Category Archives: USC

Turkey Cheese Burger on 葱油饼 (Cōng Yóu Bǐng)

December 1, 2015 Shelly Hacco

By Samantha Smith

Living with a Chinese American roommate, the foods in our household tend to lean dramatically one way or another (culturally speaking). Xinmin’s dishes tend to have a South-Eastern Chinese taste, while mine tend to utilize American foods that emphasize my Black/African American heritage. However, when we cook together, we always bring something different to the table. I feel so fortunate to have been paired with a roommate that has a culture so different from my own. It’s allowed me to experience an array of amazing foods, some of which I would have never ventured to learn about before.

I tried Cōng Yóu Bǐng, also known as Scallion Pancakes, for the first time when Xinmin decided to make it with the leftover flour and green onions we used to make dumplings. As soon as I tasted the flakiness of the bread, I fell in love. It was unlike anything I had ever tasted before. Even Negiyaki, a green onion Japanese pancake that I have tried and adore, does not have the same taste or textures as my new favorite Chinese treat.

Some time ago I decided to make turkey burgers for our “roomie dinner”, but I couldn’t think of a complimentary dish to go with the burgers. That’s when it clicked. The night before, Xinimn had made Cōng Yóu Bǐng and happened to have some leftovers. Instead of using plain old hamburger buns, we decided to put the turkey burgers on the leftover Cōng Yóu Bǐng; the results were delicious!

If you want to try this combination out for yourself, try out the recipe below!

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L.A. Life, Outlook, USC

Dealing with Homesickness

November 9, 2015 Shelly Hacco

By Kevin Paley

I recall being thirteen years old when I visited my oldest cousin in college. I couldn’t wait to hear stories about what crazy college life is like. In Portland, Connecticut, where very little changes and everyone is white and middle-class, the prospect of college was the golden opportunity to leave small-town life behind. However, I recall being shocked at how serious my cousin Jillian, a sophomore at Syracuse University, was about homesickness. At the time, I figured that girls were just more sensitive to that kind of stuff than guys.

Fast-forward to being seventeen and applying for colleges. Aiming for a degree in Theatre, I auditioned for four east coast schools that would keep me close to home and one out in the other worldly west – the University of Southern California. I had no intention of actually going to school in Los Angeles but figured that my application would give my family a good scare and give me a good fantasy to get through the last years of high school.

As luck would have it, USC offered me enough financial aid to make rejecting this school impossible. Life got real; I shipped out in August of 2008 to see what LA had to offer.

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USC

“Laghe Raho!” with Trojan Cricket Club

November 9, 2015 Shelly Hacco

By Audrey Moore

“What a shot, yaar! SHABASH!” The batting team roars with excitement, cheering on the teammate who just successfully smashed our taped tennis ball outside of Cromwell and into Brittingham Field. Another six runs are added to the score. Immediately, I check my camera and scroll through the photos to make sure I got a good shot of the small white ball whirling past the bleachers; content, I kneel back down in the dugout and poise myself for another set of cricketing clicks. This is the focus of my life for the next six hours: it’s Friday Night Lights, and there’s no place I’d rather be.

In fact, this is my life every Friday night. From 6:00pm until midnight, I trek from my nearby apartment to the Cromwell Track and Field Stadium to manage our Trojan Cricket Club’s Cromwell Premier League (CPL) tournament and photograph our players. Now as the acting club President, it’s amazing to believe that just over a year ago I couldn’t even describe the rules of cricket, let alone partake in this fun, competitive pastime.

I owe that to USC.

Given that USC has the highest percentage of international students enrolled in the world, it’s no surprise that some of the first friends I met here came from countries far outside the U.S. In my freshman year, the International Residential College toured me around Chinatown for the Mid-Autumn Festival, where I tried my first moon cake (red bean is definitely the best!) and ogled over traditional dragon dances. My Kenyan choir friend taught me how to play the congas after a rehearsal session at the Caruso Catholic Center. And the Indian graduate students who worked in our dining hall introduced me to cricket.