By Hope Parker 柯梦希 NANJING, China — By January 22nd, 2020, when human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus was confirmed, Hopkins-Nanjing Center (HNC) students, faculty and staff had already spread around the world for Lunar New Year holidays and travel. Students were slated to begin spring semester classes on February 24th and were anxiously awaiting... Continue Reading →

By Joe Wojciechowski NANJING, China — A father stands in front of his congregation, breaking the ceremonial eucharist wafers symbolic of the body of Christ. An altar boy clad in white vestments swings a thurible, filling the air with a cloud of fragrant incense. Several congregants receive their eucharist host and quietly leave to beat... Continue Reading →

By Jing Xuanlin NANJING, China — China’s youth, often known to be fired up with patriotic zeal, are referred to in Chinese as the xiao fenhong, or “Little Pink.” The term can be traced back to the Jinjiang Literary City, an original love-story writing forum predominately frequented by female users that featured a pink background... Continue Reading →

By Lai Chuxuan NANJING, China — “Tongqi” is a relatively modern Chinese term used to refer to heterosexual women who unknowingly marry gay men. The tongqi is a marginalized group in China that symbolizes an unintended side effect of LGBTQI discrimination, particularly against homosexual men, in China. Professor Zhang Beichuan of Qingdao University, an expert... Continue Reading →

By Li Jiyun A plastic surgery advertisement at a subway station in Nanjing, China. Photo credits: Wang Zhen NANJING, China — Although the popularity of Korean pop music and TV dramas seem to have waned in China, advertisements for Korean-style plastic surgery clinics continue to pop up in subway stations throughout Nanjing and other Chinese... Continue Reading →

Politics of rural development field study participants pose with Professor Adam Webb, left, by a Yunling village landmark (along with a few local children). Photo credits: Lu Yuyan (HNC Certificate ’19) By Ryan Lucas NANJING, China –– China’s economic rise over the past several decades is often symbolized by modern cities like Shanghai or Shenzhen,... Continue Reading →

Tang Keyi (HNC M.A. ’19) presenting findings from her master’s thesis research project. Photo credits: Amy Bodner (HNC M.A. ’20) By Nova Fritz NANJING, China — This week at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, M.A. candidate Keyi Tang presented findings from her thesis research project, “Learning From China: Comparing Special Economic Zones in Ethiopia and Vietnam,” in... Continue Reading →

Photo credits: The Washington Post. By Cecilia Panella WASHINGTON — Former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein is a Jordanian diplomat of Turkish, Swedish and Iraqi descent, making him the first Asian, Muslim and Arab to serve in that role. His tenure at the United Nations has been on prominent... Continue Reading →

By Zhou Jie NANJING, China — One day in early March, a friend from Nanjing University invited me to join a WeChat group named “Nanda Kuakua Qun,” or the “Nanjing University Praise Group.” As a member of this group, I observed something quite novel. A group member said, “I have been lying in bed and... Continue Reading →

By Nova Fritz （福清雨） NANJING, China — Transgenderism is a relatively recent concept to enter Chinese society’s consciousness. Since the Reform and Opening Up period of the 1980s, mainland China has increasingly been exposed to outside cultural influences, and through this avenue, critical concepts of gender and identity have entered the country. However, within the... Continue Reading →

Photo Credit: Wil Stewart Disclaimer: All names have been hidden to protect the guilty Scene: Kenney-Herter Auditorium in the later afternoon hours Guest lecturer (wrapping up an informative 30-minute presentation): …and with that final point about the consequence for our conception of [country name redacted] by the presence of this infinitesimally tiny subculture I’ve just... Continue Reading →

Phot Credit: Nick Abrams By Maria Gershuni The emails started out innocuous enough: “You have four days left to enter your name into NameCoach. You will not be allowed to enter the Grad Fair to pick up tickets and/or your cap and gown until your name is recorded.” That’s fine, I reasoned. I had already... Continue Reading →

By Corey Ray WASHINGTON — Turkish municipal elections, which concluded on March 31, issued a stunning rebuke to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and to President Erdoğan. It appears that the AKP has lost Istanbul, where Erdoğan served as mayor, and Ankara, Turkey’s capital city. Election results demonstrate that turnout continues to be... Continue Reading →

