HanaHuaWa


HanaHuaWa explores dual identities and the tension between cultural heritage and present surroundings. Each curated article reflects the experience of balancing different worlds—whether it's being split between two cultures, places, or identities. 

From navigating immigrant life, racial or cultural differences, to appreciating the richness of both worlds, these stories emphasize the importance of community, identity, and belonging while embracing the complexities of living between two or more realities.

Collaborate With Us












长岛的夏天 
Long Island Summers

Issue 01 Article 03


长岛的夏天
Long Island Summers
Evelyn Shi
I remember summers on the island,

阳光照耀在海滩上,*                           
Sun shining on the beach

sand slipping through my fingers,

waves crashing like a distant echo

of something I couldn’t quite name.



We lived in quiet streets

lined with old trees,

houses that whispered stories

of neighbors from 40 years ago.

隔壁的阿姨* always smiled           
Auntie next door

but never asked where we were from—

她知道,* we belonged                   
She knows

in this place of salt air

and strip malls.



On weekends, 爸爸* drove us to Chinatown,      
dad

through traffic and bridges,

crossing the invisible line

where our two worlds met.

Mom would say,

“看，回家了”,*          
Look, I'm home

but Long Island always pulled me back

with its wide skies and open roads.



In school, I learned the rhythm

of suburban life,

hiding Chinese characters

between my math books

while the other kids whispered

about the houses on the water,

the money that stretched

just beyond our reach.



午后,* I would ride my bike          
In the afternoon

past the docks,

where sailboats drifted

like dreams too far from shore,

and I wondered

which sea I’d float on—

东海还是 or Long Island Sound?*                
East China Sea



Some nights, the sound of crickets

混合着* the voice of my mother,      
mixed with

calling me inside as the sky darkened,

and I knew,

I was both the child of these quiet streets

and the one carried by a distant wind.


Free and Leisure-10 Yue, M. (2003). Free and Leisure-10. Oil on canvas.
Heritage Cai, G.-Q. (2013). Heritage.
Cai, G. (2003). Man, Eagle and Eye in the Sky People Flying Eye-kite. Gunpowder on paper mounted on wood.
Seven Intellectuals in a Bamboo Forest, Part V Yang, F. (2007). Seven Intellectuals in a Bamboo Forest, Part V [Edition 7 of 7]. Created in China.
Trace Ai, W. (2014). Trace.



INDEX  NEXT
A Word from the Founder

Hello,
My name is Tina Cho, a Senior at Phillips Academy Andover with an academic interest in language and identity. As a Korean American student whose first language is Korean, I grappled with suppressing my accented English when I first arrived. However, after embracing my unique tongue, including the unintended mixing of Korean and English while speaking, I saw that my accent and mixed-use language embody the different parts of who I am as a person. I started this magazine to showcase the unique beauty of mixed-English language and the identities they represent, so that readers and potential contributors can do the same. I hope you enjoy each of the individual works and the stories they hold, as they express small, nuanced slices of our immensely rich world.

- Tina Cho, Andover ‘25