Ganbei Fall 2020 Nostalgia
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DEC 2022
1ST ISSUE : NOSTALGIA
Nostalgia
Ganbei Zine
NO. 1
Ganbei ZineNO. 1
■ Ganbei Zine is Northeastern University’s first arts
and literary magazine focused on the Chinese American
experience. Our name means “Cheers!” in Mandarin, used
when people put their drinks together at celebratory
feasts; thus, our name is an expression of celebration and
unity. Ganbei aims to bring together Chinese-American
students on campus in the same way that people would
when saying Ganbei at the table. Ganbei Zine uses the arts
to uplift and diversify the voices heard at Northeastern.
For the Fall 2022 semester, we chose the theme of
Nostalgia. As one of the strongest emotions we experience,
nostalgia gives us a chance to tell stories of childhood
and reflect fondly. Through a submissions form, Ganbei
encouraged contributors to think about the parts of
Chinese culture they have gained, lost, and reclaimed
over the years, and share their stories through vessels of
creative writing, photography, and illustration, with the
community.
This magazine was an idea born from Aleks Dawson’s
Graphic Design 1 class, a concept for an assignment to
create three magazine covers. At that time, Ganbei was
called General Tso & Me, a result of my wish to use editorial
design to compile stories to better understand my own
culture and the people around me. Using design as a vessel
to explore and visualize the intricacies of the Chinese-
American narrative, Ganbei’s talented team has brought this
idea to reality.
With much to anticipate, Ganbei would like to share its first
edition, Nostalgia. ■
China Qin
Logistics & Design at Ganbei Zine
Foreword
NO.
1
GANBEI MAGAZINE : NOSTALGIA
Chapter 1
01
A Childhood in Parts
Writing
07
11
09
15
23
25
27
29
31
03 A Photo Album Photography
Childhood Snacks Illustration
Fish and Quarters Writing
Chapter 2
Looking Back with Cindy Xu
30
A Type Poster Design
Photography
Guizhou Lamb Noodles Writing
8% Illustration
I Eat Noodles for Breakfast Writing
Tomato and Scrambled Egg
Boba Writing
Reminiscing Apt. 4D Writing
Writing
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 3
35
The Ingredients of a
Home-cooked Meal
Writing
41
47
39 My First Meaning of Home Writing
Smile for Breakfast Photography
43
Sparkling Illustration
49
On Being Chinese Writing
Every New Year Is Winter Photography
51
Credits
■ NOSTALGIA CAN BE TRIGGERED BY OBJECTS— US HUMANS CAN HOLD SPECIAL
RELATIONSHIPS WITH THINGS THAT ARE INANIMATE. OBJECTS LONG FORGOTTEN
THAT WE FIND IN OUR HOMES CAN REVOKE MEMORIES OF THE PAST. OUR OBJECTS
CAN TAKE US ACROSS TIME ZONES, OVER OCEANS, AND ALL OVER THE NATIONS
THAT WE IDENTIFYING AS A PART OF. CHAPTER 1 IS ABOUT OBJECTS, TIME, AND
MEMORY ■
Chapter 1
GANBEI MAGAZINE : NOSTALGIA
A
Childhood
in Parts
Sunbeams filter through the windows,
suspending dust particles
like silver ornaments. I am cleaning
the living room, choosing what
to keep and what to discard from
eighteen years of life: casting away
the old before a new beginning
away from home. It’s strange to think
that next year, I might not be home
for Lunar New Year—perhaps my
parents will send me red packets
through Wechat for the first time.
Maybe it’s best to start with the
bookshelf, where things are relatively
easy to sort out. I reach for the
stack of CDs that are on the highest
shelf, and they come tumbling down,
a cascade of my oldest memories
laid out in front of me: Sun Wukong’s
Havoc in Heaven, Nezha, a strange
teaching cartoon about common
idioms. The tapes play in my mind’s
eye: a loop of low-quality film in
flat, bright colors, painting mythical
characters on an old TV, making
CHAPTER 1
them come alive. I wipe the dust
off the CD cases and place them
back on the shelf.
