Shanghai: An Ivy League Colony

It seems to me as if Shanghai has been taken over by Ivy Leaguers. Although Harvard and the rest of the Ivy League universities are half a world away, I am never lacking the company of its students and alumni. I used to think that the Harvard and Ivy League networks were overly esteemed, and that they weren’t of much importance. Over the past month, however, I’ve found the network of students and alumni to be not only stronger than I imagined, but also more comforting. While each of the eight Ivy League schools has its own personality, there are definitely unifying experiences.
Sometimes this manifests itself very discreetly. For example, my roommate Panpan, an undergrad at Brown, knew exactly what I was talking about when I said “concentration” instead of “major” and also has “shopping week” instead of preregistration for courses.
What has surprised me most is seeing what a small world the Ivy League really is. Any time I meet another undergrad, we are almost certain to have friends and acquaintances in common at each other’s schools.
But, to get back to my original point: I thought that my interaction with other Ivy League students and alumni wouldn’t extend beyond spending time with my friends from school who also happened to be in Shanghai. I keep happening to meet more and more students and alumni, though, and it’s been a pleasure hanging out with them!
A couple of weeks ago, I went with a few friends to a gallery opening for Island6 in the hip modern art section of the city, pretty far off the beaten path. The exhibit was about Time (with a capital T…) – very artsy-fartsy and quite beyond my full comprehension and appreciation. The curator’s brother happened to be a Harvard alum, and there were a bunch of middle-aged Brown and Harvard grads (of course Brown alums would be at the trendy gallery opening ^-^). We ended up having a lot of fun talking to them and hearing all of the interesting things you can end up doing in Shanghai post-grad. (It seems like many alumni end up starting their own companies here.)
Later that weekend, our new friends from the gallery invited us to a pan-Ivy League BBQ, and while there were flashes of interesting conversation, the event on whole made me see why people accuse these schools to be a bit stuffy and dull. It was incredibly humid that day, though, so perhaps that’s why everyone was unanimated…
As much as I enjoy the company of all of these people, and as eager as I am to return to the “Harvard Bubble” in the fall, I can’t help but wonder what the effects of being constantly sheltered in such an Ivy League-dominated environment does to us.



show some respect for the 500 million years of life forms compressed into the plastics you use




Shanghai is the future for 19 time zones