re/present: an APIASF blog

Link/ Navigating the post-college world in your college town

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:01:20 -0400

Link/ Navigating the post-college world in your college town:

Starting your career in the same town in which you went to college can make it seem like you have been granted an extension on university life.

To the graduating class of 2013, here’s a helpful article that provides a few tips on making the transition from undergrad to post-college life if you’ve secured a job in the same town.

asamstudiesintro: Him Mark Lai: The Master...

Sat, 18 May 2013 16:02:29 -0400

asamstudiesintro:

Him Mark Lai: The Master Archivist

“Proclaimed by THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION as the Scholar who legitimized the study of Chinese America, Him Mark Lai has been at the core of many community institutions as well as a pivotal figure for the Chinese Historical Society of America http://CHSA.org . CHSA is proud to announce an upcoming project about Him Mark Lai’s scholarship and determination to record and celebrate the lives of the descendants of Chinese immigrants to America.

Born in San Francisco in 1925 to immigrant parents, Him Mark Lai’s trailblazing accomplishments are many and varied. In 1969 with Phil Choy he team-taught the first college-level course in the United States on Chinese American history at San Francisco State College (now San Francisco State University), before moving on to teach the first course at the University of California, Berkeley. He has written books and essays on Chinese American history and compiled two bibliographies on Chinese language materials on the Chinese in America. Major works include: ISLAND: POETRY AND HISTORY OF CHINESE IMMIGRANTS ON ANGEL ISLAND, 19101940 (coauthor with Genny Lim and Judy Yung; San Francisco: HOC DOI, 1980); CONG HUAQIAO DAO HUAREN [FROM OVERSEAS CHINESE TO CHINESE AMERICAN] (in Chinese; Hong Kong, 1992), BECOMING CHINESE AMERICAN: A HISTORY OF COMMUNITIES AND INSTITUTIONS (Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press, 2004); CHINESE AMERICAN VOICES FROM THE GOLD RUSH TO THE PRESENT (coauthor with Judy Yung and Gordon H. Chang, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006), as well as articles on the history and society of Chinese in the United States in HARVARD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN ETHNIC GROUPS (Cambridge, 1980) and THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHINESE OVERSEAS (Singapore, 1998). He has consulted on the special collections of and in 2000 made a major donation of his research files to the Ethnic Studies Library of UC Berkeley. He has served as an adjunct professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University and past president of the Chinese Historical Society of America. An integral part of the Editorial Committee of the Society’s journal since its inception in 1987, Him Mark Lai also currently has multiple books in prep and in press.” [source]

http://HIMMARKLAI.ORG

may 18/ culture/tradition By Boosaba Pananon, APIASF Staff From...

Sat, 18 May 2013 13:01:18 -0400

may 18/ culture/tradition

By Boosaba Pananon, APIASF Staff

From a young age my mother encouraged me to take Thai dance classes at the local Thai temple, Wat Thai, D.C. To be honest, at first I wasn’t all that into it, really taking it as another opportunity to hang out with friends. I didn’t love the long two-hour practices, where my teachers had us hold postures for what seemed like an eternity at the time. But as I grew older, I started to really appreciate the art and the amount of discipline and self-awareness it took to really perfect each piece and dance in unison. I also found folk dance, which allows one to be much more expressive and smile with your teeth!

While I would love to have taken jazz or hip-hop classes also, I’m so glad that I kept taking Thai dance, for it has provided me with lots of great experience performing locally in the DC/MD/VA area as well as across the country, and even as far away as Mexico a couple of times! Through learning and performing Thai dance, my dance company is able to preserve and promote Thai culture and arts in the Americas. I’m hoping learning and performing Thai dance will be a tradition amongst the little ones I raise one day!

The Asian American Music Society presented a festival on May 7, 2010 to celebrate Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, and our troupe was invited to perform! To view our Thai classical dance performance from that event, start watching from 9:40, here.

