End of Year Reflection

How could I possibly sum up my experience with the GIP? It may be a cop out, but I will default to a speech I wrote earlier this year about the GIP and its significance.

My first GIP experience was the program’s biannual French exchange and the subsequent extension, teaching English in Saint Martin. I had travelled before, but this was the first time I really felt a part of the culture I was visiting. That is possibly the most valuable gift the GIP has given me: connection. The next year, I travelled to Senegal on another GIP trip. While there, I spent a week living in a small village on the coast. Walking around the village, it was good manners to greet everyone you passed. A walk from the beach to one of the village stores became quite the social event. And every person I spoke to would look me in the eyes, greet me back, and smile. There it was again, connection. This search for connection and understanding propelled me through junior year and into this one, when my classmate Gabi and I began our GIP project. We are working on a protocol for hosting foreign students at Poly, trying to deepen the meaning of each interaction our students have with their counterparts around the world, trying to promote connection.

The program has expanded my knowledge of the world. It has improved my ability to examine different perspectives and analyze events. But its most notable achievement is that it accomplishes these goals without requirements or mandates. Instead, it fuels students’ passion for global issues through events such as when Alepho Deng, one of Sudan’s Lost Boys, visited

this fall. During the lunch meeting, Alepho met with students from all four grades who were eager to interact with and learn from him. The program relies on an if-you-build-it-they-will-come philosophy. It has demonstrated that if students are given an opportunity to meet with someone with an expertise or a unique perspective, they will seize it. I am hoping that in the future, students will be given more time with each speaker, more time to connect, and more speakers to connect with, more perspectives to consider.

The Global Initiatives Program forged a link between me and the world around me, or rather showed me the link that was already there, that was always there. It is dear to me because I believe that we cannot get along until we understand each other. It has had such an influence on me that I may even brave a career in politics so that I could continue to interact with my world and maybe even change something for the better. But whatever I choose to do, I know that I will carry with me a commitment to connection and understanding and a yearning for knowledge and exploration that could not have existed without the Global Initiatives Program.

Beyond that, I can only offer a million thanks to those who made my experience possible. If ever you harbor doubts about the future of our world, look no further than the community of Global Scholars Poly and the GIP have worked to cultivate. The insight I have gained from GIP events and the other Global Scholars is invaluable. It has shaped my four years at Poly and will shape my life beyond. The GIP to me is that pang of empathy that tears at your heart. It is that elating moment of connection with someone who proves to be very similar to you after all. It is that glimpse of the compassion and understanding that I know will make tomorrow that much brighter than today.

Ban Ki-Moon Reflection

Wow!! Yes, that is me, 5 feet from the Secretary General of the United Nations!!! That happened!

Needless to say, I was ecstatic to have been given this incredible opportunity. In preparing for the talk, one thing was immediately evident. While I had spent four years learning about the United Nations, I had little familiarity with its commander and chief. Mr. Ban is deemed by a few a "nowhere man" and certainly does not bring the same level of charisma to the office as his predecessor Kofi Annan. Others claim that this absence from the international stage represents  Mr. Ban's stated commitment to action not talk. Rumors of corruption, hardly unusual, swirl around his head. Mr. Ban's political philosophy seems to run fairly parallel to the UN's, though it is unclear to me whether this harmony is natural or necessitated.

Mr. Ban has been attacked for lack of eloquence and reliance on platitudes. I  found neither claim to hold substantial weight. His eloquence is above question or rebuke. Perhaps he differs from other political players in favoring comprehensive detail over empty rhetoric, but I am not upset by that decision. His platitudes were quippy and rhetorically strong. My personal favorite was his comment on the need for nuclear disarmament: "There are no right hands for the wrong weapons." Pretty good. 

His speech covered everything from the refugee crisis to climate change to the status of women globally. He opted to give a broad overview of the issues facing the world from his perspective. While I must say that the ideas he expressed were not novel, his statistics were compelling and his presentation effectively simple. It was reassuring, if nothing else, to know that the leader of the international community had the right issues in mind.

Before his general speech, there was a more intimate exchange between Mr. Ban and the students present. While there was one wasted question ("What makes you get out of bed in the morning"), the majority of the questions asked were insightful and clearly reflected levels of familiarity with the subject matter in question. It was gratifying to see so many young people like myself taking an interest in international affairs.

