From Cambridge to Cambridge

Sanyee Yuan ’12

House Affiliation: Eliot House
Hometown: San Francisco, California
Concentration: Psychology, citation in Spanish
International Field of Study: Arts journalism, short story writing, and novel writing
Destination: Cambridge, England

Sanyee Yuan is a junior at Harvard College who is interested in communications and media studies.  She has produced content for the Harvard Undergraduate Television network—including the campus reality–dating show Love@Harvard and the show Talk Harvard.  She hopes to become a travel and talk show host, entertainment news correspondent, actress, and producer. She is currently developing a travel Boston show for this coming semester.  She is a beneficiary of the David Rockefeller International Experience Grants Program, through which, in its second year, more than 400 Harvard College students accepted funding for international internships, volunteer projects, study abroad programs, and research opportunities in 53 countries across the world.

June 2010

This marks my first summer leaving San Francisco, my first time stepping foot in the United Kingdom, and my first experience studying abroad. I am also beginning a video-blog of my adventures here, in the other Cambridge—across the pond from beloved Harvard Yard—and considering whether or not I should call it “The Cantabridgian Chronicles.”

“You need to relax.”

My new friend Min—a Los Angeles native and fellow first-timer in Europe, pushed his glasses up his nose and smiled at my frenzied expression. It was the morning of our second day in the United Kingdom, at Cambridge with the Pembroke-King’s Summer Programme, and it was also the first official day of classes. While wandering down the alternating forking roads of jutting cobblestone and smooth concrete, I had listed out loud all of the errands that I still needed to complete.

Borrow Ethernet cable from the computer office. Buy detergent for laundry. Get laundry card. Tell the porter (similar to the House supers back at Harvard) that my desk lamp did not properly turn on. Find out which creative writing course I needed to attend on my schedule. (For some reason, there seemed to be two different options that existed for the same short story, creative writing course, and I had to check my email, which I could not do without an Ethernet cable.)

Just as I took time to draw a quick breath before launching into all of the unpacking that I still needed to get done, Min looked at me again and laughed.

“It’s vacation. You’re supposed to be having fun, not stressing out.”

And I saw myself from his eyes—taking my classes, shopping checklist, and myself too seriously. Here I was in a brand-new country—a land that I had never explored before—and I could not stop ranting about how I felt socially detached with my inert and internationally inadequate iPhone. Lack of technology did not influence Columbus.

So, I took his advice and relaxed. When I did this, I started experiencing the immediate and true joy of studying abroad. I met fellow students who came from different backgrounds and interests—ranging from Californians studying political philosophy to a girl from Paris who felt passionate about English literature to a Russian student who wanted to work in economics and who, we found out later, was also equally keen on understanding what the American word “creepy” embodied. I went with my friends out to a pub for my first time—the night of the World Cup match between Ghana and Brazil. We ended up spending the majority of the time talking about scary movies, our “crazy-cool” friends back home, and lifelong passions instead of actually paying attention to the game. After the pub experience, I even got to enjoy an impromptu birthday barbecue for one of my classmates in my creative writing class—and discovered that spontaneous social events are sometimes much better than scheduled ones.

Once I folded up the intricately confusing map and instead opted to figure out the streets with my new friends, using our slowly developing street smarts, I realized how much fun it could be to get lost.

Once I put away the to-do list and spent my breaks strolling along the tranquil green parks and exploring various store fronts that popped up in my path, I realized how essential it was to absorb the new world around me at a slower pace. Once I stopped worrying about participation credit in my arts journalism seminar and creative writing courses—and simply engaged in writing, sharing, and communicating with my teachers and classmates, I realized how carefree and fun the classes could be.

Granted, it has only been a week since I arrived, lugging my two 50-pound suitcases behind me through the bustling streets of Cambridge, but I already feel like I am well on my way toward experiencing an absolutely unique adventure.

That reminds me—I should be packing right now. We are leaving for a four-day trip into Scotland for the Fourth of July weekend and we will be hiking, sightseeing, and exploring each available hour. Oh, and, of course, relaxing.

I can’t wait to keep you posted. I’m sending many good wishes from the United Kingdom back home to my family, friends, and all of you!