By Jing Xuanlin New gaokao reform sparks outcry from Chinese parents, they hold the slogan “equality of education” in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. Photo credits: sixthtone NANJING, China — A new plan for the college examination and admission system (also known as “gaokao”) was announced by the State Council in September 2014,  marking the most radical... Continue Reading →

Photo credits: Alexander Rosas Nanjing University By Alexander Rosas NANJING, China — My name is Alexander Rosas. I study international relations at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center. Aside from studying politics, I am a vocal advocate for accessible and effective mental health care. This topic is something I have a personal investment in, as I have suffered... Continue Reading →

Ben Miles draws with the children. Photo credits: Zhao Yixuan By Benjamin Miles NANJING, China —On an overcast spring day reminiscent of Nanjing’s winter weather, I emerged from the Jiangwang Miao metro station to find many curious and bewildered faces. Unlike the streets of downtown Nanjing, which are frequented by foreign students, the residents of... Continue Reading →

Photo credits: Khun Nyan Min Htet By Khun Nyan Min Htet WASHINGTON — SAISers in D.C. are still anxiously waiting to learn the result of the vote on whether SAIS students will join the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) UPass program. Four months after SAIS students voted in the UPass referendum, which was required... Continue Reading →

By Jesse Adler Former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping smoking. (Photo credits: Forrest Anderson) NANJING, China — Smoking cigarettes is said to be like adding “punctuation” to daily life. Whether it’s to curb a panic attack, break the ice with a stranger or relax after sex, cigarettes can serve to complement almost any life moment for... Continue Reading →

Photo credits: Reuters By Gabriela Saenz BOLOGNA, Italy — Recently, the Roman Catholic Church has come under scrutiny worldwide for sexual abuse allegations, forcing the Vatican to speak out for the first time in an official capacity. For decades, the Catholic Church has been accused of covering up these crimes and denying the existence of... Continue Reading →

By Cecilia Panella WASHINGTON — On December 14, 2012, Adam Lanza used a Bushmaster XM15-E2S rifle to kill six educators and 20 children in Sandy Hook Elementary School. On March 14, 2019, the Supreme Court of Connecticut reversed an earlier trial court ruling that dismissed the wrongful death suit against Bushmaster Firearms International LLC and... Continue Reading →

By Mariah Franklin Photo credits: Reuters Media BOLOGNA, Italy — In recent months, observers in both the United States and China have become increasingly positive toward the prospect of a mutually beneficial conclusion to current trade negotiations between the two countries. President Trump once warned that continuing negotiations beyond March 1 would lead to a... Continue Reading →

Photo Credit: Zdeněk Macháček By J.W. Dixon WASHINGTON — It’s 8:50 a.m. on a misty Tuesday and — mother of God — “these snacks are under surveillance.” Kit Kats and frozen cheeseburgers kept in check by Big Snack’s unblinking eye. But, really, I am the one under surveillance. In fact, I get the best look... Continue Reading →

By John Fenton Photo Credit: Daan Stevens WASHINGTON — The Russian use of Ground Launched Cruise Missiles (GLCM) upsets the status quo established by the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty because it possesses capabilities forbidden by the treaty. In response to this, the United States has the option to reestablish the status quo by sacrificing... Continue Reading →

By Jesse Adler Jesse Adler presenting on the Jewish American experience to students at Nanjing University (Photo credits: Lai Chuxuan, HNC ’19) NANJING, China — On Christmas Day, at the invitation of the director of China’s National Institute for Jewish Studies, my Hopkins-Nanjing Center classmate Benjamin Miles and I discussed the Jewish American experience with... Continue Reading →

By Zhang Yaoyao and Amy Bodner Zhang Yaoyao is a master’s student at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center with a concentration in economics. Amy Bodner is a master’s student with a concentration in China Studies. We offer our viewpoints on the state of China’s housing market bubble. Source: Marketing China China does not have a housing bubble... Continue Reading →

Photo Credit: Timothy Kolczak By Cecilia Panella WASHINGTON — Last Friday I met a man who told me that he hopes his father had died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Despite being liberated by the British from Nazi control in April of 1945, Jean Nommick never returned home from Bergen-Belsen. His son, Joel Nommick, has... Continue Reading →