There are an endless number of
Chinese textbooks below. Faded
cartoon children smile and laugh
on the covers: the insides have
stories about 方 方 (Fāngfāng) and
小 明 (Xiǎomíng), idioms and classical
poems, and oddly proportioned
characters practiced over and over
in a child’s hand. My name is written
faithfully on the front and back
covers of each book: 徐 宇 姗 , 徐 宇 姗
again and again. For practice, and
to compare out of curiosity, I scribble
it once more on a stray sticky-note.
Now it looks more practiced, has
better structure: three characters
that are marginally less ugly than the
rest of my limited vocabulary. I slot
the sticky note into the first volume
of the textbooks—perhaps it can
serve as a reminder of my growth.
02
CHAPTER 1
There’s a photo album of my
grandparents, my parents, me as a
child. I open it, flip through portraits
of Beijing and the States frozen in
time—it spans from past to present,
China to America, from one part of
myself to another, far away.
Pictures show the outside of my
grandparents’ Beijing apartment
from ten years ago, and even
though the photo is motionless and
unchanging, it still carries the smell
of cigarette smoke and the cheery
loudness of the breakfast stalls
selling tofu pudding and youtiao. My
grandfather sits in a picture frame,
explaining how to play cards and
Chinese checkers, and I can hear the
03
CHAPTER 1
rules he describes to me in dialect
accented Mandarin. My parents
lead me around the stadiums for the
2008 Olympics and take my picture
in front of the Great Wall; they lay
out a tantalizing lunar new year’s
dinner on our plain wood dinner
table—dumplings, plump shiitake
mushrooms, egg drop soup, steamed
fish, savored for a fleeting evening
before another regular school
day. The new year celebration in my
family is never the most elaborate—
just food, quiet relaxation, and three
quiet wishes for a better year—
but it is something, and it is home.
This is home. ■
04
GANBEI MAGAZINE : NOSTALGIA
Connie
My relatives always tell me stories
about how funny I was when I was
little. Every time we go back to visit
they reminisce about the same few
anecdotes. I don’t remember any of
them myself (I was literally only four),
but the number of times I’ve heard
them, they’re ingrained in my head.
A Photo
CONNIE TANG
4TH YEAR
CHAPTER 1
Looking at old pictures of myself in
China makes me sad because I think
about how much of myself that I’ve
lost: the memories my family has of
me that I don’t, the language I used
to be hilarious in that I can barely
speak anymore.
Album
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GANBEI MAGAZINE : NOSTALGIA
Anne
My mom took this and I don’t really
remember what’s going on LOL but
I think this was taken in our old apartment
before we moved to our current
house. My dad’s trying to teach
me chinese, but I wasn’t cooperating.
ANNE SHEN
3RD YEAR
CHAPTER 1
Angel
My mom took this photo
of my older brother and
I in our driveway. In a
lot of my childhood photos,
I have a disgusted/
confused/offended look
on my face because I
hated the camera flash.
I promise I was not as
upset as I look!
ANGEL YANG
2ND YEAR
08
GANBEI MAGAZINE : NOSTALGIA
Childhood
Snacks
I drew my favorite snacks as a child that remind me of Chinese
culture. There is mochi, kiss burn, shrimp chips, melona, pocky,
haw flakes, tanghulu, and fruit jelly. The colors are very Y2K and
the particular shades of pink and blue used to be my favorite
colors. Overall, this piece was challenging to me because of
the many components and details which I got sucked into and
typography, which is something I’ve never really touched before. ■
AARON FU
3RD YEAR
CHAPTER 1
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GANBEI MAGAZINE : NOSTALGIA
A Type
Poster
This piece is actually a project
for my typography class — funny
thing is, I only recently learned
how to play mahjong. My roommate
offered to teach me how to play,
and I only agreed because I was
curious why my 公 公 (gōng gōng,
grandfather) would play this game
everyday, without fail, back in China.
But now, I understand why. It’s an
addicting game of strategy and luck.
