The last day of spring break marked the birthdays of two of my school friends. We had planned to treat them to a surprise party in a restaurant, however as we struggled to decide on a place to go it was I who experienced the biggest surprise. Typing “great restaurants in Boston” into Yelp’s search bar yielded gazillions of results, and with so many options to choose from, finding a restaurant turned into more work than anticipated. Finally, after much ado, we agreed to an Indian restaurant some miles away from the university.

During my stay in the United States, I have discovered that eating out constitutes a major part of the culture. Americans turn to restaurants for everything from catching up with friends, to holding business meetings, to finding an easy alternative when they just don’t feel like cooking at home. Restaurants also bring a touch of international flavor into peoples’ domesticated lives. New cuisines and pastries from every corner of the world continue to pop up in major cities, and nowadays even small towns seem to have at least one sushi bar.

But unlike in America where restaurants are part of mainstream culture, restaurants in my home country of Afghanistan are a newer phenomenon, and they are starting to find a unique niche in our culture.

Conspicuous among the cacophony of Kabul are newly-constructed restaurants, with fancy and often foreign names. Passersby’s mouths water at the strong scent of seasoned kebabs emanating from the open-fire grills outside that tantalize the rich and leave the poor green with envy. Only those who can afford it are welcome.

Although the facades of these restaurants feel very integrated with everything else in the city, the insides have a culture of their own, a culture far removed from that of the outside. Inside, finely-dressed waiters greet visitors with broad smiles that outside would be lost in the chaos of the city, and Western music and décor provide an international backdrop for exotic dishes like pizzas and sandwiches. Menu items are written in both Farsi and English (although often misspelled). Inside these restaurants is evidence of how globalization has finally slithered its way inside Kabul.

Unlike in the U.S., the primary visitors of these restaurants are not families, businessmen, or busy moms grabbing take-out. They are middleclass and upper middleclass teens and young adults between 16 and 25; the age group representing more than two thirds of the entire Afghan population. Their dominance on the restaurant scene, however, is not necessarily because they have the busiest schedules or most disposable income. It is rather because these restaurants have realized the profitability of catering to the urges of this vast population, a valuable offering for Afghanistan’s disgruntled youth. In turn, these youth bring with them the youth-oriented culture (slangy language, hipster music taste, trendy clothing, etc.) that welcomes the young and distances the old.

These young people come to discuss soccer, show off their newest high-tech gadgets, scorn at politicians, and smoke hookah—the closest substitute for alcohol in Afghanistan. The restaurants provide a sanctuary for minds that are overwhelmed with melancholy and fanaticism, and they offer a brief respite from the general mayhem of the city.

More notably, they are also clandestine meeting spots for young couples seeking a place to show the affection that, in other locales, would be suppressed by extremism. In the outside world, exhibitions of romance are prohibited—and even holding hands is frowned upon—but inside couples can elude the scrutiny of their families.

While restaurants in the U.S. have long reflected the values of contemporary American culture, restaurants in today’s Afghanistan are rapidly becoming more confident in catering to the desires of a particular and determined clientele.

And so, that night as we celebrated my friends’ birthdays in the most commonplace of American ways, and as I savored the spicy yet delicious chicken tikka and the yummy naan that came with it, I started to wonder whether this is the future for Afghanistan or if our restaurants will take on a very different significance for society. I pondered what the restaurants in Afghanistan will look like ten years from now, and how they will reflect the culture at that time. I admit, I cannot tell for sure, but my optimistic side looks forward to discovering what surprises that 2023 has in store.

Editor: Yu

It’s tough to gain admission to Yale University, and it’s getting even tougher for international students as standout students from around the world set their sights on Yale.

The Yale Dale News, the campus newspaper, takes a look at the situation here.

Read the full story here.

Ruth Chane, a computer science major from Ethiopia, writes about her experiences settling into student life at Whitman College in the U.S. state of Washington.

"The community at Whitman College made sure I felt welcomed even before I stepped foot on campus," she says.

Read her essay here.

In The Student Life, the student newspaper for the Claremont Colleges, a consortium of five liberal art colleges and two graduate schools in Claremont, California, student Rochelle Lu writes about readjusting to her Shanghai home after spending a semester in the United States.

Read the full story here.

Cedarville University in the U.S. state of Ohio says it’s got more than 140 international students representing 44 countries.

Here, the school interviews Jonathan Sutton, director of international student services. He talks about his job and the opportunities for international students on campus.

Read the full article here.

