It’s very nice because I get to cook a bunch of Chinese food that I grew up eating–feels like home.) I go to Chinatown every Friday (since I don’t have class) to shop at the Chinese supermarket there. It’s wonderful. Have you ever stepped foot in a Chinese supermarket? The smell of rows upon rows of green vegetables that Western dishes have never even heard of, then the rows upon rows of dried goods in the back, whether noodles or dates or chilies or Chinese medicine or a bunch of other food that again, Western dishes have never heard of…
I’ve also been playing a lot of piano! As you may remember from my posts from last year, I picked up playing piano again whilst at Oxford…of course, nothing will compare to playing in the chapel there, but the Multifaith Center here on campus is a pretty good substitute. đ I’m learning a new piece right now actually: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nROJcoQUyRc
Let’s see..I’ve also joined the MIT Go Club! Go is an ancient Chinese/Japanese/Korean board game played with black and white stones. It’s very much game-theory-esque! The club at MIT is pretty good (again, this is something I picked up whilst at Oxford.)
Anyway–I’ll wrap up for now, but will post more pictures next time! Promise.
Until next week,
~Em