Even without betting money, it’s
still a really fun game to play with
friends. Back to the topic of nostalgia,
though I can’t say this game
is personally very nostalgic to me
(yet), I feel as though I’ve unlocked
another part of my identity this
semester. I’m truly grateful for the
community of people i’ve met in
the Asian American Center who
also love playing mahjong. Looking
into the future, my next typography
project is designing a book on
the history and art of mahjong and
I can’t wait for the day I get to go
back to China to play mahjong with
my 公 公 (gōng gōng, grandfather). ■
CHRISTINA WU
3RD YEAR
CHAPTER 1
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GANBEI MAGAZINE : NOSTALGIA
Fish and
Quarters
Love can come in many forms such as a hug or a kiss,
But for me it came in fish and quarters.
My grandma often visited me when I was young
To bring my favorites: fish and quarters.
Fish oh so delicate,
Specially prepared for me,
My grandma’s love poured into it
Perfect for me to enjoy.
Quarters in tight paper rolls
Counted out with precision
Clinking jauntily as each one dropped into a piggy bank
Given to me in the hopes that I would never struggle.
Love can come in many forms such as a hug or a kiss,
But for me, it came in fish and quarters.
AMANDA CHIN
2ND YEAR
CHAPTER 1
14
■ NOSTALGIA GIVES US A CHANCE TO REMINISCE AND REFLECT. CHAPTER 2
FOCUSES ON SPACES OF COMMUNITY, LANGUAGE, AND CULINARY CULTURE
THAT UNLOCKS GREATER INSIGHT INTO OUR CHINESE-AMERICAN NARRATIVE. WE
GET A GLIMPSE OF CHILDHOOD MEMORIES THAT ARE BROUGHT TO
THE SURFACE AGAIN ■
Chapter 2
GANBEI MAGAZINE : NOSTALGIA
Looking
back with
Cindy Xu
Pictured here are images from my
home in Shanghai, China. That desk
in the entryway is usually in the guest
bedroom and I can’t quite remember
why it was there in this picture,
but the phone (covered by a towel)
on the telephone table hidden in
its shadow to the right is the same
one that I used to call my parents
in the US with while I was in China.
CINDY XU
3RD YEAR
CHAPTER 2
telephone
table
home in
Shanghai
used to
call my parents
in the US
hidden
in the shadow
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GANBEI MAGAZINE : NOSTALGIA
colourful
exercise
machinery
tai chi at
the crack
of dawn
elderly folk
doing
morning
exercises
CINDY XU
3RD YEAR
CHAPTER 2
The [next] two outdoors pictures
are of the central park area in our
apartment complex. I’m sure most
people can recognise the clearing
with the colourful exercise machinery,
where you could always find a few
elderly folk doing morning exercises
and tai chi at the crack of dawn.
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GANBEI MAGAZINE : NOSTALGIA
The path with the red lanterns leads
to a koi pond with turtles and a spiral
fountain, where every morning there
would be kids frolicking about whilst
their grandparents caught up with
each other. My grandma and I would
bring fish food for the pond inhabitants
and egg yolks for the dogs
on our morning walks.
CINDY XU
3RD YEAR
CHAPTER 2
red lanterns
leading to a
koi pond
turtles
and a spiral
fountain
my grandma
and I
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GANBEI MAGAZINE : NOSTALGIA
wooden
slats
rocking chair
in the master
bedroom
bittersweet
wave of
nostalgia
and longing
CINDY XU
3RD YEAR
CHAPTER 2
Sometimes I would sit on the
rocking chair in the master
bedroom, looking out the wall
of windows next to it, and
wind up getting my hair caught
in the wooden slats. It’s been
9 years since I was last able to
go home (thanks, COVID) and
scrolling through these pictures
brought on a bittersweet
wave of nostalgia and longing.