Morehouse College, a private, historically Black liberal arts college in the U.S. state of Georgia, offers a guide for international students interested in attending the school.

Among the tips to apply and thrive at Morehouse:

• Take advantage of the school’s orientation program
• Turn to the school’s Center for Academic Success for tutoring, support and more
• Immerse yourself in campus life via clubs and societies

Read the full article here.

WASHINGTON — 

The administration of President Donald Trump said on Monday it will review Columbia University's federal contracts and grants over allegations of antisemitism, which it says the educational institution has shown inaction in tackling.

Rights advocates note rising antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias since U.S. ally Israel's devastating military assault on Gaza began after Palestinian Hamas militants' deadly October 2023 attack.

The Justice Department said a month ago it formed a task force to fight antisemitism. The U.S. Departments of Health and Education and the General Services Administration jointly made the review announcement on Monday.

"The Federal Government's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is considering Stop Work Orders for $51.4 million in contracts between Columbia University and the Federal Government," the joint statement said.

The agencies said no contracting actions had been taken yet.

"The task force will also conduct a comprehensive review of the more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments to Columbia University."

The agencies did not respond to requests for comment on whether there were similar reviews over allegations of Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias.

Columbia had no immediate comment. It previously said it made efforts to tackle antisemitism.

College protests

Trump has signed an executive order to combat antisemitism and pledged to deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests.

Columbia was at the center of college protests in which demonstrators demanded an end to U.S. support for Israel due to the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel's assault on Gaza. There were allegations of antisemitism and Islamophobia in protests and counter-protests.

During last summer's demonstrations around the country, classes were canceled, some university administrators resigned and student protesters were suspended and arrested.

While the intensity of protests has decreased in recent months, there were some demonstrations last week in New York after the expulsion of two students at Columbia University-affiliated Barnard College and after New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered the removal of a Palestinian studies job listing at Hunter College.

A third student at Barnard College has since been expelled, this one related to the occupation of the Hamilton Hall building at Columbia last year.

The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.

It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.

In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.

Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.

Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.

"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.

The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.

An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."

House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."

Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.

Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.

The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.

"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."

The Times of India breaks down the most popular subjects for international students to study in the U.S.

STEM and business lead the pack. Read the full story here. (January 2025)

U.S. News & World report addresses some of the misconceptions about U.S. colleges and universities, including the difficulty of getting a visa.

Read the full story here. (January 2025)

US News & World Report details the three top factors in foreign students' decision to study in the U.S. They include research opportunities and the reputation of U.S. degrees. Read the full story here. (December 2024)

A British student who did a year abroad at Bowling Green State University in Ohio talks about adjusting to life in America in a TikTok video, Newsweek magazine reports.

Among the biggest surprises? Portion sizes, jaywalking laws and dorm room beds.

Read the full story here. (December 2024)

Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health reaches out to international students by detailing the international student experience at the school.

Learn more about housing, life in Boston and more here.

BEIJING — 

China issued its first national action plan to build a "strong education nation" by 2035, which it said would help coordinate its education development, improve efficiencies in innovation and build a "strong country."

The plan, issued Sunday by the Communist Party's central committee and the State Council, aims to establish a "high quality education system" with accessibility and quality "among the best in the world."

The announcement was made after data on Friday showed China's population fell for a third consecutive year in 2024, with the number of deaths outpacing a slight increase in births, and experts cautioning that the downturn will worsen in the coming years.

High childcare and education costs have been a key factor for many young Chinese opting out of having children, at a time when many face uncertainty over their job prospects amid sluggish economic growth.

"By 2035, an education power will be built," the official Xinhua news agency said, adding that China would explore gradually expanding the scope of free education, increase "high-quality" undergraduate enrolment, expand postgraduate education, and raise the proportion of doctoral students.

The plan aims to promote "healthy growth and all-round development of students," making sure primary and secondary school students have at least two hours of physical activity daily, to effectively control the myopia, or nearsightedness, and obesity rates.

"Popularizing" mental health education and establishing a national student mental health monitoring and early warning system would also be implemented, it said.

It also aims to narrow the gap between urban and rural areas to improve the operating conditions of small-scale rural schools and improve the care system for children with disabilities and those belonging to agricultural migrant populations.

The plan also aims to steadily increase the supply of kindergarten places and the accessibility of preschool education.

The Open Notebook, a site focusing on educating journalists who cover science, has complied a list of U.S. graduate program financial aid information for international students.

Read it here.