1 . Mei Lum is the fifth-generation owner of Wing on Wo & Co. in Manhattan’s Chinatown.

For Lum, the oldest-running business in Manhattan’s Chinatown sees the neighbourhood growing larger and larger and is an informal living room where she came of age. In the store on Mott Street, she shared meals with her family, took Chinese lessons with her grandparents and helped clean the store as a young girl.

Wing on Wo was started in the 1890s. In the early days, Wing on Wo was a general store that mainly sold dried fish and canned (罐装的) goods. It was also an informal post office. When Lum’s grandmother, Nancy, took over in 1965, she decided to focus on porcelain (瓷器) specifically. Its heyday (全盛时期) was the late 70s to the late 80s. A lot of the goods came from Hong Kong, where Lum’s grandfather grew up.

In 2016, her grandmother planned to sell the porcelain specialty shop and its building. Lum, who was preparing to study international relations at Columbia University, decided to take over the store — not only to preserve (保护) its cultural value, but to create a community centre.

“I see the store as a place for conversation for Asian Americans. They want to learn about family history and tradition, and are curious about their cultural identity. I want them to learn about their identity through our porcelain,” Lum said.

Wing on Wo has remained a family business from its founding. Lum’s father, Gary, has been manning the counter (柜台) for the past 30 years. Her mother, Lorraine, processes orders and manages the website. Even her grandmother helps out with some work in the store.

The pandemic pushed Lum to start learning how to run an online store. She’s also added a lot of new activities, including youth programs, an artist residency and a ceramicist fair, to ensure that in addition to preserving tradition, the business is shaping the future of Chinatown.

3 . I had no idea that the Boulder International Film Festival (BIFF) existed (存在) until I went to the University of Colorado (CU) Boulder club fair with my best friend in September. There was a stand that was run to find volunteers for the festival in the spring, and I signed up. I wasn't quite passionate (狂热的) about films but just wanted to do some volunteer work.

The first volunteer shift I had was before the festival started, and I got to organize all of the passes needed for the festival, including those of all the volunteers, sponsors, filmmakers, and VIP members. I even managed to get a picture of myself and Ale c Baldwin's pass.

During the festival, I worked as a vaccine (疫苗) checker, checking people's vaccination cards and giving out wristbands since BIFF required everyone to be vaccinated to enter the many halls. This job-wasn't terrible, except for the fact that we were outside most of the time and it was snowing. By the end, I could hardly feel my feet, but I kept in high spirits.

After finishing my volunteer work, I was able to see a few films for free. Besides some short films, I really enjoyed “The Last Mountain,” a documentary about the life and death on a mountain in 2019 of the British climber, Tom Ballard, and the mountaineering history of his family. While I was crying throughout most of the movie, it was an inspiring story about love and passion.

I really enjoyed my time at BIFF. It was well-organized and everyone working for the festival was passionate about making it a great experience for everyone alike. Next year, I hope to invite some of my friends to volunteer with me, or at least encourage them to watch a couple of amazing films!

5 . Look, let’s be honest-there’s no such thing as a “green” vacation. You’ll leave a carbon footprint, no matter what.     1     Here are a few questions to ask:

Is it a B Corp?

B Corps are businesses that meet a strict set of standards by the nonprofit B Lab. They include requirements for governance, workers, customers, community and the environment.     2     You’ll see some fairly well-known brands, like Intrepid Travel. But you won’t find the names of any major airlines, car rental companies or hotel chains-at least, not yet.

Does the company have any other environmental certifications?

Third-party certifications from Green Key, LEED and WELL can be signs that a travel company means business about the environment. Transportation companies may also offer verified certifications from organizations like Terrapass or the Gold Standard Foundation.     3     However, it’s a good start.

    4    

If the company claims to be green, don’t just take its word for it. Listen to what it says. If you see nothing but models on its Instagram channel or ads for online discounts on its site, perhaps it’s a shade of fake green. “A company’s social media strategy is generally a reflection of its current ethos and goals,” explained Julia Carter, founder of Craft Travel.

How deep is its commitment to the environment?

    5     For example, the Travel Corporation publishes an annual impact report that maps its progress against 11 sustainability goals developed by the United Nations. Many cruise lines also publish detailed reports that allow you to check their commitment to the environment against several objective standards.

7 . Jiang Shumei learned her first Chinese character at the age of 60. Now, the 87-year-old grandmother from Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province is the proud author of six books.

“I wasn’t educated as a child. I never imagined, even in my wildest dreams, that I would publish a book one day,” says the resident of Suihua city. Her books detail the chaos of wartime and the hardship during the famine, and vividly retell anecdotes over the decades.