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GANBEI MAGAZINE : NOSTALGIA
羊
粉
肉
"My mom and dad are both from 贵
州 (Guìzhōu), and my extended family
on both sides all still live there. We
used to visit every other summer, and
I would beg to get 羊 肉 粉 (Yáng Ròu
Fěn, Rice-flour noodles with Mutton)
for literally every meal. As I got older
and my Mandarin got worse, food
became the main way I could still
connect with my relatives. I wasn't
able to talk to them about much
but still they would always make
sure to take me out to eat 羊 肉 粉
(Yáng Ròu Fěn) and tell me which
places had the yummiest versions.
Because of covid, it's been years
CONNIE TANG
4TH YEAR
CHAPTER 2
Guizhou
Lamb
Noodles
since I've been back, and as I get
older and closer to graduating and
worse at Mandarin I've been feeling
extra nostalgic. 贵 州 (Guìzhōu) cuisine
is not that popular in America, and
the only place I've been able to find
it is Hakata Ramen. Even though it
scratches the itch, I'm scared that
it'll never be the same here as it
is in China and that I've let go of
one of the last things connecting
me to my family. This is a screenshot
of an album of pictures of all
the bowls I ate when I last visited
China in 2019 and I have it organized
in a folder named :( ■
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GANBEI MAGAZINE : NOSTALGIA
8%
I drew this piece, titled 8%, in my senior year
while attending a high school with an 8% Asian
population. My Chinese best friend and I used
to joke that we were “divided and conquered”.
No friend group had more than two Asians, but
any group with Asians always had two. It was
as though every one of us, starting in elementary
school in our predominantly white suburbs,
picked another Asian to cling onto. Despite the
dramatic push and pull of adolescent friend
circles, I held onto the one friend that also spoke
Chinglish, ate rice with every meal, and cried
over extra-curricular math at the dining table.
There were some things from home only another
daughter of Asian immigrants understood.
But we weren’t allowed to be too similar. I can’t
remember a teacher that didn’t mix up our names.
We split into different friend groups, different
classes, and different hobbies. When we both
bought a light blue jean jacket in junior year,
we promised to text each other on nights before
we wore it, so we wouldn’t accidentally match.
My childhood was peaceful. I studied like everyone
else, hated the bus like everyone else, and
got crushes like everyone else, but I could never
escape the subtle ways everyone else saw my
little triumphs of culture. My friend and I were
“the two Asian girls”, and Chinese opera singers
looked like clowns. ■
JESSICA SHANG
2ND YEAR
CHAPTER 2
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GANBEI MAGAZINE : NOSTALGIA
I Eat
Noodles
for
Breakfast
LILY XU
3RD YEAR
CHAPTER 2
Who eats noodles for breakfast, that’s so weird!
My first-grade teacher immediately hushed all my other
classmates whispering and giggling at each other while
stealing glances at me. That was the last time I confidently
talked about my favorite Asian meal as a kid.
Growing up in a predominately white suburb is something
many Asian-Americans can relate to. Especially as a secondgeneration
immigrant, I could feel the dichotomy between
my life inside and outside my house. I spoke Mandarin at
home. I learned to speak English at school. I folded wontons
with my grandparents while writing homework assiwgnments
of baking apple pies with my mom. I felt different from the
other kids who didn’t look like me, and I wanted to be like
them. I assimilated until I lost fluency in my native language.
Growing up is understanding and loving myself and my journey
as a Chinese-American. It starts small, like saying your
favorite meals are your mom’s 炸 酱 面 (Zhá Jiàng Miàn, Black
Bean Noodles) or your dad’s 年 糕 (Nián Gāo, Ricecake).
I’ve always felt connected to my Chinese culture through food.
Now, I enjoy eating noodles whenever I want to. I make it the
way my parents do when they’re in a rush to get to work: plain
with a bit of soy sauce, black vinegar, and sesame oil. Noodles
bring back fond memories of late night studying at the kitchen
table where my dad would bring a hot soupy bowl of it with
an egg on top.
I look back to that time where we all sat criss-cross apple
sauce in front of our first-grade teacher who asked us what
we eat for breakfast every morning, and answer: Noodles.
