by Sophie L.
There are many definitions for language. Back at home, language is realized through daily communication with my family and friends, with the majority of time at home being spoken in Chinese and time at school spoken in English. At SSP, being completely indulged in a different environment has me craving for a glimpse of the culture that I am familiar with, leading to impromptu purchases of instant hotpot and snacks. Luckily, I am able to savor it with a group of friends that enjoys it as much as I do. This is one of the most delightful aspects of my experience here: meeting people with similar interests and engaging in activities outside of study and psets with them. Having the chance to fully immerse myself in the environment with them has made the summer experience a lot more entertaining.
During my time here, I’ve also gotten the chance to learn a new language – Python. With limited coding experience before arriving here, I was aware of the extra endeavors that had to be put in in order to catch up with the curriculum. Remembering the workshop where we had to work on our first Python assignment, the first four lines had already been a dreadful period where I had to seek help for every line of code that was written. But as I continued to work on the code, Ria joined me, and together we ran through each line and went back to fix errors. The five hours of work that night (which some can complete in an hour or less) was combined with periodic complaints with frustrations, but also claps and cheers of excitement. That night, I experienced the stressful process of writing code, but also the satisfaction of code running successfully, and that bittersweet feeling now accompanies me in the process of OD code.
With the Fourth of July fireworks lighting up the entire baseball stadium, the figurative language of prosperity immediately filled my mind. As a saying in ancient Chinese, fireworks are means of scaring off evil spirits and welcoming success and luck. Hopefully the blessings can extend through everyone for the entirety of the program and onwards.
About Me:
Hi, my name is Sophie. I grew up in Shenzhen China and am currently living in Dallas, Texas. In my free time I usually binge TV shows and visit restaurants with my friends and family. At SSP, if I’m not in the lab working, I am normally napping in my dorm or taking walks.
