Loud Steps and Strong-Smelling Cuisine: The Terror of Being Different
An account of my experiences of navigating roommate conflicts and finding my voice
#TheBeginning It was a typical morning when I woke up at my usual time, ready to get some studying done before heading to the lab. Around 5 A.M., a noise from the kitchen drew my attention. Something was different. The sound of a pan sizzling, the smell of fried eggs in melted butter, and the […]
Finding connection through the “Wednesday Waffle”
Staying close to faraway friends during the first year at MIT
When I first came to MIT, I was confident that I’d had a decent plan for building a meaningful social life for myself at MIT and in Cambridge/Boston more broadly. Student groups, hobby groups, one-off events, and department outings were all readily available. Even without stepping out of the MIT bubble, there were so many […]
Hoops across borders
A EuroLeague fan’s journey to appreciating Boston basketball
Let me make one thing clear: I still believe the EuroLeague is the pinnacle of basketball. The intensity, the fans—they’re unmatched. My loyalty lies with Anadolu Efes, a Turkish powerhouse and back-to-back champions from 2020 to 2022. They are my team, my pride, and my heartbreak, often all at once. But Boston has this strange […]
My brat summer turned out to be very demure, very mindful
Settling in as an international student
My Instagram DMs witnessed an overwhelming inpour of the ‘Go Kylie Go’ reels from well-meaning friends. I’d bombarded their WhatsApp chats with the horror stories of being unable to add my Forex card to Uber, almost missing my flight, forgetting to pack my toothpaste, and trying to make friends while jet-lagged in a new country. […]
The architecture of serendipity
Learning to drink from the MIT firehose
I have been in the Netherlands for the last 8 years. Starting at MIT did not require me to move immediately since all of my classes are still online. However, even without making the move to Boston, I did experience the cultural shock of MIT. MIT has a special quality and that special something finds […]