Photo credits: BBC By Danielle Minnett BOLOGNA, Italy —The window of opportunity for the British Parliament to approve a Brexit withdrawal agreement is closing fast. Yet the future of the U.K. and the EU’s relationship remains unclear. The Withdrawal Agreement proposed by Theresa May was defeated by a record margin in the U.K. Parliament last... Continue Reading →

Photo by Edilzon Gamez/Getty Images By Gabriela Saenz BOLOGNA, Italy — The beginning of Nicolas Maduro’s second term on January 10 as head of state set off a series of controversial events in Venezuela, and paved the way for the international community to move from neutrality to action. Highly contested elections were held in May... Continue Reading →

Photo credits: Vasilia Anayiotos By Lisa Nations WASHINGTON — On February 14, the European and Eurasian Studies (EES) program hosted distinguished Professor Cas Mudde for the Leonard Schapiro Memorial Prize Lecture on “Populism in Europe: An Illiberal Democratic Response to Undemocratic Liberalism.” Mudde is a leading scholar on political extremism and has published five books... Continue Reading →

The SAIS Review of International Affairs is calling for submissions! Find information on how to submit your work and get published!

Photo credit: Levi Clancy Originally published in 2018 as a larger piece in DEMOS Vol. 1, Article 6,“The Kurds: Independence is Going to Have to Wait … Again” explores the past, present, and future implications of the Kurdish independence movement. The piece in its entirety can be found here. This piece is also the 2018... Continue Reading →

By Marcus Walsh-Führing BOLOGNA, Italy —— As the political debate in Europe has focused its sights on the effects of Brexit on the European Union (EU), the middle class in Greece is struggling to cope with a growing tax burden. While European leaders want to see an end to the crisis by imposing austerity policies,... Continue Reading →

By Jing Xuanlin NANJING, China —— Last summer, the question on every young Chinese person’s lips was: “你有freestyle吗？”—“Do you have freestyle?” The phrase circulated in memes and trended on all social media platforms. The rise in popularity of this phrase was all thanks to Chinese pop singer and actor Kris Wu, who appeared as a... Continue Reading →

By Matteo Todisco Photo Credit: newsweek.com WASHINGTON — Global pandemics can be as devastating, lethal and catastrophic as the world’s worst conflicts.  They combine staggering casualties with economic collapses on a scale that threatens global stability. They also have unique psychological effects on populations causing panic and hysteria unlike those observed with other sources of... Continue Reading →

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin By Corey Ray WASHINGTON — Of the many criticisms of President Trump’s decision to withdraw from Syria it was the abandonment of the U.S.’s Kurdish allies, namely the YPG (The People’s Protection Units), that provoked the loudest opposition. Indeed, senators from both parties are urging Trump to offer a plan... Continue Reading →

By Jesse Adler NANJING, China — China today is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing film markets. The industry is dominated by high-budget, unabashedly commercial films, whose chief function is to entertain China’s mainstream, white-collar youth market. Recently, however, the Chinese government has partnered with private film companies to promote “arthouse films,” which... Continue Reading →

Confidence-building measures have achieved varying degrees of progress, but momentum has slowed Photo Source: Arab News By Sam Reynolds On January 30, 2019, Patrick Cammaert, the former Dutch general in charge of facilitating a ceasefire between warring parties in the Yemeni Civil War, stepped down from his post. He was quickly replaced, but accusations arose... Continue Reading →

SAIS students and faculty, Welcome back! We hope you had a great break and are looking forward to the semester ahead! This year, SGA has incorporated student feedback from the many surveys we sent out last semester (we will be keeping the feedback surveys in the Blueser so feel free to send us more suggestions).... Continue Reading →

Danielle Thompson Editor-in-chief @thedanithompson Dear Reader, Welcome back to SAIS! My name is Danielle Thompson, formerly the deputy editor-in-chief, and currently the editor-in-chief of The SAIS Observer for the spring semester. I had the pleasure of working with T.J. Sjostrom for the past seven months and he taught me a lot about TSO, leadership and... Continue Reading →

