Celine Chai

Celine was born in Malaysia. Her family moved back to Indonesia when she was only a few months old. She lived in China from 2002 to 2011, then moved back to Jarkata, Indonesia and finished high school. Later, she came to the United States to attend university. Celine describes herself as being “a daughter of the world” because it is hard for her to identify with one place or one culture. She does not feel attached to any specific places since she moved too often growing up. Although she loves hanging out with international students and talking to them in their respective languages, she still feels like an outsider. Because of this, she does not identify as Indonesian, Malaysian or Chinese. However, she started to become more interested in Malaysian culture and politics after coming to the U.S., and was inspired by one of her American friends who is very invested in America and American culture. After graduation, Celine wants to travel around the world because what she will accomplish in her life means much more to her than being in a specific location.