a w 0 w 0 0 w I B Th ichgnDil ensdy .erur 1 009 My mark of destiny o one asks to be different. It's just something that hap- pens, something that you sort of get stuck with. Some choose to accept their circumstances, and others try to change them. I have learned to accept the fact that I'm different, but I still can't help but wonder how different things would be if I never walked into the kitchen of my old home years ago. The incident happened when I was four years old, living in Port-au- Prince, Haiti and left unsupervised. My mother had hired a babysitter for the day, but the girl was young and not too careful. With a single parent's income, my mother could only get what help she could afford, which wasn't much. That morning, I started off in the care of a stranger, and by nightfall, I was on my own. Unaccompanied in my house, I wan- dered aimlessly from room to room until I found myself in the kitchen. In Haiti, it's custom to prepare dinner in the morning and leave it stewing on the stove for the rest of the day. The smells that wafted into my nostrils all day were intoxicat- ing, and even now, I still remember them. That day, desperate to cure my hunger pains, I found myself drawn to those smells even more. Standing on the balls of my feet, I stretched FREEGANS From Page 5B grocer's habits. "Whole Foods sucks," Cat declared, because they compact and lock their dumpsters. So, of all places, don't start there. Although this adventure focused on food, freeganism applies to anything that's free. Cat has also dived behind thrift stores and recommends freecycle.org, where she once procured a wash- ing machine. That's the story of the intrigue behind a simple recycled 'rose. Now that I know the economic, environmental, and community benefits of freeganism, I under- stand why someone would fall head over heels for a few bouquets of dumpster flowers. What can I say? My rose, in a measuring cup of water on my desk, is now even redder and more radiant than when I first received it. the tips of my fingers across warm smooth metal. The moment I yanked, my head was engulfed in extreme heat. Clos- ing my eyes and covering my face with my hand, I felt the boiling slime penetrate my hands and cover my back. I stood there screaming while the oil burned my skin. There was no longer the aroma of spiced chick- en and buttered rice, but instead, the smell of burnt hair and flesh filled the room. That's when I realized I was burning. My hair, my scalp, my back = all of me was burning. After the skin grafts, after I left the hospital and after I was "fixed," I returned home and looked in the mirror. I no longer saw a happy lit- tle girl with sparkling brown eyes. Instead, I saw half a little girl and half of something scary - half a head of hair, half a face and half a person. Although the hospital had done what they could, the medical care in Haiti at that time wasn't up to par. My mom tried to bring up my morale, but I wasn't her happy little girl anymore. She decided that I needed to go to the United States so that I could have a proper opera- tion. With the help of a friend, I was introduced to the Kline family, who already had 13 kids of their own LANGUAGES From Page 7B AFTER THE SEPT.11 ATTACKS In the early 2000s, the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies attracted little interest. Near Eastern Studies Prof. Gottfried Hagen said there was a short period in the early 2000s when the CMENAS pro- gram lost federal funding. "Title VI is a renewable grant every three years," he said. "In one of those grant cycles, we just didn't come out at the top." But now that the Middle East has become an area. interest, chgnces are that won't happen again. In 2001, Title VI funding shot up again, shortly after Sept. 11.Hagen said federal support has been easier to maintain since 9/11. "9/11 was a crucial event for andit o from di I was ju a home. the ans more m geon lo procedu thought T ti a C f whom had been adopted quarter of my face. Instead of going fferent countries. To them, back to Haiti, I became the 14th st another kid who needed child to join the Kline family. While But to my mom, they were my mother and I have stayed close, wer to her prayers. Even I spent most of my childhood in iraculously, a cosmetic sur- another country with another fami- oking to perfect an intricate ly. It's not the normal family dynam- re involving burned skin ic, but then again, my accident had I was the ideal candidate. I made sure that my life has been anything but "normal". That hasn't been a bad thing, though. As I grew up, I began to more resemble more Che accident of a happy child and less a deformed being. I was able to make friends, go hat gave me on play dates and interact well with others. new family, A while ago, I was asked how I t and grew up tobe the person Iam today. ountry a This person was confused - how lifestyle do I walk around slightly disfigured and yet act so outwardly confident? For a while, I couldn't answer the question. I just said that I must be lucky. But once I truly thought move to Los Angeles and live about it, I knew that getting buried e Kline family for a three- wasn't an accident but more a step ocedure that would give me in my life journey. My scar is how I ad of hair, minimal scarring came to America and how I met my chance to lead my life look- family. My entire life, I've had to try everyone else. harder to let people see the "real" forward 17 years, and here I me because I wanted to prove that duating from the University I was something special and not higan. After my surgeries, just the "girl with the scar". It has ned a full head of hair and never been enough for me tobe like with a scar covering only a everyone else because I know that was tot with th year pr a full he and the ing like Fast- am, gra of Mic I regait was left I am not, and I couldn't allow peo- ple to judge me based on my looks. Strangely enough, the scar that might seem to be a source of embar- rassment has actually given me a stronger sense of self than I might have otherwise had. About six years ago, I received a call from the same doctor that helped me before. He was inter- ested in doing a surgery to remove my scar. This was something I had dreamt about in the past, but I was shocked when I automatically responded, "No." At that point in my life, I had spent more than half my life with the scar. With everything I had been through, the scar had molded me into a strong, fearless person. If I had never been burned, never been adopted and never lived this life, I would never be in the positionI am today. I would most likely never have graduated high school, let alone gotten to attend the University of Michigan. My scar is a keepsake of how I left Haiti, of all the people that have helped me and of all I have had to overcome to be the person I am today. What I see in the mirror now is just a souvenir, a one-of-a-kind and indestructible memory. - Tatiana Kline is an LSA senior. Business School senior Jack Dart studied Chinese for two semesters last year because of the China theme semester and the Bei- jing Olympics. He said that the attitude of most non-Asian students taking the language is to better understand China for business relations. "They hear it's going to become a superpower," he said. "They're try- ing to get a leg up in terms of going into International Relations." The Ross School of Business offers a study abroad program to China, which fills up quickly each year. It also hosts an Asia Business Conference each year, with panel- ists who work with companies in Asia. Business school junior Sarah Horvitz said a lot' of students in the business school are looking to work abroad because the economy here is not at its most stable. "The economy isojust blowing up over there," she said. CMENAS in the sense that all of a sudden itcreated anenormous pub- lic awareness that the Mid East is a crucial region, and there's an enor- mous need for expertise both in the public and political reason," Hagen said. "Since then, for instance, fed- eral support for the area studies and especially language studies, more particular for Arabic, has not been questioned anymore." The center was first interested in the area stretching from Morocco to Iran and Iraq, McCarus said. But as areas like Pakistan became more newsworthy the Center expanded its area of study. "Usually when there's a crisis in some part of the world, those languages increase," McCarus said. "For example, when the U.S. opened diplomatic relations with China, there was a lot of Ping 'Pong." GROWING DEBT TO CHINA In light of China's rise to eco- nomic prominence, the Center for Chinese Studies has seen an increase in student and campus interest. Unlike some of its fel- low area studies centers, CCS only offers graduate degrees, leaving the undergraduate education up to the Asian Languages and Cultures department. Political Science Prof. Mary Gallagher, Director of the Cen- ter for Chinese Studies, said the Center is in charge of much of the campus outreach on China such as weekly documentary film view- ings, lecturer talks on campus and support to other departments that choose to offer classes pertaining to China. Gallagher said Chinese has become more relevant as Chi- na's economic importance has increased. "It used to be you went into the Foreign Service," she said. "Nowa- days, there are plenty of places who will hireyou."