Ila B.

Ila B. is a Year 11 student at Dulwich College Beijing. Originally from the UK, she has lived in multiple countries across the world and has been in Beijing since 2017. She is a keen writer and an Arsenal fan.

What does cultural diversity mean to you?

Cultural diversity is quite important to me because I know from experience that it is very alienating to be the odd one out. It’s also especially important in order to achieve an all-inclusive environment.

How much importance does your school give to diversity? Is it enough?

In my opinion, my school does not give much importance to diversity. It is not something that is discussed a lot or given a platform, it is mostly taken as a given that everyone feels comfortable with the diversity at the school, which is often not the case.

Have you personally witnessed or experienced cultural insensitivity during your time in Beijing?

I have a close friend and we are the only two Indians in our year; we are regularly mistaken for each other and asked by teachers and students if we are sisters. However, we do not even look similar at all, the only likeness being our ethnicity.

Do you think Beijing’s international school curricula put enough emphasis on cultural diversity? Why or why not?

I don’t think that Beijing’s international school curricula puts any emphasis on cultural diversity as it is not something that is talked about often enough by teachers or students. This is part of the problem, and I definitely think the topic of diversity needs to be taught to us, especially at a younger age.

Beijing is increasingly diverse. Do you think locals are appreciative of that?

I can’t say for sure if they’re appreciative, but from my experience, I think that Beijing locals are pretty unfazed by the increasingly diverse state of Beijing. Some people look strangely at me, but I don’t think I have faced any outright racism or even alienation.

Is being culturally diverse the new normal in contemporary society? Why or why not?

Of course, it depends on which part of the world you’re in, but having said that, I think it is, because due to globalization and increased travel and immigration from different countries, you would be hard-pressed to find a city that is completely homogenous.

What are your thoughts on tokenism in cultural diversity?

I think that token cultural diversity can be very harmful, particularly because it creates the illusion that change is being made regarding diversity when it isn’t. When you are just including diversity in your school, TV show, movie, or community, to tick boxes rather than making those spaces more inclusive, this does not help you or minorities.

Audrey W.

Audrey W. is a Year 11 student at Dulwich College Beijing. She was born in Hong Kong, but has lived in Beijing for her whole life. She likes to spend her free time practicing her guzheng and playing sports.

What does cultural diversity mean to you?

To me, cultural diversity is the existence of a variety of cultural or ethnic groups within a society. I think that it is important because we can learn from one another and understand different perspectives within our world. It also may help to dispel negative stereotypes and personal biases people may have about different groups.

How much importance does your school give to diversity? Is it enough?

I have been at my school for 13 years now and I think that they do give a lot of importance to diversity. During our time at Junior School, we had many lessons about different religions, and I think that it was very important that we learned about it from a young age because it taught us to accept people of different cultures.

Have you personally witnessed or experienced cultural insensitivity during your time in Beijing?

I haven’t experienced any cultural insensitivity in Beijing, and it may be because most of the population has the same ethnicity and culture as I do. On the other hand, when I visit the US, some people make racist assumptions about Chinese people.

Do you think Beijing’s international school curricula put enough emphasis on cultural diversity? Why or why not?

I think that international schools in Beijing teach students how to be more accepting of everyone. However, I think that their curriculums could introduce the history of different races and cultures to help students understand why it is important to not make race-based comments. Even though international school curricula are becoming increasingly diverse, there is definitely more work to be done.

Beijing is increasingly diverse. Do you think locals are appreciative of that?

I think they are because it means that they can learn different languages and cultures which wouldn’t have been easy if the state wasn’t diverse. Many Beijing locals want to learn English and it is easier for them to learn it when they are around other people that are speaking English. I’m not sure if they prefer the state that Beijing is currently in, but I don’t see outright dislike.

Is being culturally diverse the new normal in contemporary society? Why or why not?

This may differ depending on the city. For example, Beijing and Shanghai may be more used to a culturally diverse population than rural cities. This is because bigger cities may have more foreign people living there. However, I do think that now, compared to the past, society is starting to embrace multiculturalism.

What are your thoughts on tokenism in cultural diversity?

I don’t know much about this topic, and I feel like that’s part of the problem. When organizations, companies, or even schools use tokenism as performative measures, this adds to the problem of a lack of inclusivity, and I don’t think many people realize that.

KEEP READING: West Meets East: “Do You Think It’s Important for Children to Travel?”

