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Anita Yan Chen

Anita is passionate about education, music, and human rights. Throughout high school, she was involved in drum corps, various leadership positions in JROTC, and teaching at her church's summer school. Her goals for the year include becoming bolder, creating a meaningful relationship with her community, and picking up some Senegalese dance moves. She is inspired by the love and strength the people around her have and one of her favorite quotes is: "The world doesn't need more successful people. The world desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of all kinds."

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By April

Anita Yan Chen

2016-01-13

By April, I will have received a new name. I don’t know what it will be, but I know that person who awaits me on the other side of this journey, will be vastly different, a leveled up version of me. More resilient, more prone to laughter, more accepting of herself and of what she doesn’t...

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Lil’ T

Anita Yan Chen

2016-01-13

Until a few weeks ago, I had three host sisters. But one weekend, Nene, after a visit to nearby Guinea, had a little 5-year-old clinging to her side. She was introduced to me as my tokora, one who has the same name. And like that, a little sister was added to my ever-growing family. DAY...

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Rapid Roll

Anita Yan Chen

2016-01-13

Upon our arrival in Dakar back in September, the Senegal fellows and I were all issued cellphones. These babies were OG Nokias – the indestructible, would-survive-the-apocalypse type. Besides being useful for texting messages to our fellow fellows, (letter by letter on the numeric keypad) things like: “ok u wouldn’t believe where i just found an...

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Roll With It

Anita Yan Chen

2015-12-05

PREFACE I suppose I’ve been running on Senegal-time for a while now, even before I knew what it really was. In other words, my blogs are very late. But hey, you can’t rush art, right? The order of my blogs will not be chronological and they will come as they will. The way waves do. ROLL WITH...

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