Sat Chatri
Pictured Above: Daranee Yongpradit & Boosaba Pananon
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Millennium Stage
May 7, 2010

Do you participate in or celebrate any AANHPI cultural traditions?

may 10/ your personal contribution to the community

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:02:24 -0400

By Sarah Ha, APIASF Staff

Surrounded by everyone who looked like me for the first time, I became aware of my difference at the age of six. One would think you would feel more accepted in a group when you were part of the majority. Glancing out at the window into the gravel playground, I almost forgot I was in front of my first grade classmates with black hair, brown almond eyes, and light tan skin, where I was being made an example of for not completing my homework. I looked up at my teacher’s lips moving as she scolded me, but I could not comprehend the words that were coming out of her mouth. I was hoping that she remembered that I could not speak, read, or write Korean. I was an American foreigner in my parents’ homeland.

Born in Worcester, Massachusetts to Korean immigrants who came to this country to pursue the American dream, I remember thinking “this must have been what my parents experienced when they arrived in the United States,” as I tried to make sense of the hand gestures my grandmother, whom I had just met, communicating to my sister and me that my parents had left. They returned to Worcester to save for a better home and future for us. At that young age, the language barrier posed a threat to my survival among my peers. It was from this experience that I sharpened by observation skills and developed a keen awareness of my surroundings, the culture, the people, and their interactions with one another in order to adapt and thrive in an unfamiliar setting. Within six months since my arrival in Pusan, I became proficient in Korean and the bond with my sister could not have grown any stronger as I assumed the responsibility to care for and protect her while my parents were away. My early independence has given me a strong sense of purpose, especially for someone my age. As my parents worked hard to offer a better future for me in the U.S., I strived to build my own bridge to a better future through education.

It was two years later when my parents returned for us and brought us back to the U.S. When I joined my third grade class, I was yet again faced with a language barrier because I had forgotten English. As the only Korean student in my school, I remember my teachers and principal specifically sought out a Korean speaking tutor who could provide translation services. After a year of attending English Language Learners (ELL) classes, I was fluent in both Korean and English. This experience instilled in me a confidence of my own abilities, a deep appreciation for others, curiosity about the world, and a natural and sincere ability to empathize with others. Reflecting on how much support I received from my teachers, principal, and mentors, I felt an obligation to give back to the community. My passion for service began in fifth grade, which is when I began a volunteer program with my friends at my elementary school where we babysat and read to children whose parents attended the evening ELL classes. I discovered then my passion to make available opportunities for others to improve their lives. This passion continues to serve as a compass for how I live my life.

"But in Hiroshima, some people were wiped clean away, leaving only a wristwatch or a diary page. So..."

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:01:13 -0400

““But in Hiroshima, some people were wiped clean away, leaving only a wristwatch or a diary page. So no matter that I have inhibitions to fill all my pockets, I keep trying, hoping that one day I’ll write a poem I can be proud to let sit in a museum exhibit as the only proof I existed.””

- – Sarah Kay from her poem, “Hiroshima”

(via hellochaohola)

Shared by Pauline Dong, APIASF/GMS Scholar

may 17/ little known fact about AANHPI history

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:00:57 -0400

By Joo Young Lee, APIASF Staff

One fact that may not be well known is that the first Asians whose arrival in America was documented were Filipinos who escaped a Spanish galleon in 1763. They formed the first Asian-American settlement in U.S. history, in the swamps surrounding modern-day New Orleans.

What are some other little known facts about AANHPI history?

Link/ ECAASU Leaders and Legends Award

Thu, 16 May 2013 17:01:18 -0400

Link/ ECAASU Leaders and Legends Award:

Do you know any student who has worked tirelessly for Asian American issues and the community? Nominate him or her now! The deadline is Wednesday, May 29, 2013.