Photos: Courtesy of Ila B and Audrey W

This article appeared in the beijingkids 2020 August issue

After watching movies like Before Sunrise and reading books like Eat Pray Love the notion that the purpose of travel is somehow linked to self-discovery has grown on me. The characters in these pieces often spontaneously decide to leave all they have behind and backpack around Europe for a month. They wander aimlessly through the cobbled streets of Prague, stroll along the canals of Amsterdam, and eat croissants at Parisian cafés. Often times, they stumble upon people who are just as lost as they are, and the whole story turns into a dreamy summer romance. And then, as if it wasn’t already clichéd enough, they return home changed people, crediting their newfound selves to a two-week holiday in the South of France. The truth, however, is that there is so much more to travel than self-discovery.

This is not to say that travel has no purpose. On the contrary, I feel that travel is one of the most freeing experiences people can have. It’s wondrous, eye-opening, escapist. But at its core, travel is mainly one thing. It’s fun. This may sound overly simple, insulting, even, to travel itself. How can travel just be fun? Because there isn’t really anything wrong at all with things just being fun. We’re allowed to do things just because we enjoy them, because they make us happy and help us forget about our mundane lives. There’s no need to over-analyze something as simple as travel and put it on a pedestal. It’s counter-productive and takes away from what travel really is, stripped down. It’s incredible. It lets you discover places you never knew existed, meet people you wouldn’t have interacted with otherwise, eat food that leaves unfamiliar, yet delicious, flavors on your tongue. New cultures, new sensations, a new environment. Travel is something else nothing else can give you. It sort of humbles you a little bit. Helps you realize that the world doesn’t revolve around you. And yes, it really does help ‘widen your horizons’. Having lived in the Greater China region for over seven years, I’ve traveled extensively in China, to places like Xinjiang, Gansu, and Tibet. Initially, I was under the impression that China consisted of only jiaozi, zhajiangmian, and baijiu. In reality, China is so much more than that, and I would have never discovered it for myself if I didn’t travel. After traveling to all these places within China, I started associating China with things like lamb kebabs, the smell of melted butter in Tibetan monasteries, and camels in the Gobi Desert. There is always more to things than you think, and in my opinion, travel is one of the ways you can explore that.

I love traveling, I really do. Most of my happiest memories are from the many trips I’ve taken, and especially during times like these, where the furthest we travel to is the grocery store down the road, I find myself trying to relive past holidays. I think that’s because now more than ever, we crave an escape from how isolated our lives have become. I, for one, often think back to the trip I took to Australia during Chinese New Year. Maybe it’s because it was the last time I can remember being around so many people without a hint of fear, but I think we can now agree that travel has taken on a different role. Never again will we take it for granted, and this is why I believe that due to this pandemic, some of us will see travel in a different light.

When you travel, don’t focus on making sure that the trip teaches you something. Don’t look for a purpose when there doesn’t have to be one. Focus on losing yourself in the surroundings, genuinely enjoying your experiences, immersing yourself in the trip. That’s all.

Sharanya Trivedi is a Year 10 student. Originally from India, she has lived in several countries across the world and has been in Beijing since 2017. An avid reader and debater, she is a devoted fan of the k-pop band BTS.

This article appeared in the beijingkids 2020 June issue

Fifteen years, five countries. It’s been difficult, but I don’t often think about it, because to me it feels so natural to constantly move around. I’ve gone to international schools my entire life and the majority of my peers have had the same experiences. I don’t think twice when people tell me that they’ve just moved from somewhere halfway across the world, and then when I hear from them next, they’re living somewhere even farther away than that. This way of life feels so conventional that it never occurred to me what my life could have been like if it wasn’t this way.

It’s true that change is a good thing, and that it’s constant, but when you incessantly remind yourself of it, it limits you. I’ve always felt a sense of uncertainty no matter how settled I become in a new country. I would be leaving it soon enough anyway, and then I would have to start all over again somewhere utterly different. In particular, this mindset always prevented me from investing in the friendships that I knew I wanted to keep. I didn’t really see a point in putting effort into building these relationships when I knew they would be over soon enough. However hopeful one may be, life goes on. You move away and your best friend promises that they’ll call and text, that they’ll come to visit, and that there’s no reason for you to worry because how could they ever forget you? While this is innocent enough, and it does offer some comfort, it almost never works out like that; at least in my experience. People tend to drift apart no matter how hard they try not to.

It might sound trivial to say that it’s been hard for me to make friends, and more importantly, to keep them. Shallow teenage friendships seem like a minor concern, but more than worrying about losing out on friendships, I worry about losing out on bonds. This is something I’ve talked about with many of my friends who move around as much as I do.  We feel that we’re more familiar with loneliness compared to most other people. It takes time to build strong relationships, and that, unfortunately, is exactly what we lack.  When you have to repeatedly start afresh every few years, it does become quite lonely. You have to be the best version of yourself almost all the time in order to fit in wherever you are because first impressions matter the most.