Clockwise from top left: Professors Michael Leigh, Filippo Taddei, David Unger and Christopher Hill BOLOGNA, Italy — The year ahead presents many challenges and opportunities, so TSO Bologna bureau asked four SAIS Europe faculty members what they foresee to be the most significant events in 2019. Professor Michael Leigh: European Parliament Elections The European Parliament... Continue Reading →

By Danielle Thompson WASHINGTON — On January 25, President Ron Daniels and Dean Vali Nasr announced that SAIS will be moving to the building currently occupied by the Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue. In a $372.5 million deal, the University will consolidate all Johns Hopkins University Washington, D.C.-based academic facilities. This move is made financially possible... Continue Reading →

Source: David Ryder/Reuters (https://www.businessinsider.com/syrian-refugee-backlash-isis-2015-11) By Olivia Magnanini BOLOGNA, Italy —Deportation of Vietnam War era refugees. The death of a young girl in the custody of US Customs and Border Protection. A looming government shutdown over funding for the quixotic border wall. Have Americans reached the breaking point yet?   The hellish events of recent weeks... Continue Reading →

By Lindsay Thill A Starbucks with “Chinese characteristics” in Nanjing, China Photo source: pymnts.com NANJING, China — With its growing middle class and population of 1.4 billion people, China has presented foreign companies with both an enticing market and an intimidating challenge for the last 40 years. While some companies such as Adidas, Starbucks and... Continue Reading →

Shoppers wait for their turn to purchase items from the Supreme x Louis Vuitton Collaboration. (Photo source: The Financial Times) By Tiantian Shi NANJING, China 一 Ask any hypebeast to name their favorite streetwear brands and they might rattle off a list that includes Supreme, Off-White, BAPE, Adidas and Yeezy. What they probably could not... Continue Reading →

By Evan Bird BOLOGNA, Italy — It’s been fifteen years since the Rose Revolution set Georgia on its pro-Western reform path and ten years since a Russian invasion nearly brought it all down. But, the small, former-Soviet republic has once again conducted a free and competitive election. In a second-round runoff on November 29, Salome Zurabishvili, an... Continue Reading →

By Jing Xuanlin NANJING, China — “You really have ‘straight man cancer’!” Burgeoning feminist movements in China have encouraged many, especially post-90s women, to identify and criticize sexism in modern Chinese society.  Here, ‘straight man cancer,’ a translation of 直男癌, is another term for male chauvinism, where “cancer” points to the toxicity of their treatment... Continue Reading →

By Zhou Jie, translation by Mario Colella 2018年10月24日，南京大学人类学研究所邓国基（Chris Tan）副教授应邀来到中美中心，为师生们带来了一场新颖且精彩的讲座——“Gay蜜”：中国济南新兴的“女汉子”及“直女”与男同性恋者之间的亲密友谊。邓国基教授曾在2002年获得耶鲁大学东亚研究的硕士学位，并于2011年获得美国伊利诺伊大学香槟城分校的人类学博士学位。他的研究兴趣集中于社会性别与性，对新加坡、中国大陆及台湾的同性恋群体也颇有研究。 NANJING, China — On Oct. 24, Chris Tan, a Nanjing University professor of humanities, came to the Hopkins-Nanjing Center (HNC) to present students with a novel lecture titled “Gaymi” on the flourishing friendships between straight women and gay men in the city of Jinan, in China’s... Continue Reading →

By Amber Murakami-Fester BOLOGNA, Italy — Refugees entering the European Union fell from its peak of one million in 2015 to under 200,000 in 2017, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. With many of these refugees coming to Italy, refugee reception centers in Bologna work to process and accommodate newcomers. Their biggest challenge is to help assimilate... Continue Reading →

By Li Xiaoyu NANJING, China — Another Singles’ Day, the Chinese version of Black Friday, has come and gone. Countless people participated in the annual online shopping spree — so many that just a minute past midnight on Nov. 11, sales on Alibaba had already reached $1 billion. The one-day shopping frenzy reflects the broader... Continue Reading →

By Jesse Adler NANJING, China — If you had told me at the beginning of the semester that I would soon be pulling all-nighters analyzing the terms of a sales agreement regarding a delivery of horse semen, I might have questioned your sense of humor. But when I joined the Vis Moot Court team at... Continue Reading →

