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Interview Highlights

On becoming interested in his great-great-grandfather's porcelain collection

Although I wasn't really interested in my family history, I always liked to dig, literally — like I dug lots of holes in my mom's backyard looking for dinosaur bones or arrowheads or, you know, anything a little kid thinks he's gonna find. And I think that compulsion manifested itself as a writer and as a journalist wanting to dig for stories.

So, while I was working for a newspaper in Seattle, I had to go to the Seattle Art Museum for a story and when I was there I stumbled into their porcelain room and I saw this little red porcelain dish in the shape of a chrysanthemum with gold lettering on it. And the museum couldn't tell me what the gold lettering said so I called my dad to help me translate it and as we were getting off the phone he said, "Well, you know, if you're actually interested in porcelain you should talk to your mom, because her family had some porcelain."

So I talked to my mom and she told me the story of my great-great grandfather's buried porcelain and she knew pretty much that — that my great-great-grandfather was a porcelain collector and had buried his porcelain and couldn't answer any questions that I had in terms of how much there was — How much was it worth? When was it buried? Where was it buried? Had anyone ever gone to look for it?

And she said, "Well, you know, the person who would know this is your grandmother, who grew up at that house." Eventually my grandmother said to my mom, "Well, if he really wants to hear this story, he should just come here." And so I did.

On being an "ABC" — American-Born Chinese — in China

When I think of myself, I don't think of myself as Chinese, I guess. And so when I got to China I found myself really perturbed that I didn't get that knowing glance from other expats when I passed them on the street. And I found myself trying to project my American-ness as much as possible. When they were in earshot I would speak my English much louder than I needed to. I would look for like any excuse to be like, "Hey! Hey! I'm American, too." ...

The local Chinese love to ask, "Do you feel Chinese or American?" And I guess in America, I feel kinda Chinese and in China I feel really American. I think the younger generation gets it, but the older generation just — they don't accept it because they just want you to say, "Oh yeah, I have Chinese blood and I love China and I'm really happy to be back in the motherland," and things like that.

On what he learned from his years in China

The whole experience just kind of made me more OK with me. I was always really envious of Americans who could trace their lineage really far back — who could kind of place themselves in a tradition. And so I think going to China and understanding more about where I came from — I mean, this sounds a little clich — but that kind of gave me a better sense of who I am. And just about everybody's family history is interesting and I think they're really precious things that should be remembered.

China

The Arab League has agreed in principle to establish its own military force designed to combat the threat from Islamist extremists in the region, as the 22-member grouping said that Saudi-led airstrikes against Yemeni Shiite insurgents would continue until the rebels "withdraw and surrender their weapons."

Egypt's state-run news agency says that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi and leaders of the other states in the League agreed on broad details for forming a joint force that could be rapidly deployed in hot spots to restore peace and security. Participation in the force would be optional, however.

The Wall Street Journal reports that al-Sissi and "other leaders from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have in recent weeks called for such a force to fight extremism in countries such as Libya, Syria and Iraq, and counter the regional threat of Shiite Iran. Egypt is part of a Saudi-led, U.S.-backed coalition that last week began a campaign of airstrikes against Iranian-backed Houthis rebels in Yemen."

However, Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir tells NBC's Meet the Press: "We haven't made the decision to send ground troops in so far. So far, it's been an air campaign. And we have a plan in motion. And we're executing this plan," adding that his country was "determined to protect the people of Yemen. And, so, we will continue this campaign until those objectives are achieved."

The Associated Press has a bit of background:

"The decision by the Arab League puts it on a path to more aggressively challenge Shiite power Iran, which is backing the Yemeni rebels, known as Houthis.

"A Saudi-led coalition began bombing Yemen on Thursday, saying it was targeting the Houthis and their allies, which include forces loyal to Yemen's former leader, Ali Abdullah Saleh. Current and former Yemeni military officials have said the campaign could pave the way for a possible ground invasion."

Arab League

Yemen

Saudi Arabia

The Howard Project

NPR's Weekend Edition is following four college seniors from Howard University in Washington, D.C., as they think about their futures. Catch up on their stories here: The Howard Project.

Part One

A Crossroads At The End Of College: Meet The Students

Part Two

Imagining The Future: The Students Look Forward

Part Three

Education May Be Priceless, But A College Degree Isn't

Spring has arrived and young people's fancies might be turning (lightly or not-so-lightly) to thoughts of love.

With that in mind, NPR's Weekend Edition asked the college students of The Howard Project — who have spent the last few weeks giving us insights into their lives during their last semester of college — about how dating and romance fit into their college experience.