Why wouldn’t I eat them for breakfast? ■
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GANBEI MAGAZINE : NOSTALGIA
番
茄
炒
鸡
Hearing chopping and slamming sounds
on a cutting board never fails to remind
me of home. I think some Chinese-
Americans can relate to the fact that
one of the things they miss most about
living at home is the home-cooked
food. For me, 番 茄 炒 鸡 蛋 , (Fānqié Chǎo
Jīdàn, Tomato with Scrambled Eggs)
is a classic Chinese dish that comforts
me whenever I feel homesick. The
fragrant smell of garlic wafting through
the air invites me downstairs to watch
my dad or mom stir fry the tomatoes
and add the fluffy eggs in. Even though
I make it sometimes in my dorm, nothing
can ever beat the dish when my
parents make it. ■
蛋
JOANNA ZHAO
3RD YEAR
CHAPTER 2
b o
b
a
sweet, small, silly balls
they are such a delight in the malls
I grew up describing them in this way
but people had no clue what to say
is it jelly?
is it smelly?
can you choke on one too many?
these questions were uncanny
but not unreasonable
for I too found it impossible
to share in words this special treat
to unknowing friends I meet
boba, tapioca, bubble tea
the ultimate jubilee
don’t believe me?
then try it, you’ll see!
TIFFANY YANG
3RD YEAR
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GANBEI MAGAZINE : NOSTALGIA
Reminiscing
Apt. 4D
The smell of scallions, ginger,
and chives filled our kitchen and
poured into our apartment hall
every evening at 7PM. They were
the spices I despised as a child.
By the end of the meal, a mini
mountain of scallion oil and soy
sauce infused ginger-strips sit sulking
by my unfinished bowl of rice.
Lao Lao (grandma) shakes her head
— “Finish your food picky girl, every
single grain of rice is a fruit of hard
work”. Lao Lao said my taste buds
would grow, like me. One day, I would
learn to love the sweetness and heat
of biting into a raw scallion stalk.
This picture is from a celebratory
family feast made by my Lao Ye
(grandpa). These are the flavors
& smells I miss when I’m away from
home at college. These are the flavors
I’ve been trying to recreate.
Lao Lao said my tastebuds
would grow, like me.
CONNIE TOO
2ND YEAR
CHAPTER 2
34
■ AFTER RELFECTION, CHAPTER 3 HIGHTLIGHTS NARRATIVES WITH THE THEME
OF CONNECTING THE PAST TO THE PRESENT. AFTER WE BROUGHT FEELINGS OF
NOSTALGIA TO THE SURFACE, WHAT DO WE DO WITH THESE FEELINGS? WE HOPE
THAT NOSTALGIA GIVES US A CHANCE TO UNIFY, REFRAME, AND HEAL WITH THESE
NARRATIVES ■
Chapter 3
GANBEI MAGAZINE : NOSTALGIA
These
flavors
and
moments
are
constant
reminders
of
home.
EDGAR SZE
2ND YEAR
CHAPTER 3
The
Ingredients
of a Homecooked
Meal
I grew up as a chubby child: my
late grandmother spoiled me with
carefully crafted home-cooked
meals. I spent much of my time
keeping her company in the kitchen,
staring in awe as she lay an
uncountable number of ingredients
into our soon-to-be supper. Sneaking
bites of a fragrant dish while setting
the table only to be scolded by her
with a laugh – “ 肥 仔 !” (féi zǐ, chubby
boy) – was a daily occurrence.
Entering my newly leased apartment
this Fall, I realized a novel privilege
and responsibility: owning a kitchen
with two of my closest friends,
Nelson and Alex. As a food-lover
with tastebuds my grandmother
herself molded, I had a hefty goal
in mind: to cook dishes that would
make those buds – and my human
buds – happy. Admittedly, these
past few months only resulted
in flavors that don’t even come
close to the magic she produced,
but they still remind me of home.
Home with my grandmother feels
like something I lived but didn’t
fully live; something I knew was
important but didn’t grant enough
importance to; something I want
to live again to the extent offered
in those precious hours, but originally
refused. It was a home where
外 婆 (wài pó, grandmother) gently
handled her chopsticks with fragile,
weathered hands to place a piece
of my favorite dish in my rice bowl.