Beyond being an excellent opportunity, the dinner reaffirmed the tacit optimism with which I view the international system. It is evident that today's leaders (Mr. Ban) have a grip on the issues at hand and tomorrow's leaders (students like me) have the passion needed to continue the struggle and keep the UN's mission alive.

Son of Saul Review

The second movie I saw at the Laemmle was Son of Saul (2015), the Oscar foreign film award winner and the first (!) feature film of László Nemes, a Hungarian director. Much like Embrace of the Serpent (2015), it was made with a budget and schedule that if proposed to the somewhat complacent Hollywood industry would be deemed "impossible." As the first Oscar win for Hungary in the foreign film category in 35 years, Son of Saul may be considered significant. But if all one knew of Son of Saul was its impressive award sheet, one could not begin to appreciate the film's profundity, monument, quintessence, or import. For that, one must experience the film.

The bleak concentration camp serves as a backdrop for a captivating epic that pits one man, Saul, against all odds in a quest that is baffling to all around him. Why does he go to such lengths, compromise so much, take on so much risk only to bury a single body that may or may not belong to his son? For Saul, the identity of the boy is in fact of little importance, for his significance is not in the name he held while living but in the moral outlet he provides Saul after his death. For Saul, burying the boy is an act of moral rebellion against the immorality in which he is trapped and to which forced to contribute. How can a man remain moral in a world governed by the "banality of evil?" He must focus his morality onto a task he can accomplish.

The director choses to keep us uncomfortably close to Saul throughout the film. The choice serves three purposes. Firstly, it allows him through a shallow depth of field to blur the horrors by which Saul is surrounded: dead bodies, mass graves, ovens. By doing so, he ensures that the audience never grows desensitized to the gore around Saul. Secondly, it forces the audience into an intimate and claustrophobic space. They live Saul's life as they're own. Thirdly and most valuably, the frame is consumed by Saul's face, and his reactions to what he sees give the audience a way of conceptualizing the Holocaust.

There is a quote attributed to Stalin: "a single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic." It is difficult to study the Holocaust because the scale of inhumanity is too immense. But in much the same way as Saul is able to channel his morality into a single vessel, Nemes is able to channel the pain and the anger and the confusion and the weariness and the fear that characterized Holocaust victims' experiences into a single portrayal. Nemes sought to give a voice to the voiceless, those who were not able to move forward from the Holocaust, those who never returned, and his striking narrative about a man crippled by his own morality is nothing less than a triumph.

Embrace of the Serpent Review

A few weeks ago, I went to see Embrace of the Serpent (2015) at the Laemmle Royale. It is set on and around the Amazon River and follows two explorers and their interactions with Karamakate, a native from a dying tribe. The film makes a powerful statement about colonialism on the region, but its most striking messages, sometimes wrapped in symbolism and others plainly visible, were about the death of the culture and the death of knowledge. Karamakate is the last of his tribe, and he learns that his god-given mission is to pass his knowledge on to the explorers.

The movie, much like the world, is full of ulterior motives, conflicting beliefs, humans acting without humanity. But the backdrop is the Amazon, and, like the world, it is beautiful nonetheless. I connected with the idea that the pursuit and the dissemination of knowledge is a holy quest. I empathized with Karamakate, who is reticent to give his knowledge to the first explorer. He is, after all, surrounded by the edifices of colonization, heavy-handed missionaries and rubber barons. But eventually, Karamakate finds the courage to share with the second explorer. Eventually, the second explorer gives up his ulterior motives. Eventually, the two can connect.

In the world, we strive for connection, but we struggle to overcome the obstacles that divide us: belief systems, politics, history, language. There are explorers the world today, trying desperately to preserve the cultures of native peoples before they are swept out to a sea of uniformity. Why? Because these people understand that our world is rich because it is diverse. These people understand that connection through homogeneity is hollow and fruitless. I see myself or my goal for myself in the explorer at the end, liberated from his goal of exploitation, open instead to understanding. I see my world in the jungle that surrounds him, teeming with understanding to be received.

