Why do Asians really get straight A's? - Project Gutenberg Consortia ...
Why do Asians really get straight A's? - Project Gutenberg Consortia ...
Why do Asians really get straight A's? - Project Gutenberg Consortia ...
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11<br />
The plane lands as I start to wake up, the sun shining intensely into my eyes, with a fury like<br />
wild fire. Jordan's next to me, reading the same differential calculus textbook that she was<br />
reading before we boarded the plane. She's a machine, my little sister. My parents are still<br />
reading the same paper as they were at the terminal gate, so everyone's a machine except<br />
good old Johnson. Now I'm hungry, and I regret not eating some of that deliciously<br />
scrumptious airplane food.<br />
After picking up our luggage from baggage claim, we walk outside the terminal to greet<br />
our relatives, just two of them since they came in a small sedan: my oldest uncle, whom I just<br />
call Uncle, and my youngest cousin, Bo. We'll be staying with them for the duration of our trip.<br />
Bo walks up to me, presenting a big smile. “ How r you? ”<br />
“ I'm <strong>do</strong>ing good, ” I politely reply. He nods and picks up our bags— one by one— and<br />
puts them in the trunk of the car. That will probably be the most that we say to each other<br />
during this trip, since that's the only English he knows, and I only speak English.<br />
Uncle makes small talk with my parents, leaving Jordan and me to discuss how all six<br />
of us are going to fit into a compact car. After all is said and <strong>do</strong>ne, we pile in, stretching our<br />
arms and legs for every little bit of room, grasping for the luxury of comfort. I then realize that<br />
not one hug or kiss has been exchanged this entire time.<br />
Driving through the city is a fantastic visual journey in itself: my eyes unmoving and<br />
unwavering, like a lion's first glance at its prey, locking onto the vast display of neon lights<br />
smothering the cloudscape. Every street looks indubitably the same, narrow and compressed,<br />
with food stands overflowing the sidewalks. I see my life flash before me a <strong>do</strong>zen of times,<br />
cars running through stop lights as if red's the new green. No wonder so many <strong>Asians</strong> drink<br />
and smoke; they just live it up now since they'll most likely die driving first. On the bright side,<br />
I won't have to worry about <strong>get</strong>ting into medical school if we <strong>do</strong> indeed crash and die. Uncle<br />
rolls up the win<strong>do</strong>ws as we apparently pass by a slaughterhouse, our nostrils overwhelmed by<br />
the stench of manure and rotting meat. Welcome to Asia!