The East Coast Asian American Student Union (ECAASU) has partnered with the Who’s Who in the Asian American Community (WWAAC) Alliance Foundation to present the first ever ECAASU Leaders and Legends Award. With this partnership, we will honor one distinguished Asian American student and present the award to him or her at the 8th Annual WWAAC Awards held at Atlanta, GA on September 7th, 2013.

The purpose of the WWAAC Awards is to recognize the accomplishments of Asians who serve as leaders and role models in their respective communities, publicize their achievements, and promote the Asian American community as an integral part of the American culture and society. It is the only Asian American Awards Show televised in the US.

By Mai Kou Lor, APIASF Scholar This is like one day late, but...

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:03:03 -0400

By Mai Kou Lor, APIASF Scholar

This is like one day late, but since I didn’t have the chance to upload it yesterday, here it is, my favorite work from one of my favorite AANHPI authors.

Shanghai Girls was written by Chinese American author Lisa See. This novel tells the story of two sisters during WWII. Along with their struggles of making a living in the United States, it also tells of their marriages as “paper brides.”

Photo from RealSimple.com, courtesy of Random House.

"You don’t have to be personally perfect to be a leader. Leaders leave behind the conviction to those..."

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:01:00 -0400

“You don’t have to be personally perfect to be a leader. Leaders leave behind the conviction to those behind them to carry on their legacy.”

- – Judge Brenda T. Rhoades

may 16/ meaningful quote said by an AANHPI

By Sarah Ha, APIASF Staff

In May 2007, I was invited to speak on a panel at the Leadership Conference for Korean American Women in Dallas, Texas, regarding the importance of leadership and community involvement. The above quote from the keynote speaker, Judge Brenda Rhoades, continues to resonate with me to this day. Reflecting on this statement, I have grown a deeper appreciation for those who served me and who were integral to my personal growth and development: my family, teachers, colleagues, mentors, peers, and friends. They have instilled in me the values of scholarship and service. Just as they have made a difference in my life, I want to carry on their legacy and make a difference in the lives of others.

Is there a meaningful quote said by an AANHPI that has had a profound affect on you?

Link/ College Reality Check

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:01:28 -0400

Link/ College Reality Check:

College Reality Check is a free website developed by The Chronicle of Higher Education with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The website allows students and families to view the net vs. sticker price, graduation rates, debt repayment, and graduate earnings of almost 3,600 colleges across the US.

By Pauline Dong, APIASF/GMS Scholar My favorite book by an an...

Wed, 15 May 2013 14:01:18 -0400

By Pauline Dong, APIASF/GMS Scholar

My favorite book by an an AANHPI author is an autobiography titled The Unwanted by Kien Nguyen. What makes his story unique is that he is Amerasian. He recalls his struggles with discrimination and poverty and reflects on how his identity as half-white and half-Vietnamese affected his life growing up in a country torn apart by civil war.

What I really appreciate about this novel is how a story of the Vietnam War’s aftereffects is told through the lens of someone who is Amerasian, a community that before college, I didn’t know had been so ostracized. I remember seeing this book in a Vietnamese bookstore years ago, and it wasn’t until recently that I was finally able to read the book; now it is one of my favorites.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who’s looking for a different perspective on the aftereffects of the Vietnam War on communities. You won’t regret it.

Photo from Reader Store.

may 15/ favorite work by an AANHPI author By Joanne Mosuela,...

Wed, 15 May 2013 11:30:00 -0400

may 15/ favorite work by an AANHPI author

By Joanne Mosuela, APIASF Intern

Centered in this photo of contemporary Asian American poets is Sarah Gambito. In 2004, Gambito and her friend Joseph O. Legaspi founded Kundiman, an organization dedicated to the creation and cultivation of Asian American poetry. More than 100 poets have attended Kundiman’s annual Asian American Poetry Retreat. To borrow a line from Gambito, the peculiarity of poetry “thrills and thrills and thrills” me like no other creative medium.

