Writings

Global Feminism

~ Chau ~ Leave a comment

Women hold up half the sky. – Chinese proverb

I had quite a liberal upbringing, thanks to parents who were more spiritual than religious, who weren’t very interested in politics, and who were less tiger parents and more “as long as you don’t get into trouble, you can do whatever you want.” Yet, as I grow older and know more about the world, there was a huge rift between them and I. They want me to aspire to marriage. Sure, a successful career and financial security are nice too, but they want me to find a nice man to take care of me.

For the longest time, I could not fathom how my well-educated, liberal parents could have such a backward view of women and their potentials. I could be anything, an engineer, a doctor, a writer, a politician, a Fortune 500 CEO, a Nobel Peace Prize winner. But I also had to be a wife and a mother. It wasn’t that I could have it all; it was that I must.

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Running on Four Hours of Sleep in the Rainforest

~ Chau ~ Leave a comment

This is it.

My Biology Internal Assessment and the final draft of my Extended Essay were due within 2 days of each other.

I had four hours of sleep in those 2 days.

My viva voce, a reflective conversation with my supervisor, was done via Skype today. The Extended Essay is finally over, and I now know a thing or two about APA (American Psychological Association) citation.

I’ve also discovered that I enjoyed science writing immensely. I was particularly inspired by an award-winning essay on the nocebo effect by Penny Sarchet, who has written for New Scientist, Nature, and Cosmos, amongst other.

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My First All-Nighter

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I’ve just pulled my very first all-nighter.

Yesterday was the due date of the first draft of my Extended Essay.

I’ve stayed up til midnight, til 1am, til 2am before. There isn’t anything special about these times. Everyone is asleep and everything is quiet. The part of Hanoi that I live in isn’t the part of town that is bustling and “never sleeps.” There was the occasional sound of a motorcycle or a car passing by outside, but it was barely audible from my third-floor bedroom. Mostly I could hear myself think. And the constant sounds of key strokes.

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A Small Light at The End of The Tunnel

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As mentioned in a previous lament, I was walking through the valley of the shadow of the dreaded Extended Essay, chased by the impending deadline, along with every other IB assessments that need to be completed. And I was stuck in a rut about a viable topic to even begin researching and writing my EE on.

But no more! There is a light at the end of the tunnel! I’ve finally finalized my research question, and emailed my online Psychology teacher to ask him to be my supervisor. Yes, I am writing a Psychology Extended Essay.

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A Really Long Essay?

~ Chau ~ 1 Comment

What is an Extended Essay? How do I write one? When is it due again?

An Extended Essay is a 4000-word research paper that every student has to complete if they wish to obtain their IB diploma. It is a chance to flex some academic research and writing muscles, and also for most students to curse the high heavens and have a glimpse into their future as college students plowing away late at night writing papers.

Finding yourself in the beginning of your second year of the IB diploma and not having a research question for your Extended Essay yet is a probably a bad situation. I am in that bad situation.

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The Crimson Queen of the Night

~ Chau ~ Leave a comment

I walked through the crooked corners, rubber soles padded on the cobbled stone street, sat down on an uneven wooden bench with three fourth legs to look at dying light over the old oak tree and cry.

My grandfather came on a rusted red bicycle, and sat beside me, with his old French pipe and his worn suit jacket and the smell of smoke, oranges and regrets.

We were companions, sharing our souls and tired sighs and bleak gazes into the endless stretch of the night sky, surrounded by the low squeaking of the bicycle, with its nuts and bolts and chains sliding together, falling apart, trying to keep itself going.

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Tabloid-tify a News Story

~ Chau ~ Leave a comment

Words on the streets are, THINK Global School is REALLY into place-based learning. So much so I think they might need professional intervention. But for now, here’s a daily fix of the juiciest stories on the block.

(Actual explanation: As part of Part 2 of our IB Language and Literature course, Mass Communication, and since we were located in Hiroshima, we were tasked with finding a news story on Japan and then turn it into a tabloid story, complete with a tabloid cover and silly sounding name. As you can see below, I might have had a little too much fun with that.

Disclaimer: None of these stories should be taken seriously, especially not the main article. Macklemore, however, is really rumoured to lead a double life as an IB History and Theory of Knowledge teacher.)

Eye-Pop-Tabloid-cover

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Next – A Vignette

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Based on the format of the chapter Next in the novel Sold by Patricia McCormick.

NEXT

As I walk into an alley with rundown houses, moldy walls and the smell of sewage and feces,

Looking at the puddles, cow dung and god-know-what-else on the ground to avoid dirtying my sneakers, next to

A group of people sitting on the back of a decorated truck, craning their necks to get a better look of us, next to

A little boy and a little girl jumping back and forth over a black puddle, the boy slipped and got his left foot wet, next to

An empty yellow rickshaw, next to

A cow leisurely lying in the shade of a tin roof, next to

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Everything I Need to Know

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Emulation of the chapter Everything I Need to Know in the novel Sold by Patricia McCormick.

Everything I Need to Know

Before today, mommy says, you could wear basketball shorts, run around and get as tan as a piece of burnt wood,

Now, mother says, you must wear dresses, be neat and act elegantly,

Never get your knees scraped up,

Never climb trees because you will rip your dress,

Never be too bold around boys and get too touchy-freely with them,

And never act differently around girls,

Otherwise people will think you are not normal.

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