It was very interesting to here the director speak afterward about the film, which was shot on a shoestring budget in very little time. All native peoples were played by actual native peoples. The movie represents a commitment to the preservation of culture and, as Colombia's first feature-film Oscar nomination, a resurgence of art and expression in a war-torn nation.

Taiko Drummers

Last Saturday, my PS 161 students and I went to see the Yamato Drummers, a taiko drumming group from the Nara prefecture of Japan, supposedly the birthplace of the art. They presented a modernized take on the art, incorporating elements of humor, acting, audience participation, and competition into their performance. One particularly memorable piece was conducted with only hand cymbals. Control over the group's rhythm was passed like a ball through mimed throws and catches, all acting in concert with a regular beat kept by other members of the group. Maybe the best description for the pieces we heard is order in chaos. In the drumming pieces with the full ensemble, there were ten different rhythms falling in and out of unison yet all the while staying perfectly paced. The differences in beats and paces complemented one another, creating a sort of pitchless harmony.

The modernization of the drumming technique was presented as a way of keeping the instrument relevant, diversifying its application, and increasing its exposure. But within the creative new style, the tradition of the drum and its significance were conserved. The performers mimicked their performance. They were young and passionate and took great joy from their art. They played with smiles on their faces, but their brows were furrowed, for they were serious in their frivolity. Their discipline shone through clearly. I took this off of the Yamato website, as I believe it explains the balance between tradition and innovation and their motives behind their artistic choices well.


Photo Credits: http://ww1.prweb.com/prfiles/2013/10/31/11293012/YamatoPhoto2.jpg

Project Update

We have continued to experiment with new hosting strategies, including social media exchanges. We are beginning to gather feedback and reflections on exchanges, which will be synthesized into a final product: a sort of protocol describing the best hosting strategies. I can only speak for myself, but I feel as though our efforts have improved the experience. I think just having the idea that hosting is a privilege and an opportunity to connect and to learn in the back of my mind has motivated me to capitalize on the time I have with the guests as much as possible.

Gabi and I have been meeting with Ms. Chung and Ms. Diederich to strategize about host plans. We also worked with Dr. Wei to facilitate host-guest interaction with PS 161 before the students arrived. We accomplished this with short introductory videos sent via WeChat, a solution that evaded the Great Firewall and pleased the PS 161 administration.

This week we have our French students on campus, and I will write about Poly's experience with them soon.

PS161 Hosting

Last weekend, I hosted two students from PS 161 in Beijing who went by the English names Evan and Taylor. I enjoyed getting to know them, and I was especially surprised to hear about Taylor's college plans: first to Tsinghua University to study science (I think chemistry) then off to the United States for graduate school, possibly at Caltech. He is in Tenth Grade! I am rather preoccupied with college right now, although thankfully the process is currently at a lull, and I have been struck by the uncertainty of the process. I have been told not to form attachments to schools or to try and plan too far ahead. It was doubly shocking, then, to hear Taylor's relatively flushed out plan for the next ten years of his life. That is not to say, however, that he was some kind of super student, the kind of brainwashed workhorse some in the US would like us to believe are being bred in China to overthrow our long-standing hegemony. I learned from one of the other students that in China one begins to study for the Gao Kao, the college entrance exam, three years before the test. When I asked them if they had begun studying, they grinned at me rather sheepishly and said "A little." We laughed; I have been in high school enough to know what that means.

Friday night, we went to Counter Burger with Gabi, Ally, and their exchange students. Going through the menu items was quite a challenge, but in the end everyone seemed satisfied. After the meal, we walked off dinner on our way to Yogurtland, where we ended up sampling quite a few flavors but buying almost nothing. Then Gabi's and my students, Gabi's younger sister Beatrice (a rising Global Scholar), and I packed ourselves into Gabi's minivan and headed off to the Prep Soccer game. My students loved the game and were integrated quickly into the student section. We won 2-1 in a hard-fought battle, a satisfying end to the evening. When we returned home, they had presents for us: a mini folding screen with small tableaux of the famous monuments of Beijing, eight decorative ornaments (a Chinese lucky number), two stuffed animals, and some delicious green tea.

