Travelling with SYB

At 10:50 PM I boarded a train from Shanghai to Fuyang, a third tier city in Anhui province.  On the train with me is SYB’s program director Thomas, SYB’s director of education Cecile and Chris, an employee of the Chi Heng Foundation which SYB works under.  We are going to be running through four cities (Fuyang, Jieshou, Zhoukou, Shangcai) in three days visiting various Chi Heng offices, schools and homes to interview applicants for next year’s SYB class.  Well, when I say we I really mean Thomas, Cecile and Chris.  I am just going to document the whole process with my camera and writing in order to give people an idea of where SYB’s young bakers come from.

I have been looking forward to this trip for a while because I have passed through the countryside many times by bus and train, but this is the first time that I will have the chance to walk through the broken roads and fields amongst the crumbling villages.  Not to mention, I get to enter into the houses of these villagers.  Finally, I get around to seeing how the other half of China lives.      

New Semester, New Characters

With just a month left in Shanghai, it is time for another character’s post. This time around, there are no angels or saviors that my life in Shanghai revolves around. Hell, there are not even any UC students on the list this this semester and I am hanging out with people my own age. It is a completely different semester in almost every aspect.

Emanuele

Always the alcohol with this guy

I think everybody needs a sleazy Italian in their life who repeatedly tells you to cut the bullshit and just fuck whenever you are with a girl. Always the jokester, hanging out with Emanuele is always a fun and alcoholic albeit expensive affair. Despite harboring some illogical resentment against Californians, Emanuel and I see each other almost every week. I should have hung out with him last semester when I first met him, but back then he was just this MBA friend’s sleazy roommate.

Singaporeans
Once again, I find myself on the outside of the UC group for various personal reasons. This time I have thrown my lot in with the Singaporeans, who with their genuine personalities and exceptional kindness have won me over.

Felicia

If only Felicia was as good of a classmate as she is a friend

Felicia and I quickly became partners for our class project because we sat close to each other, which turned out to be a huge mistake because both of us do not care about the class. Initially I had wanted to drop the class but because I had already committed to being Felicia’s partner so I stayed. Now every week I exchange two and a half hours of my life for a friend that is always ready to help me out when I need it. A great listener and conversationist, I am lucky to have met Felicia as soon as I did because I certainly needed a friend that was close to home.

Wan Ching

Too energetic to hold still for a proper picture

Not quite sure, how I became friends with Wan Ching but one thing is certain, I spend a lot of time with her. The first time I met Wan Ching, I was struck by the amount of energy that radiated from her. Seemingly always running at a hundred and ten percent, Wan Ching is fun to have around and even now, her extremely energetic responses catch me off guard. Our time here in Shanghai maybe running out, but Wan Ching has strong aspirations to work in the US and I have a feeling that she is not going to let anything stop her. The question is not if but when am I going to see her after leaving Shanghai.

Dawn

So much silliness went into getting this shot

The one word that I use to describe Dawn to everybody I meet is “crazy” and this is usually followed by me grabbing at the air around my head four or five times in an attempt to illustrate her scatter brained personality. Hilariously, people who have met her usually understand what I am getting at. However, as much as I make fun of Dawn for being Buzz Lightyear (spaced out) all the time, I would not have her any other way. Dawn always manages to lighten the mood with her corny jokes, which she half mumbles with great enthusiasm. If I am ever down in Shanghai, Dawn is the first one I call because she makes me laugh just by being herself.

-muffinman

Toastmasters in Shanghai

In a past post, I touched upon the fact that I have been attending Toastmasters meetings and since that post, I have become an official member of Leadership Toastmasters in Shanghai.  For my initiation, I had to give a 100 second speech on my understanding of positive change and surprise, surprise I spoke about this girl named Ellie whom I met a little over a year ago and taught me all about positive change. 

Not going to lie, part of the reason that I go to Toastmasters is because I love the feeling of being the youngest person in the group and then being complimented for my maturity.  Standing at the front of the room as the youngest member by eight plus years and looking the part in my T-shirt, jeans and Feiyue shoes, I still manage to capture their attention and awe.  It is quite the confidence booster to see the audience nodding along in their suits and dress shoes as I talk about a topic like “whether your dream girl would make the perfect wife,” which should be far beyond my years of experience.  To hear compliments about my impromptu speech and surprise over how old I am is just icing on the cake.   

   

Two weeks after joining, I gave my first speech, which I would like to share because it describes me pretty well.  The speech was well received, in fact my evaluator told the club that the speech was “awesome” and that he could not think of anything I could improve on.  However, after a three years in speech and debate, I know better.  The speech was mediocre at best.      

-muffinman

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About a boy

I think by now everybody has a rough idea about how old I am, since Ken makes it a point to introduce me to all of you as “our first member who was born in the 90’s.” And because of my young age I have the luxury of being able to fit in all my dreams in a four to six minute speech.  So without further ado, let me tell you about a boy who had many dreams which made him who he is today.

When I was young, or rather younger I had the sort of dreams every young boy has, ones filled with adventure and heroics.   This was probably the result of being fed a steady diet of adventure novels.   My head was filled with explorers in foreign lands and soldiers fighting for glory on the battlefields.  I wanted to be one those of people that people wrote stories about.

As I got older naturally my dreams changed.  Being a fairly antisocial child, popularity and friends became more of a priority.  In addition, I began to realize the uniqueness of my background and briefly flirted with the idea of becoming a travel journalist.  Always the geek, I loved my computers and following my father’s footsteps into engineering seemed like a great idea.  However, that soon changed when I took art classes and got in touch with my creative side.  Combining my longstanding geekyness and  new interest in art, I started dreaming about being a game designer.

In high school, many of my dreams got killed outright when I realized that, I was terrible at math and art.  Trying to find new passions, I got involved in politics and business where I learned to love people.  During my last year in high school I discovered Elva and her coffee shop and soon developed a love for coffee and cafes.  Entering college, I knew I loved two  things, people and coffee.  Loves which still exist today. 

Looking back, I realize now that who I am can be traced back those dreams I used to have.  I still aspire to be recklessly brave and adventurous like those heroes in my childhood books, leading me into all sorts of troubles like falling through a roof.  Popularity and legacy still matter a great deal, but not as much as having strong roots and connections wherever I am, which is what keeps me coming back to Toastmasters week after week.  I can still be found tearing apart my computer and firing up Photoshop every once in a while to get back in touch with my artsy side. 

As for current dreams, every time I step foot in a café I just imagine the day  when I can retire early and open my own café  so that I can talk to all the people I want over a nice cup of coffee.  However, my dreams are always subject to change and as you all keep reminding me, I am young and still have time.