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GANBEI MAGAZINE : NOSTALGIA
That home is forever stored within
me. It’s a home that I attempt to
bring to life with cooking.
This apartment with Nelson and Alex,
176 miles away from where I lived
with my grandmother, is home now.
Sometimes we sit at the counter
watching the other struggle to figure
out a recipe their mother told through
the phone. We stare as their flavor
of home comes to life, impatiently
waiting for a taste (which is usually
met with a few curses). Finally,
as it’s plated, we’re offered a small,
singular bite as if it were their most
precious thing. These flavors and
moments are constant reminders
of home. A home that I hope to grant
enough importance and live to its
fullest extent. A home that will be
stored within me and brought to
life with cooking when it becomes
another distant, but dear memory. ■
[Finally, as it’s plated,
we’re offered a
EDGAR SZE
2ND YEAR
CHAPTER 3
THAT HOME IS FOREVER STORED WITHIN
ME. IT’S A HOME THAT I ATTEMPT
TO BRING TO LIFE WITH COOKING.
a small, singular bite as if it
were their
most precious
thing.]
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GANBEI MAGAZINE : NOSTALGIA
My
First
Meaning
of Home.
MICHELLE CHEN
1ST YEAR
CHAPTER 3
For me, nostalgia exhibits itself
most clearly in the form of memories
of when I was a toddler
in China where my grandparents
had taken care of me.
Where we lived, there were
little food trucks/carts that were
up at the crack of dawn selling
breakfast food like youtiaos.
There was a market near us where
people sold produce. There was
a park my grandparents would
take me to in the evenings with
many other kids and grandparents.
I had been a picky eater and would
take forever eating a meal. I liked
to dance and dress up. I had
to fall asleep with a specific blanket
with a pattern of bears in blue
corduroy pants because I liked how
it felt. In the little, close-knit town
where my grandparents had grown
up, I came to define my very first
meaning of home. Around fourteen
years have gone by. As I reflect
even now, I realize that as they are
watching me grow up, I’m watching
them grow older. I Facetimed them
yesterday, having noticed that it
had been almost a month since the
last time. As soon as I heard them
call me by my nickname in Mandarin
and speak the Fuzhonese dialect I
only semi-understand now, I smiled.
When I think of nostalgia, the
memories are strongly intertwined
with the two people who always
keep me in their hearts and think
of me as the little girl they fondly
took care of so long ago. ■
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GANBEI MAGAZINE : NOSTALGIA
Smile for
Breakfast
(GRANDFATHER’S
BAMBOO)
(MCDONALDS
PANCAKE)
(SUNDAY
NEWSPAPER)
VANESSA CHEN
3RD YEAR
CHAPTER 3
This is a picture of me at age 5
taken by my dad on a digital camera.
Though it’s a simple candid capture,
it brings all of my sense of identity
together in one picture; I’m shown,
gums out, with a McDonalds pancake
in my cheeks and hand that my
parents and grandparents picked
up on a quiet Sunday morning for
the breakfast discount in suburban
New Jersey along the highway.
My dad is hunched behind the
kitchen table across from me poised
with our advanced, brand new Canon
A260 struggling to focus on me midbite
after spontaneously becoming
an aspiring photographer. At the
same time the Chinese newspaper
my grandma scrambled for every
Sunday grocery run at Hmart, our
only Asian grocery around town in
2005, and a crop of my grandfather’s
immortal New York City bamboo
surround me as representative
pieces of my Chinese background.
All of the little parts of my life fed
into who I see myself as between two
cultures; as small as a syrupy Sunday
drive-thru to my grandparents’
greatest everyday treasures. ■
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GANBEI MAGAZINE : NOSTALGIA
我
是
中
国
人
JASON TUNG
4TH YEAR
CHAPTER 3
My experience felt so much
more American—I grew disconnected
from a culture that felt
forced upon me by people I had
no agency in choosing.