Early the next day we set out for Joshua Tree. It was their first time in the desert, and they seemed engaged with if not a little overwhelmed by their surroundings. We did quite a bit of scrambling, which is an intermediate between hiking and climbing, and reached quite a few pretty overlooks. They really enjoyed it, especially Evan. I think there is something thrilling about forging one's own trail, and out on that rock pile we were explorers. It is worth noting for any risk management enthusiasts that I have around ten years of experience as a rock climber, and while there is an inherent risk to this sort of activity, I minimized it.

In the evening we went to see the Taiko Drummers at Caltech, which I will discuss elsewhere. Then morning came, and it was time to say goodbye. Once again, the exchange afforded me the opportunity to get to know students from a different yet by no means disparate culture, and I benefited greatly from it. We are staying in touch via WeChat.

Trinity College Visit

In December, Poly students hosted a group of boys' water polo players from Trinity College in Perth. To prepare for their visit, Gabi and I asked Ms. Diederich and Maddie to give some background on the history and culture of Australia. We also put together a list of Australian slang, some of which was, it turned out, fictional. I did not host a student, so I cannot attest to the full experience, but I thoroughly enjoyed the lunch we had together on Arden.

The students said they enjoyed the classes they attended, citing food in classrooms as an especially notable difference between our school and theirs. We talked about the contrast between our respective education systems at length, until we were gathered to formally welcome the Aussies. Gabi and I gave a short speech detailing our motivation behind joining the program, the commitment to enriching the opportunity for connect provided by the hosting experience. Tom, a senior there and possibly the team captain, also gave a lovely speech, thanking the school for its hospitality.

I spent much of that lunch speaking with Tom, and the brief but meaningful connection my fellow Poly students and I felt, the natural and unscripted nature of the conversations going on all around me, reminded me of why I began this project. In just 30 minutes, Tom and I connected to one another as two fellow teens, two people, each with his own perspective and opinions, each ready to share and to discuss and to interact. This hosting experience was perhaps easier because the guests spoke English, but their lives were undeniably different than ours. They were, after all, from the other side of the world. Yet our differences provided room for conversation, observation and analysis. They facilitated sharing rather complicating it. As usual, we were much more similar to our guests than we were different.

Pauliina Outing

In November, Himmat, Julia, and I spent the afternoon with our AFS student Pauliina. We ate some delicious Taiwanese food at Pine and Crane in Silver Lake, where we met up with Lucas. who then drove the rest of the group to the base of Griffith Observatory. The five of us hiked up to the Planetarium to look around. While we enjoyed finding out our weights on various planets, the highlight of our time there was probably the gorgeous view of Los Angeles that awaited us at the top of the hill, a short but suitably hot hike from the car park. Lucas dropped us off at a park after a quick stop at Baskin Robins, then we were shuttled back to Poly by my dad.

But I learned more from the experience than the scheduling skills required to plan an event without any drivers in the group. Hearing Pauliina describe her life in Finland was fascinating. Did you know there is no small talk in Finland? She noticed that people here are sometimes feel uncomfortable in lulls in conversation whereas she is happy to sit in silence. That concept got me thinking about how many of the conversations that I have been having would qualify as "small talk." It's an interesting exercise, going through life wondering if people in Finland would be having the conversation you are having.

On the car ride home, Himmat and I were debating politics. It is my firm belief that humans are not inherently self-serving or immoral, but rather that our society rewards selfishness and thus teaches children to "look out for number one." I asked Pauliina whether her school in Finland talked about success in the same way American schools did, whether it reinforced competition or instead fostered collaboration. The more Socialist Finnish government, I reasoned, would seek to encourage a more communal view of success. Pauliina replied that in her school the class succeeds and fails together, and it is the duty of the more successful to help the struggling. Special teachers and resources are directed toward these goals. Meanwhile, we teach students here to work individually, to leave the teaching to the teachers, and to prioritize their learning so that they can "do the best they can do." This approach creates a competitive attitude; it is easiest, we are taught, to get ahead by refusing to help others. Notice any parallels with government?

Throughout the afternoon, Pauliina was insightful, personable, and reasonably adept in small talk. I learned a great deal from her and was delighted to hear that she is learning a lot from the Poly community as well. I am happy we had this opportunity to get to know Pauliina a little better. I am among the many members of my grade who are more than a little peeved that we never got an AFS student of our own, but I am fortunate to have been able to connect to Pauliina despite our different course loads and social groups.