Anna Shan's Blog WRIT340

Beer-pongs. Football games. Mint chocolate chip ice cream. The exoticism of American lifestyle as portrayed in TV series entranced me growing up in China. When I started my college in the US, I was eager to Americanize myself and blend in. I used fancy slangs in text messages and filled my schedule with hangouts and club meetings. However, starring in my own American live show did not make me feel as accepted as I imagined. I wondered what went wrong. One day in class I watched a BBC documentary about air pollution in China. The video was presented in an extremely unpleasant way, as if the poisonous air and irresponsible government were the only things that people could ever encounter in China. My frustration with this video made me realize that my understanding of American lifestyle was as superficial and limited as the image of China in the eyes of western countries. The America that I had been trying to assimilate to before was only a scene on the screen based on over-exaggerat...

Be the Tarzan of the Concrete Jungle: An Introductory Guide to Indoor Rock Climbing in LA Getting tired of the SoulCycle and yoga studios everywhere? Here is the most exciting solution to your next workout in LA: an indoor rock climbing gym. According to the latest finding of the Climbing Business Journal , the climbing industry has achieved more than 10% growth last year: 43 new climbing gyms opened across 23 states in the US – from Hawaii to Florid (Helt). With the recent announcement that climbing is recognized as an official sport in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, indoor rock climbing has become the trendiest sport right now (Corrigan). To become an indoor rock climber, all you need are a pair of climbing shoes to help you move around, a bag of chalk to keep your hands from sweating and a heart full of passion and curiosity. As an enthusiast who has been committing to this sport for two years, I am going to teach you everything you need to know a...