I love my summer jobs. I really do.

I’m back in Columbus this summer, participating in the Regents’ Chinese Academy program at The Ohio State University as a peer mentor/teaching assistant. This is my second time working with the program, with the first time being two summers ago. I help a group of 22 outstanding high school juniors and seniors learn the “Chinese 101″ curriculum in a three-week intensive language program. Sounds tough? It is.

Led by Dr. Galal Walker, this program is created around the “Performed Culture” approach to teaching Chinese as second language, which emphasizes learning Chinese in the culture and the importance of performance in learning. These students, who have no prior knowledge of Chinese, are thrown into an environment where their instructor only speaks Chinese to them from day one. They learn by actively speaking out loud, acting out scenarios with each other and learn by repetition. This unconventional method of teaching proves to be very effective. It’s really amazing how much they know after the three week program.  It’s fast paced, it’s fun, and it’s a great way to spend a few weeks of my summer.

RCA class of 2009; Ohio State University Campus

What happens in Vegas…

…comes back with you in the form of sun poisoning.

I just returned from my trip to Las Vegas for memorial day weekend. I had a great time the first couple of days; going to casinos, tanning by the pool, eating great food–Bryan even took me to go see “O”, the cirque du soleil show at the Bellagio, and we sat front row center. Unfortunately on the third day I came down with a mysterious illness. I had a fever, felt nauseous, dizzy, and disoriented. Then I started to itch all over. By the time I came back to Athens a rash had appeared on my arms, legs, and back. The doctor confirmed it was sun poisoning and all of the sudden everything made sense. I guess I underestimated the power of the Nevada sun and stayed out by the pool for too long. I guess now I know better for next time. You win this time, Vegas. But I’ll be back.

The most controversial backspace key

Today I found the most effective way to successfully preach abstinence to teenagers–just make them take someone to the abortion clinic.

Honestly, nothing puts you more off of sex than getting buzzed into the security gate like you’re in prison, talking someone through filling out the forms, trying to explain the info packet while attempting to translate it into a different language, and then sitting in the waiting room for 2 hours starring at the rest of the people in there, soaking up all their misery, frustration, and uncertainty.

When an international student called me last week crying over her unexpected pregnancy, my mind systematically processed the info and filed it under three options: keep it, give it, or abort it. We’ve all seen Juno and heard about Britney Spears’ little sister, but because I have never had personal exposure, I understood this more as a math equation waiting to be solved, rather than a real life situation with no right answer.

I called her to have lunch and talk about it. This is when I realized my “I’m eating for two” joke/excuse isn’t all that funny. She told me all the reasons why she can’t keep the baby, or why she won’t go the adoption route. She wanted an abortion.

I am pro-choice for the most part. I respected her decision, but told her the possible health risks, and other alternative options she had. But her mind was made up, and I was okay with it until she said, “Plus, I don’t think it’s a big deal. I know a couple of international students here who have had like, 6 or 7 procedures done before and they’re all fine.”

I sat there, mid-way into my salad, and realized that she is talking about girls who are barely 20. I guess because birth control pills aren’t very prevalent in China, abortion became something trivial for the increasingly ‘开放’ girls in China’s contemporary society. I was even more surprised to hear that at least half a dozen more international students at OU has had pregnancy scares recently. I’m pro-choice, but to an extent. if someone is going to treat abortions like it’s the morning after pill, I’m not so sure if they get the privilege of choosing for themselves.

This is something I never thought I would say, but I’m beginning to think that information pertaining to birth control options in the US needs to be presented, or at least readily available, to the future incoming international students. Whether it’s a pamphlet in the ISFS office, or a private info session within the int’l housing dorms, these students need to realize that abortion is not a contraceptive method, and, at least in the US, it IS a big deal.

As I drove West on Route 33 this afternoon with an imploding amount of emotions sitting in the backseat, for the first time I noticed the “Abortion Stops a Beating Heart” billboard on the side of the highway. I couldn’t helpt but wonder if I was generating good karma by helping someone desperately in need (of transportation, translation, and support), or if I was in fact advocating the irresponsible actions of uninformed sex-havers from overseas. Sigh… this is what I do instead of homework.

I’m a Google search result! (But who isn’t…)

Andrea Chen

Today a friend randomly found a photo of me on a Vietnamese news site (Tuoi Tre) and sent it to me. It’s a photo of me working during a round-robin while in Nha Trang over the summer with Miss Universe. Because the PR team managed all the media-related events, we often appeared in random photos in the news—but most of the time it was just of a random body part or  a picture of me frantically trying to push back a photographer. I’m really surprised that this site actually has my name correctly in the caption. If I knew how to speak Vietnamese, I would translate it for you.

Hmm, I guess I have a way of sneaking into photos in newspapers and such, without trying or knowing; front page of the New York Times, random foreign news Web sites—hopefully the next time my face appears in a news publication, the story will actually be about me. Haha.

What else are Mondays good for anyway?

Today instead of paying attention to the lecture in class, I spent two hours reading fmylife.com.

David Sedaris and Wilco (separately, of course) are coming to Memorial Auditorium in April.

Is it April yet?