The elderly woman had her own way of learning. She composed lyrics for songs, and asked children to write them down, so that she could read each character as she sang the songs again and again. Whenever she came across characters she didn’t know on pamphlets (小册子), bus stops, or shop signs, she found someone to ask.

She first put pen to paper in 2012, at the age of 75. It was not easy. Sometimes, completing a single sentence could take a day. As a college teacher and a writer herself, Zhang Ailing, Jiang Shumei’s daughter, gave her mother a lot of encouragement and help. She told her that while writing, she should imagine herself telling stories to an audience, so that they would be easier to understand and be full of interesting details.

Zhang was also her first editor. Every time her mother finished writing something, she would discuss the manuscript (手稿) with her and check it over before typing it on the computer. Zhang began publishing her mother’s stories on social media platforms in 2013. When they drew the attention of her writer friends, the pair made the decision to publish them.

The first book, Time of Trouble, Time of Poverty, was published later that year, and proved to be a success. The book earned Jiang a lot of fans and sympathy. So far, the elderly woman has published six books, totaling more than 600,000 characters in length. In her spare time, she is also learning painting and calligraphy. “I would like to be a writer, a painter and a calligrapher,” she says, adding that her dream now is to have her own art exhibition when she is 90.

8 . Successfully receiving a US visa (签证) is full of ups and downs. In early 2023, I received an offer to join in the Sports Industry Management Summer Program at Georgetown University in the US. Never having been to the US before, I was thrilled about the upcoming _________.

However, my excitement turned into shock when I _________ a scheduled interview appointment at the US embassy (大使馆) in New Delhi in early May. The waiting list was so long that it _________ all the way to September, well _________ the start of the summer program in July.

Still, that wasn't the only _________ we faced with the US embassy. A friend planning to visit France mentioned that the visa application process now took two months longer than before. It seemed that an increasing number of people were applying to travel abroad. I waited until mid-July before _________ giving up on the summer program for 2023.

At last, I secured an appointment for Sept 18, 2023. After all these difficulties, I thought I could finally get my US visa. During the interview, the visa officer, a pleasant woman, began asking me a few questions. Then there was _________ as she typed on her keyboard for five minutes. I though that the exciting moment was coming. _________, after smiling at my mom and _________ a green form to her, she said, "Sorry, but due to your job, we require __________ documents."

As a journalist, my mother was required by the green form to email a list of her published stories. Fortunately, she specializes in __________ and art, with hundreds of articles on cultural exchanges and interpersonal communications between India and the US. I don't know whether or not her touching stories __________ the visa officer. After all, the embassy gave us 10-year visas after about a week.

With the visa, I am applying for the summer program for 2024 now. If you're planning to travel abroad, I __________ starting the visa process early, __________ many others likely have the same plans. Your parents' jobs can also affect your visa application, so make sure you do some __________ and are ready to provide extra documents.

9 . Is art boring? It’s not, really. I don’t think so, at least. But there’s a problem with how we look at art, how we approach it.

Museums are formal and strangely dry. There’s no embrace. Barriers prevent us from leaving the path set by the curator (馆长). Glass traps the paintings permanently in their frames – an invisible barrier that prevents us from ever getting close to the art, from touching it, feeling it. Guides and guards are constantly observing us, stopping us from taking photos, or using selfie sticks, or talking too loud. Museums have too many rules. And they’ve made our art boring.

We should be able to see art, to sometimes touch it. How can we feel any connection to the world? Art is a way to connect to the world, and yet so much of our art (and it is our art, not theirs, not yours — but ours) is unreachable.

Why can’t we laugh in museums? Why can’t we take silly selfies in front of art, our tongues sticking out, our hands in the air? Art is not boring and yet, we as a society, have made it so. We’ve trapped incredible artists behind glass boxes, with random rules governing noise levels, lights, flashes, sounds, photos, selfies, pens & pencils.

I love art. I think it has this incredible power to change our world. It can move us — as individuals, or as a collective society. Art is so often a window to something else. And yet we’ve allowed museums and galleries and collectors to prevent us from ever opening those windows.

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy art museums. There are many fantastic ones around the world. And without so many wonderful curators and collectors, we wouldn’t be able to enjoy much of the art that is created -the masterpieces and the newer, more contemporary (and sometimes crazy) art. But at the same time, we’ ve allowed museums too much control.

They’ve taken our art. They’ve controlled our world. And our world, our art — it’s not meant to be controlled. It’s meant to be experienced — however that may be. It’s an individual, personal choice. Let’s take back our art, our museums. And take some selfies.