Qiwei was born in Wulumuqi, China, grew up in the Netherlands, went back to China for middle school, and then eventually came to the United States for high school and college. After living in three countries, Qiwei thinks he is a foreigner to all three cultures, but at the same time, he is a product of all cultures. After living in the Netherlands for 4-5 years, Qiwei moved back to China for middle school, where he felt as if he was not suitable for the Chinese education system. He was curious about everything and needed to find his own truth, instead of listening to what his teachers told him. Later, Qiwei came to the U.S. for high school, which was located in a major white neighborhood in California. He experienced a quiet cultural shock because in Europe, everyone is more accepting of different ideas. However, he realized that people in his neighborhood were only comfortable in their own world, and not really open to understanding outside cultural ideas. Through this experience, Qiwei began learning more about his culture, which made him want to learn about other cultures as well. Qiwei loves making friends with everyone, and he is comfortable being around people of all cultures.

Qiwei Ou