On Being
Chinese
Growing up as the child of two
immigrant parents who came to
America at a young age and barely
spoke English, my childhood was
very Chinese-American.
My parents were very busy working
when I was younger, but in the rare
moments when they weren’t working,
they saturated my childhood with
Chinese culture. Sometimes it was
inconspicuous, like the meals my
mother cooked or speaking to me
in the only language they knew, but
other times it was more deliberate
like dressing me up in traditional
garments for Chinese New Year while
singing 恭 喜 恭 喜 (gōngxǐ gōngxǐ,
good wishes) or taking me to burn
joss paper.
Looking back on it, I was incredibly
privileged to have been surrounded
by so much culture. But my parents
were rarely able to find time to spend
with me, so they were “my” parents,
but they were never mine and “my”
culture never felt like mine.
My experience felt so much more
American—I grew disconnected from
a culture that felt forced upon me by
people I had no agency in choosing.
I loved eating hot pockets, mashed
potatoes, and pasta, not 炒 饭 , 宫 保 鸡
丁 , and 酸 辣 汤 . I wanted to celebrate
Christmas, not 中 秋 節 . I spoke English
most of the time, not Chinese. In
Chinese class, I would say “ 我 是 美 国
人 ” (I am American) instead of “ 我 是
中 国 人 ” (I am Chinese).
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GANBEI MAGAZINE : NOSTALGIA
I look back on my upbringing beyond
just my childhood with a bittersweet
sense of nostalgia: I remember when
I was able to happily celebrate my
culture, but with that comes the
inevitable aftertaste of regret for the
contempt and shame I felt towards my
heritage—and a deep wish that I had
continued to explore and cherish what
it means to be Chinese.
But more than anything else, I am
left with an understanding that my
experience does not have to be that
of the son to Chinese immigrants or
that of a boy who was once ashamed
of his culture, but that I am all of those
things and more: I am made up of all
of these experiences but I am not
defined by any one narrative. ■
I am not defined by
any one narrative.
JASON TUNG
4TH YEAR
48
GANBEI MAGAZINE : NOSTALGIA
MARENDA LI
1ST YEAR
CHAPTER 3
Sparkling
When I think of nostalgia, I can’t
help but think of the qipao I used
to wear all the time when I was
little. I realized that over time,
I stopped wearing traditional
Chinese clothing because there
was never really an occasion
that needed it. I still love the way
qipao’s look, and I drew this to
capture a small essence of my
childhood with a sparkler to light
up the memory.
50
GANBEI MAGAZINE : NOSTALGIA
DANA GUO
1ST YEAR
CHAPTER 3
Every new year is winter.
All my family travels back to our
hometown. No matter how far we
live, we have to meet up with the
rest of the big family in my
grandparents’ house.
The valley is in the mountains and
away from the city. Everyone who
lives in the valley is more and less
connected with one ancestor. More
than three hundred people are
coming on Spring Festival.
We watch fireworks and have drinks
together.
52
HOLDING ONTO THAT HAZY FEELING
53
HOLDING ONTO THAT HAZY FEELING
Ganbei
Nostalgia Zine
Fall 2022
Co-Editors
China Qin
@fermentedcrab
Logistics & Design
Cynthia Cao
caocynthia.com
Design & Illustration
Enzo Nguyen
Design
Sharon Chen
@ultyjh
Design
Vanessa Peng
vanessapeng.com
Design
Special Thanks
Northeastern Pan
Asian American
Council (PAAC)
Contributors
Stephanie Xu
Connie Tang
Christina Wu
Anne Shen
Angel Yang
Amanda Chin
Cindy Xu
Connie Tang
Lily Xu
Jessica Shang
Tiffany Yang
Joanna Zhao
Connie Too
Edgar Sze
Vanessa Chen
Jason Tung
Marenda Li
Michelle Chen
Dana Guo
Northeastern
Chinese Student
Association (CSA)
54
HOLDING ONTO THAT HAZY FEELING
Est. 2022
55