Happy New Year from HCAP!
Dec 30
From the HCAP 2011 Blogging Team, we want wish everyone involved in HCAP a very happy and exciting 2011! We look forward to many new adventures in the new year!
Hi everyone!
Hopefully for students, finals are going well. We also hope that our alums are getting ready to enjoy the Holiday Season.
I recently found these on the BBC Travel section online. They contain articles originally written for Lonely Planet and there is one of them for each of the cities that HCAP will travel to for our Spring Break Conference.
Mumbai (There is not an article on Mumbai, so here is the link to the section on India in general)
After a long day at Harvard-Yale:
HCAP Presidents: Lin Li '08, Sonam Velani '09, and Maeve Wang '11
Dresses and Suits
Dec 10
Hopefully we’ll have some posts up soon that discuss the themes of the upcoming conference - discussing talking points, previewing key speakers, etc - however, we are currently in Reading Period, about to embark upon finals. I don’t feel like we have to explain ourselves too much.
And no, I’m not posting pictures from Primal Scream. I’m posting some photos of style I saw abroad. A number of our foreign delegations (Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Singapore - but not limited to them) are very sartorially skilled. These fashionistas (and fashionistos -?) taught us a thing or two about dressing to impress.
Here are a few photos I took last year. More to come from other delegations.
Singapore knows fashion...
Our favorite Disney Princess
The Color Purple... and Lilac, and Orchid, and Pink, and...
Tailoring: Sometimes you have to start from scratch.
This last one is from HCAP Prom last year. Stay tuned for more photos from Prom.
Don't forget about the boys!
One thing that most of my friends in HCAP and I do when we are abroad is take pictures of food in the countries to which we travel. At the conference abroad, where we are often treated to veritable feasts, staff members tend to document the trip in terms of food.
Here are a few photos of the Singapore Conference from last year:
Chicken Feet... looks delicious.
Grass Jelly Drink
Market Price? 2 for 3 Sing dollars
My favorite food in the world... thus far.
Mmmm, satisfied.
More food from around the world to come!
Editor’s Note: For proof of Singapore’s culinary dominance, see this BBC Travel article.
Alumni Bio #1: Yi Wei ’10
Nov 29
This is the first installment of our Alumni Bios. These interviews were started with the intent that alumni and current staff members get a better idea of where our alumni are and what they are doing in their post-college, post-HCAP lives.
We have inaugurated this series with an interview with our last president, Yi Wei, Harvard Class of 2010.
Which years were you involved with HCAP?
The best 4 years of my extracurricular life!
What was your concentration?
Social Studies (or as I told potential employers - an interdisciplinary social science field with a focus on social and political theory)
Where did you go with HCAP?
Halfway around the world, 4 times — Year 1: All over Malaysia with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (and then hopped over to Singapore for a few days); Year 2: Delhi, Agra, and remote villages with Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (and stayed a few extra days to see Jaipur); Year 3: Tokyo and Nagoya with University of Tokyo (they exhausted me by the end of the week so I went back with the group); Year 4: Istanbul with Bosphorus University (stayed longer to see Cappadocia, Pamukkale, and Ephesus)
What are you doing now? Where are you now?
I am currently on a traveling fellowship (get one! It’s really awesome) working for an NGO in Phnom Penh, Cambodia called International Development Enterprises (IDE). I work on all kinds of projects such as helping them develop a media for the water and sanitation program, help research waste treatment options, and even helping design a business plan to start a design incubation lab.
Here is a link to a video that Yi recently developed discussing waste treatment and its impact on development.
How did HCAP influence your career/ life plans (I know it did…)?
Before college, I never left the US (except being born in China, which really wasn’t my choice and going to Canada for a Model UN trip in high school…which some might argue the validity of an “international” experience…) So when I got the college, I made it my mission to see the world, and HCAP was the most attractive option. HCAP really cares about fostering meaningful, lasting relationships with its emphasis on a holistic approach to exchange. How can you not develop great friendships when you’re living, breathing, and discovering the world with someone for a whole week straight?! I’ve met up with many HCAP friends all over the world. Just recently, my Turkish friends and I met up in Istanbul for doners on my Silk Road tour into Asia. This week, I’m going to meet up with a friend from IIT Delhi at the Angkor Wat Half Marathon. Not only has HCAP given me access to a privileged view of the world through the eyes of our international peers, HCAP has also helped me develop lasting friendships that transcend borders.
What languages do you speak?
Tough one. English-Fluently; Mandarin-Fluently, but the locals know immediately that I grew up in the US; Spanish-Conversationally-Enough to retell the latest Telenovela episode without too much confusion; French-Basic-Enough to find the bathroom and ask for directions; Latin and Ancient Greek-Recitative
If you could give a student a piece of advice the first day of freshman year, what would it be?
Don’t be afraid to ask a girl or guy to coffee/tea. It will make the rest of the Harvard experience much more interesting. And also - get out of Harvard Square…at least once a semester. It’ll help preserve your sanity.
What was your favorite HCAP Trip?
Oooo, that’s like asking who’s your favorite child.
Last Friday, November 19th, 2010, the night before the annual Harvard-Yale Football Game, HCAP held the first ever Alumni-Staff Wine and Cheese Soiree at Leverett Old Library, here on the Harvard campus.
It was evening where current staff members had the chance to interact in a classy way with each other, HCAP 2011 board members and illustrious alumni, like Jonathan Einkauf, the first president of HCAP. The event also featured an impromptu Jazz performance, by Maxwell Meyer, roommate of HCAP Alumni Development Chair, Ross Ford. Here are some photos from the event:
The event was a big success, with over 50 people in attendance. We look forward to many more events like this to connect past and future staff members and delegates from Asia. Particularly look forward to a similar event to be held during the next Harvard conference, which is fast approaching in two months, to be held from Saturday, January 29 – Saturday, February 5, 2011.
Welcome to the HCAP Blog!
Nov 26
The HCAP Blogging Team would like to welcome you to the HCAP Blog! We are creating this blog as a way to regularly update everyone who is and has been involved in HCAP, from delegates to alumni, and from current staff and sponsors.
The Harvard College in Asia Program was founded as a way to connect individuals across vast geographic divides. Over the past seven years, with the help of our partner schools across Asia, HCAP has organized a number of dynamic conferences, taking students across the globe to meet and interact with each other. We hope that this blog serves as a new avenue of fostering the HCAP network and strengthening the international relationships of tomorrow. We look forward documenting the evolving life of HCAP and sharing it with you!
HCAP delegations to and from Singapore at Harvard in 2009