So, I was pretty psyched when I discovered
the Funny’s Surf Team, Hyuga, Japan t-shirt. I live in Hyuga,
I surf, and when I come back to New York I want to advertise it
to the world. I asked about the Funny’s Team and it turns out
that they are a close knit bunch of locals-only types. It seemed
that the only shirt that I’d found that embodies everything
I hoped for in a Japanese t-shirt was out of my grasp. Not only
that, but the closed market for Funny’s shirts has reminded
me that I’ll never be considered a real local surfer in Hyuga.
When it comes to surfing, this sort of exclusion exists almost everywhere,
but being one of only a handful of foreigners in the area I often
expect to be the exception to the rule and walk right into celebrity
status like I do at the bank. This might sound stupid, but Japan
is full of hierarchy and exclusionary practices that we foreigners
are often not expected to know about. We’re expected to be
ignorant...READ
MORE
I've run into some interesting misfortune
while adapting to life in Shanghai. Most of my romps with bad luck
have entailed losing things. Important things. Not just little things
(though I've certainly left my share of groceries in various store
aisles while shopping), but rather important ones as well. I don't
know what it is about living in a foreign country that makes one
especially careless (or perhaps the degree of shit into which one
stumbles with every misfortune makes every ordinary mistake seem
that much greater). Perhaps it's the air of invincibility that the
well-funded American fellowship student carries in her subconscious
that makes it somehow less dangerous to lose precious objects. The
rewarding part of all my missteps is that for every example I have
of how cruel both chance and humanity can be, particularly in a
huge developing city like Shanghai, my faith in mankind is renewed
by the people who have come to my aid...by
Michelle Chen
Goin'
Phishin Two friends en route to a festival
of Phish, along with thousands of others who all strive for a similar
goal, enjoy the music and forget about life for awhile...by
Joe Clemente
Bridge
to Baghdad Young and aware Iraqi and American
students, activists, and community leaders discuss, via satellite,
the potential repurcussions of invasion, and how they, as youth,
are really not that much different from us...by
Yasmin Tabi
Nudist
Colony I’m naked, standing in the parking
lot. My car has more security than the hat I’m grasping around
my chest and lower extremities, moving to alternate positions based
on my mood. I’m still worried about the insecurities I have
with being publicly exposed, but damn it if I’m not going to
try this…by Zoe Davis
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