Click on the audio link above to hear their stories, to a soundtrack of their favorite love songs — or read some of their answers below.

Leighton Watson

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Emily Jan/NPR

Emily Jan/NPR

On meeting his first college girlfriend before he even arrived on campus

"We were talking over the summer, just over the phone, but the first time I met her in person was at Howard. I had seen her Facebook picture. I actually, I thought she was so pretty that I thought she was fake, because I had been seeing these fake Facebook girls pop up. But no, when we got to campus, [we] met up on the first day, and we actually ended up staying together for two and a half years."

On handling breakups

"The way that I always cope with a breakup is a little childish, I'll admit. But it's always to better myself in a way that makes it crystal clear to the other person that they made a mistake with leaving me."

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Emily Jan/NPR

Emily Jan/NPR

Ariel Alford

On bonding with her first crush, an upperclassman, over a book in class

"I was just like, 'Oh, wow. We're going to talk about this book and it's going to be so cool.' And also, he would always hold doors for me. So, I don't know, I just started having a crush on him."

On the frustration she's felt on some dates, and what she knows she needs from a partner

"It's like,'What are we talking about? I want to talk about Gaza, and you want to talk about, I don't know, the new iPhone?'

... Whoever I'm with has to care about my people ... has to care about Africa and the diaspora, has to care about things that are happening across the globe. I'm definitely looking for somebody where that's intrinsic."

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Emily Jan/NPR

Emily Jan/NPR

Taylor Davis

On using a journal to express her romantic troubles

"It also allows me to vent, endlessly, because I think, you know, you don't want to go to the same person every single time you have an issue. So I think it's good to go to blank pages that can't complain about your problems — that will listen to you endlessly, and allow you to revisit it, whenever you feel like it."

On owning her singleness

"I am a woman who loves to be affirmed, and I got to a point when I realized that I can't rely on other people to affirm me, because sometimes they won't. And I can't allow my life to be deterred because someone didn't tell me I was pretty, or someone didn't tell me they liked me. So when I'm owning my singleness, I might write myself love notes. ... I just appreciate what God has created, because he has said that it is good, and surely, it is good."

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Emily Jan/NPR

Emily Jan/NPR

Kevin Peterman

On enjoying being single after his relationship with his high school girlfriend ended

"There was this Cali-cool girl from California, there was a Southern belle, there was the ambitious, fast-talking girl from Chicago or Detroit. So sometimes you're happy about being single because it gives you time to really — not necessarily play the field, but time to really look out and see what else is on the field."

On learning he needs to be with someone whose ambition matches his own

"That lesson really became clear to me in the last few months, and I have to attribute that to the person I'm with right now, who really showed me how someone can truly be your other half."

The co-pilot who deliberately downed an airliner over the French Alps this week, killing all 150 aboard, had told a girlfriend sometime last year that he would "do something" that would make people remember his name, a German newspaper reports.

Andreas Lubitz, 27, who reportedly had hidden a note declaring him medically unfit to fly on the day he crashed the Germanwings A320, told a former girlfriend and flight attendant, identified by Bild only as "Mary W." that: "One day I will do something that will change the whole system, and then all will know my name and remember it."

She was quoted by the newspaper as saying she didn't understand what he meant by the remark until she heard of the crash on Tuesday.

She also told Bild that Lubitz had nightmares and had woken up at night and screamed "We're going down!"

Meanwhile, prosecutors in Dusseldorf confirmed that they had found a torn-up doctor's note in Lubitz' apartment that pronounced him unfit to fly.

"Medical documents were found that indicate an ongoing illness and appropriate medical treatment," the prosecutors said in a statement. "The circumstance that torn-up current medical certificates – also pertaining to the day of the act – were found, supports, after preliminary examination, the assumption that the deceased hid his illness from his employer and his professional circles."

According to Euronews:

"Germanwings said Lubitz had not given them a sick note that would have grounded him on the day of the crash.

"German law requires workers to immediately tell their employers if they are unable to work."

But The New York Times reports that there remains "considerable confusion about the precise nature and severity of his psychiatric condition. A German hospital said it had evaluated Mr. Lubitz twice in the past two months but added that he had not been there for assessment or treatment of depression."

And, The Guardian writes:

"No suicide note or claim of responsibility had been found, the prosecutors said.

"Legal experts said that on the evidence that has emerged so far – which suggests the co-pilot may have had a history of depression and psychiatric problems – the airline would find it difficult to prove that the crash was not its fault."

germanwings Flight 4U 9525

Germany