Most people tell me how lucky I am, how much they wish they could experience living in different countries at such a young age. Whenever I mention how hard it is and how much I wish I could stay in one place for once, they always tell me that I’ll be grateful when I’m older. I’m sure I will, and there are things constantly moving teaches you that nothing else does. But sometimes, just sometimes, I let myself think about what it would have been like if I’d lived in one city all my childhood. Maybe I’d have had lifelong friends that would have known me better than anyone else. But then again, maybe not.

The truth is, you never really know what could have happened if things were different. You can keep wishing, and at times, keep hating the way things are now, but life doesn’t work that way. Situations don’t change, people do. And while that is cliché, I admit, I often find that the most clichéd statements turn out to be the most useful. I may not have a place I can confidently call home, and I may not have the kind of friendships I wish I did. But along the way, I have built some everlasting memories, enjoyed some unforgettable moments, and if everything I’ve been to has led to where I am today, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Sharanya Trivedi is a year 10 student. Originally from India, she has lived in several countries across the world and has been in Beijing since 2017. An avid reader and debater, she is a devoted fan of the k-pop band BTS.

KEEP READING:  Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Body Image and the Modern Teenager

Photo: Sharanya Trivedi, unsplash

This article appeared in the beijingkids 2020 June issue

When people talk about issues such as body image, I find that they often mention celebrities, social media influencers, and models, to name a few. And sure, every teenage girl has glanced at a tabloid and wished she could look like the model on its cover page at least once in her life. She has scrolled through the Instagram posts of popular influencers, fighting the constant self-hating monologue in her head. Teenage girls have heard more than enough about how the pictures that celebrities post have been shot by professional photographers, airbrushed by Photoshop experts, and suggested by personal PR teams.

We all know that it is unfair to compare ourselves with these celebrities because we don’t have makeup artists or hair stylists, but of course we do anyway, because it is surprisingly difficult to stop the human brain from loathing itself.

Despite this, I feel that the focus of conversations about body image and its physical and mental effects should not be the importance of avoiding comparison between oneself and celebrities, but instead about peers. Even though we silently judge ourselves every time we see a hair commercial, deep down we know that this feeling is ridiculous, and that there is no comparison between us and them. It has been drilled into us. What we don’t know, however, is how to stop comparing ourselves with our peers.

In my experience, while teenage girls understand that there is an inherent divide between them and popular celebrities, they subconsciously decide that it is alright to compare themselves with their peers, since they are essentially the same anyway. The majority of conversations I have with my friends about body image and self-worth involve acquaintances that we wish we could look like, creating a sense of jealousy that never really goes away. In my opinion, these thoughts and mindsets are the most damaging. They set us up against each other and encourage us to see each other as competitors. Who has the best body? Whose Instagram pictures look the best? Who do the boys like?

This last question, I feel, is the most damaging. It teaches us that healthy and toned bodies are meant, like most other things, for men. And for this I blame the media. Things have improved in recent years, but not by much. Influencers now preach body positivity and inclusivity, and it’s good that these topics have gained so much coverage in the media nowadays, but these same people also promote harmful products like waist trainers or appetite suppressant lollipops. The worst part of this is that the perfect body is targeted towards pleasing men. Even in the lives of young girls, the ideal body has very little to do with health and wellbeing and everything to do with boys. This narrative needs to change.

For girls to feel confident within themselves, and for them to accept their bodies the way they are, I believe that the conversation needs to start revolving around a girl’s peers. This is not to say that celebrities or influencers should be let off the hook, just that there are more immediate and direct causes for negative self-image than one might think. It is important to teach girls that — despite being a cliché, it still holds true — everyone is different. And I don’t mean this in the overused sense that everyone is special in their own, unique way, but rather, that people are principally different. People are different and as long as one is healthy, it does not matter in the slightest what your body looks like. Because, frankly, beauty standards will soon change. What seems like the perfect body now could be seen as ugly a few years later. There is no way to win. The world will always find a way to make you feel inadequate and imperfect.

The most important thing is that you feel that you are enough without anyone else’s validation.

KEEP READING: Online Learning in a Lockdown 

Sharanya Trivedi is a year 10 student. Originally from India, she has lived in several countries across the world and has been in Beijing since 2017. An avid reader and debater, she is a devoted fan of the k-pop band BTS.