俄大欢迎你//Promotional Video for OU

我和一位美国朋友制作了一段MV, 叫 《俄大欢迎你 》 . 怎么样，没想到我还能冒充当半个导演吧～～

I made a music video with a fellow OU student called “OU Welcomes You” to be played at the beginning of the Spring Festival. It’s our version of the popular “Beijing Welcomes You” music video that played about 394826890831 times a day during the Olympics in Beijing this summer. Just like the original　(or perhaps better), it features the super stars of our wonderful university singing and welcoming the mob of new undergraduate Chinese students into our beloved Harvard on the Hocking. Check it out if you want to see how glorious OU is :).

牛年快乐 // Happy Niu Year

春节到了~

俄亥俄大学的春节晚会昨天下午在 Templeton Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium (好长的名字）成功举办， 节目部分大约有1，000人左右来看。

I naively thought that since I am not the president of CSSA anymore, I was going to have more free time and less pressure this quarter because I wouldn’t have to prepare for the annual Spring Festival. Yet two weeks ago at 11:30pm, I found myself sitting in a conference room in Baker Center going into the fourth hour of a Spring Festival planning meeting. Surprisingly，I didn’t mind the work as much as I thought I would. Perhaps it’s because this very well might be the last Chinese New Year I will spend in Athens, Ohio，and after being involved with it for the past six years, it wouldn’t have felt right if I didn’t participate in some way.　Plus, this year I enjoyed the wonderful perk of actually being paid for some of the hours I put into planning the Spring Festival, since I am now working part-time as stage manager at mem aud. Woohoo, movin’ up in the world…

祝大家在牛年鸿运当头,牛气冲天! 学业有成,万事如意! 身体健康,青春永驻！

My future husband…

ｃｕｒｒｅｎｔ　ｌｏｃａｔｉｏｎ：Ｍｏｈｅｇａｎ　Ｓｕｎ，　Ｃｏｎｎｅｃｔｉｃｕｔ

在２４小时内，我看了两场周董的演唱～两次都坐在第一排而且不但两场都跟他握了手，我还在后台跟他照了相。。。

So I met international pop star Jay Chou and we had one of those “movie scene-esque slow motion exchange of knowing glances” during a secretive moment of eye contact backstage. I should’ve slipped him my number and/or room number, and then win him over with my irresistable charm. Sigh… I would probably be sitting on a pile of cash in a penthouse somewhere in Taiwan right now with the object of obsession for tens of millions of Asian girls. Hey, a girl can dream, can’t she?

Don’t make me choose between Brooklyn & Manhattan

I was going to make a list of all the things I love about NYC but I don’t really think I need to a reason to enjoy this city.

I am staying in Brooklyn for the rest of the week then going to visit relatives in Long Island. The people I’m staying with are movie screeners and so I am privileged with access to a lot of pre-releases and new releases here at this very scene loft in Green Point. Slumdog Millionaire, the Wrestler, Gran Torino… I am in movie heaven.

I also saw Monty Python’s Spamalot on Broadway last night, and even with Clay Aiken’s agitating prancing around the stage, I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

Tomorrow I will venture up to Flushing and indulge myself in some hotpot and xiaolong bao. This update has no point. So I’m going to stophere. All I wanted to say was that I love New York. <3 <3 <3

Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2009

This weekend, the legendary Fontainebleau Miami Beach, once the ultimate hot spot to Elvis and Frank Sinatra, rolled out its red carpets after a $1 billion renovation for the Victoria’s Secret models, the VIPs, celebrities, and… me.

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

That’s right, I journeyed from Athens, Ohio to Miami Beach, FL and spent on a week on the gorgeous beaches of the Fontainebleau resort hanging out with (okay, more like sitting in the vicinity of) Heidi Klum, Paris Hilton, Usher, Martha Stewart, P. Diddy, the entire Kardashian clan and more.

So I may have skipped a few classes and missed a handful of meetings, and probably should have used the time spent sipping Pina Coladas studying for the finals I had this week. You say irresponsible, I say desperate-attempt-to-stay-sane.

I’ll admit, the view from my 20-something story balcony overlooking Miami Beach was not the worst thing I’ve ever seen, and the 70-something Fahrenheit weather was a little bit better than the flurries that Ohio started to receive. But as I took off my Chanel shades while browsing through the Louis Vuitton store on a sunny afternoon, I realized that this wasn’t where I belonged. At least not yet. Ever since I moved to Ohio I have been waiting for the day that I get to move away. In high school I fantasized about moving to New York City and attending Fashion Week and having my photograph appear in the papers for achieving something worthwhile. But down in Miami, I was reminded that I wouldn’t deserve that lifestyle unless I work hard to get there. As much as the thought of having everything handed to me sound appealing, I know I wouldn’t get the same satisfaction in the end if I don’t work for whatever it is I want. It’s kind of ironic that I was thrown back into perspective while at a place that was so out of my realm, but it was exactly what I needed to get motivated and focused again.

On another note, I ran into Katie Kolben, the other intern for Miss Universe while I was at Vietnam. She decided to come down from New York to grace the VSFS show with her presence.

Katie and Andrea at VSFS at the Fontainebleau

The show airs on CBS on December 3rd. tune in and check it out, it’s pretty glamorous. Trust me, I’ve seen it. ;)