By Chu Chu NANJING, China 一 On Oct. 10, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor presented her policy address to the Legislative Council, which outlined plans for developing Hong Kong’s healthcare, pensions, education and social welfare. One of the most pressing problems she addressed, however, was housing. Since the return of the former... Continue Reading →

By Keel Dietz WASHINGTON — The midterm elections may be over, but the horse-trading of election season continues in full swing in the smoke-filled Nitze basement. After returning from Thanksgiving break, students will vote on whether to join the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority  (WMATA) “UPass” program or not. The program gives students at participating... Continue Reading →

By Nirit Hinkis BOLOGNA, Italy — It’s 9:00 p.m. on a Friday and Bologna’s vibrant nightlife is beginning to buzz. SAIS Europe students, however, are still on campus. Packed tightly into Giulio’s coffee shop, cheers and applause erupt as Lekker opens their new cover song, Rihanna’s “Work.” Lekker (pronounced Lekka) is made up of five... Continue Reading →

Hong Kong: Independence and authority in Beijing’s “one country, two systems” policyBy Marco Saracco WASHINGTON — Hong Kong is a thriving liberal economy. It is fifth in the World Bank’s Doing Business ranking and enjoys a vast array of human rights, delivering a consistent “rule of law” system with its own checks and balances. At... Continue Reading →

By Caroline Lupetini BOLOGNA, Italy — Italy is playing a dangerous game. Government reforms by Italy’s populist government — the somewhat-shaky coalition between the anti-establishment Five Star Movement and the right-wing League — have drawn deep ire from Brussels for the “significant deviation” from previous commitments to lower Italy’s enormous public debt. Italy’s debt is... Continue Reading →

By Hayden Paulsen NANJING, China — On Oct. 26, the Hopkins-Nanjing Center hosted its annual Halloween party. Festivities included performances by the HNC student band, a costume contest and attendance by local and international Nanjing University students, staff and their friends and family. Student committee leader Shelby Tuseth coordinated the night’s festivities. “Our goal was... Continue Reading →

By Nicholas Cohn-Martin BOLOGNA, Italy — It’s somewhat coincidental that only four days after Paul Romer was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics, the migrant caravan — which dominated midterm debate over immigration in the U.S. — began marching from Honduras. Romer, who was awarded the prize for exploring how new ideas contribute to economic... Continue Reading →

By Benjamin Miles NANJING, China — On September 20, 2018, a rather unusual topic appeared in several publications in China. The China Daily English edition, People’s Daily Chinese edition and the local Nanjing Daily all reported on the same event with more or less the same wording, that Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with Cambodian... Continue Reading →

By Ashley Curtis WASHINGTON — Russia’s disinformation campaign in the 2016 presidential election was a shock that forced Americans to grapple with the uncomfortable truth of their own vulnerability. Policymakers were caught by surprise. They understood that Russia had a penchant for interfering in its neighbors’ elections — Ukraine and Montenegro are examples — but... Continue Reading →

By Wei Axiao NANJING, China — Once known as the “lost generation,” the members of the post-90s generation in China have now been jokingly labeled “middle-aged,” or even “old people.” Why are these millennials being compared to the elderly? One possible explanation is their lifestyle. If you observe young Chinese people, you will be surprised... Continue Reading →

Alexander Rosas is a certificate student at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center with a focus on International Politics. Jesse Adler is a HNC Certificate/SAIS M.A. student currently completing his Certificate at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center before starting at SAIS DC next fall. We both offer our viewpoints on the state of US-China relations after Vice President Mike Pence’s... Continue Reading →

By Danielle Thompson In August 2018, SAIS Career Services replaced SAISWorks, students’ previous online career services platform, with the Handshake system. Although the new service offers numerous jobs, schedule of events and seminars, students’ ability to access them depends on how much information they put into the system. To ensure that students engage with the... Continue Reading →

The SAIS Observer recently sat down with Professor Lisel Hintz to discuss her new book and her concept of identity politics “inside out” before its release on Friday, November 2. Professor Hintz’s regional focus is on Turkey and its relations with Europe and the Middle East. This semester at SAIS Professor Hintz is teaching Psychology... Continue Reading →