Photos: Unsplash

This article appeared in the beijingkids 2020 May issue

Living in China during the outbreak of the Coronavirus isn’t as scary as most people think it is. At least not for me, in the safe bubble that is the outskirts of Beijing, away from the epicenter of the epidemic. The district of Shunyi has come to a standstill. Hardly anyone dares to venture beyond the relative safety of their homes. On the rare occasion when they do, it’s a brisk walk straight to the local supermarket and back. Heads down, hands in pockets, masks on, keep your distance. No one even makes eye contact anymore.

It’s certainly not what I expected when I got on the flight back to Beijing, back from my Lunar year holiday. I was expecting bustling streets, city lights, and crowded shops, maybe a splattering of face masks, but that was all. Instead I was met with banners upon banners of bold white lettering, instructing residents to wash their hands, wear masks, and stop touching their faces. There were also messages of encouragement, of support, informing the public that early detection leads to early recovery. Most importantly, that those who leave their fevers unreported are class enemies.

But we all knew that anyway.

—–

Each morning, you rise just a few minutes before school starts and make your way to your desk to start your day of online learning. It’s a tedious cycle of awkward voice calls, rushed assignments, and constant distractions. There isn’t much motivation to finish your PowerPoint slide when there’s no one to notice if you happen to accidentally click on a YouTube video.

This absence of accountability is what eventually leads to a mountain of unfinished tasks that you can’t be bothered to complete. Instead, you text your friends about how much work teachers are setting and how you can’t possibly finish all of it. But then you remember that your friends are all in different time zones and are probably asleep, so you attempt a set of futile tasks that you don’t really have any interest in completing. You end up with an array of mediocre work which you have no choice but to turn in.

—–

Even during this exceptional time, it doesn’t feel like things have really changed. Daily life just feels more tangible and more mundane, at the same time. It’s like my routine has been stripped of its bells and whistles, leaving it bare. Just the essentials remain. Sleep. Eat. Work. Repeat. Life starts to feel more like a chore – it gets repetitive, then wearisome, and then suffocating.

I go on walks every day under the guise of daily exercise just to leave the house. At first, just around the compound, strolling in the lanes that have become all too familiar. The houses pass by me, one by one, as I walk up and down the main street, desperately wishing for a change of scenery. Through walking the same route time and time again, I have come to recognize the most trivial details. The carelessly strewn bike that gathers dust in a garage, the gradual wilting of neglected plants, the buildup of snow around certain doorways, devoid of the distinct marking of footsteps.

My compound alone is full of the inconspicuous signs of seclusion. The usual morning bustle of children running to the bus stop is replaced with an eerie silence, punctuated by the occasional rustling of the wind. I’m not used to it. It feels foreign, unfamiliar, slightly disturbing.

In the end, I get bored with my customary walks, and decide to leave the hypothetical comfort of my compound. I venture out a little beyond the gates, into what was once a lively area. I immediately notice the absence of cars on the road. There’s an occasional tuk-tuk, but nothing else. I notice a woman walking towards me, and immediately tense up without reason, dreading even the smallest interaction. She promptly crosses the street upon spotting me.

This simple but indicative action shakes me up a bit, but I continue on, trying to ignore the cold that is now making its way up my calf. The rest of the walk is relatively uneventful, and I come home disappointed. Nevertheless, I set out again the next day, and then the day after that, determined to bring some excitement into my life. Every single time I return disappointed. It seems that nothing is enough to change up my monotonous routine.

—–

Soon enough, I start to dread my walk. It has now become another box on my imaginary to-do list, on par with completing assignments and taking the garbage out. It seems to me that under these circumstances, everything I do will become tiresome. My attention span has become shorter than ever and lately, I feel as if nothing excites me. The consequences of a two- (now spilling into three- and maybe four-) week quarantine are larger than I could have imagined. It’s not just the physical costs of almost no movement. For me, the quarantine feels almost internal. It’s two weeks with no contact from anyone else apart from my immediate family.

Usually, school days are filled with laughter from friends, sighs during lessons that you can’t be bothered to concentrate in, and mind-numbing lectures from teachers. Sometimes, it can all be too much. When I first heard about school being canceled, I was overjoyed. I had pictured a relaxed week or so in the comfort of my home, pleased to be away from the constant stress and uncertainty that school brought. Instead, I was faced with a sense of isolation and bleakness. The current situation feels quite hopeless, and I can only wish that circumstances will be better in the near future.

Otherwise, these emotions may become the new normal.

Sharanya Trivedi is a year 10 student from Dulwich College Beijing. Originally from India, she has lived in several countries across the world and has been in Beijing since 2017. An avid reader and debater, she is a devoted fan of the k-pop band BTS.

Photos: lovethispic.com, Courtesy of Sharanya Trivedi