Homeless in 1st year at university

I was homeless for a brief period in my 1st year at the University of Toronto. In late September 1995 the bank foreclosed on my parents' house. Although repossession notices were constantly swirling around at that time, we had hitherto always managed to avoid being evicted. However, when I returned home from classes that fateful autumn day (I was a “commuter”), I encountered difficulty while trying to open the door with my key. And then I noticed the shiny new lock and a message taped on the door. For the next two weeks I survived on whatever was in my knapsack and the clothes I was wearing that day. It was a struggle to keep up with my studies; more significantly, the euphoria that I had over my new life at university vanished. I had approached school officials and told them of my situation. They recommended that I seek additional OSAP funds (government-supported student loans). As I was working at a restaurant at the time – and truthfully declared my income in the application – I was denied supplemental support. Although my family eventually regained possession of the house, I decided not to move back in with them. Instead, I…

My German family

I have a “German family”. I have known the Ewerszumrodes since 2004 when they hosted me when I interned in Cologne. I spent time with them again in 2005 when I did a follow-up internship in Frankfurt. I had no connections to or knowledge of Germany before 2004. Based on clichés, I was expecting a distant or transactional relationship with my hosts. But nothing could be further from the truth. The Ewerszumrodes are warm and generous. I don’t remember paying for anything whenever we went out. Mr Ewerszumrode would never let me go to bed without first having a few Apfelwein (apple wine) and beers with him. And their two sons (about the same age as me) took me out with them all the time. My meeting them in 2004 was fortunate. I was depressed at the time and was on the verge of leaving Princeton without finishing my degree. Their kindness helped rejuvenate my spirit to finish the PhD. I always swing by the Ewerszumrodes when I am passing through Germany, including having spent Christmas with them in 2008 and 2014. And of course, no visit is complete until plenty of Apfelwein is imbibed.

Princeton graduation

Fourteen years ago (03 June 2008), I was awarded a PhD (economics) by Princeton. Seventeen years before that, I was awaiting bail at court, held in custody at a youth detention centre with blood caked on my hair. There, began my journey in and out of the justice system throughout my teens. The circumstances of my youth suppressed the (raw) gift I had in scholastics. Beyond my experience with the courts, I bounced around five high schools and worked practically full time since the age of 15 in service jobs up until I went to Princeton. But I applied my talent when it mattered: I gained admission to the University of Toronto (undergraduate) in 1995 and then earned a scholarship to attend Princeton in 1999. But academics was not my priority when I arrived at Princeton. I yearned for experiences that bypassed my youth due to my hardships, and I struggled mentally, socially and emotionally as an outsider (in all aspects of life). Nevertheless, I persevered and my PhD committee gave me the green light to graduate in 2008 (after nearly dropping out in 2004, leaving campus in 2005, and given a false OK in 2006). I did not pursue…

Peasant roots

This is my (extended) family in our ancestral village. We were Chinese peasants. I was literally born on the streets. China was poor in the 1970s. I nearly died because of bad health conditions as a toddler. My family immigrated to Canada 43 years ago today (17 April 1979). We are not a “tiger family”. No one in my extended family went to university (other than me). None of us played musical instruments or had tutors. None of us are doctors or engineers. I was arrested twice as a teenager and mostly raised myself. We were part of the Cantonese immigrant underclass in Canada. Although I left the village decades ago, I still have many vivid memories of it, including the day that my hamlet got its first (communal) black & white TV. The world has changed a lot in the four decades since my family emigrated from our country of birth. China is now prosperous and I live a privileged life crisscrossing the world. Nevertheless, the village – now a part of greater Guangzhou -- remains basic and a throwback to a bygone era, a reminder that development is neither uniform nor universal.