By Shen Hao, translation by Amy Bodner    秋天是一个开学季，到处充满了欢声笑语，南大–霍普金斯大学中美文化研究中心也不例外。中心迎来了第33届学生，包括来自全球各地的国际学生，例如美国、丹麦、挪威、加拿大等地。大部分国际学生刚刚下飞机就赶来了中美中心，有点倒时差，不大适应。中心的志愿者热情地接待他们，帮他们把行李搬到双人间公寓。除此之外，志愿者学生还带着国际学生参观校园。桂花开了，整个校园香气扑鼻。 NANJING, China — Autumn signals the beginning of a new semester here at the SAIS Hopkins-Nanjing Center (HNC). Now in its 33rd year, the HNC is a bilingual graduate center of Chinese and international students who study international relations in either English or Mandarin. Last month,... Continue Reading →

By T.J. Sjostrom WASHINGTON — If you have read any authoritative source in the past two years about the Russian disinformation campaign in the U.S. media or have wondered where American policymakers get their information from, there is a strong likelihood that Nina Jankowicz influenced both the story and your knowledge of it in some... Continue Reading →

By Sarah Casson BOLOGNA, Italy — After endless plates of tagliatelle, bottles of lambrusco and pistachio cornettos from Giulio’s Cafe, there comes a time in a SAIS Europe student’s life when they accept that they may need to find a gym.   Luckily, Bologna offers exercise options for every interest, ranging from CrossFit to yoga to... Continue Reading →

By Mario Colella If only we were not that seedling of Creation, Of Earth and its generations, If only we had remained simple Clay or Ember, Or something in between, Then we would not have to see This World, its Lord, and its Hell, twice over. —  Adonis (“The New Noah,” tr. Shawkat M. Toorawa)... Continue Reading →

By Tiantian Shi NANJING, China — At the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, a long-standing tradition known as the Wall Walk brings together students, staff and faculty for an all-day hike along Nanjing’s city wall. The event, usually scheduled for early November but moved up to Orientation Week in favor of ideal weather presented the perfect opportunity for... Continue Reading →

By T.J. Sjostrom WASHINGTON - On behalf of my teammates at The SAIS Observer, we are crestfallen about the passing of Kathryn Knowles, a beloved adviser, SAIS alumna and friend at the SAIS Europe campus in Bologna. Today is an incredibly sad day for the European and Eurasian Studies (EES) program, the student body at The... Continue Reading →

ELIZABETH GOFFI WASHINGTON, D.C. - The fastest-growing program at SAIS is making some changes; yesterday, April 10th, faculty within Energy, Resources, and Environment (ERE) met and discussed the department's future, including that at least two of the professors’ contracts would not be renewed for the academic year 2018-2019. The changes are based on recommendations made... Continue Reading →

By Patrick Kelley WASHINGTON — Protesters representing the Weed for Warriors Project demonstrated in front of SAIS’s Nitze building earlier this afternoon, objecting to Johns Hopkins’ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science’s decision to drop out of a clinical trial studying the effects of medical marijuana as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. The flag-waving... Continue Reading →

By LISA MARTINE JENKINS Last week, Professor Douglas Hengel arrived in Bologna from Washington D.C. for a conversation on the United States’ energy diplomacy and reliance on oil. Professor Hengel worked as a foreign service officer before coming to SAIS D.C. as an adjunct professor. He was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Energy,... Continue Reading →

BY KAJ MALDEN Donald Trump’s shocking victory in the U.S. presidential election last week finds many foreign policy wonks beginning to think more seriously about how the incoming president-elect will manage the U.S.’ relations with the rest of the world. U.S. foreign policy to date has developed two instruments to advance global stability and prosperity.... Continue Reading →

MICHAEL ST. GERMAIN
MA Student at SAIS Europe

When I decided to spend my first year at SAIS in Italy, I knew I wanted to live with a host family. I chose my particular host family because they had hosted my good friend’s mom 30 years prior. However, the family’s home is almost ten kilometers outside of the city. In order to help me out, the family offered to repair an old Vespa for me to take to school everyday. So went the plan.