As a college freshman majoring in English Literature, I quickly gravitated towards the creative possibilities of poetry. More often than not, I was the sole minority enrolled in a creative writing workshop. My relationship with my ethnicity remained unresolved. One day I stumbled across Sarah Gambito’s poem “Shrewd and Beautiful is My New York.” It was weird. Reading it now is still weird. Gambito is a poet whose heritage aligns with mine yet her creative impulses diverge wildly. It is this very sense of strangeness without centralizing ethnicity in Gambito’s full-length collection Matadora that helped to redefine my attitude towards ethnicity in writing and beyond the page. Immigrant anguish, for instance, is a massive dimension to the Asian American experience but only one theme of many. Who says poetry is irrelevant? I read one weird poem and began to shed my assumptions and expectations about what it means to be Asian in America.

Photo by Mike Keo/The Terrible Child.

What is one of your favorite works by an AANHPI author?

Link/ Historical Timeline | Washington State Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs

Tue, 14 May 2013 17:01:27 -0400

Link/ Historical Timeline | Washington State Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs:

Here is an awesome timeline from the Washington State Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs that lists some important dates, legislation, and events from Asian American history.

HT to angryapihistory for the resource!

By Kathy Tran, APIASF/GMS Scholar Hello there! My Name is Kathy...

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:02:19 -0400

By Kathy Tran, APIASF/GMS Scholar

Hello there! My Name is Kathy Tran, and I am a 2013 Gates Millennium Scholar. I am currently a senior at Los Amigos HIgh School located in Orange County, CA but I will be attending UC Berkeley in the Fall. I hope to major in Political Science because I would like to be involved in politics on day. I hope that I can promote social justice through public policy.

As for personal interests, I love camping with my Girl Scout troop and spending time outdoors as much as I can. I also love the color teal, going to Disneyland, writing letters, Vietnamese food, and blogging!

Mindy Kaling - My favorite Artist

Tue, 14 May 2013 14:01:00 -0400

By Iyleen Ismail, APIASF Scholar

I absolutely love Mindy Kaling! She is incredibly funny and totally relatable. Her show, The Mindy Project, (for which she is the lead actress, creator, and executive producer) is hilarious, and the main character, Mindy Lahiri, is quirky, whimsical, and imperfect. On the show, she plays a hardworking OB/GYN who struggles to find love and has friends and co-workers who love (and sometimes despise) her. I’m excited that it’s coming back for a second season in the fall. I’m currently reading her book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, in which she talks about life stories that we can all relate to, such as being bullied, losing friends, making new ones, and her slow and steady journey to her dream job of being a comedy writer/actress.

By Joanne Mosuela, APIASF Intern Last year, I attended my first...

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:01:00 -0400

By Joanne Mosuela, APIASF Intern

Last year, I attended my first big comic arts festival and watched as cartoonist Adrian Tomine drew one of the largest crowds for his book signing. His autograph includes a tiny self-portrait in marker: a scruffy bearded man in glasses with a cartoonishly large noggin. Unpretentious. Literary. Self-aware. Asian American.

A graphic novel about feisty young Asian Americans who address their minority status head-on, Tomine’s Shortcomings was one of the The New York Times Book Review’s 100 notable books of 2007. Fourth-generation Japanese American, Sacramento-bred, son of California State University professors, Tomine has acknowledged that every story has its origin in real experience.

“I think when I finally got it in my head that I was going to [write Shortcomings], I wanted to avoid doing what I thought people wanted me to do. I wanted to not shy away from some of the more racy topics that might go along with that. I wanted to try to create characters that happen to be Asian but who are pretty different from those we generally see in our commercial culture.”
— Adrian Tomine

Shortcomings excerpt and quote are from an interview with The Believer.

Who is one of your favorite AANHPI artists?

By Christine Vo, APIASF/GMS Scholar Ah. Food! There are so many...

Mon, 13 May 2013 18:02:08 -0400

By Christine Vo, APIASF/GMS Scholar

Ah. Food! There are so many delicious and amazing dishes in existence in every culture. However, I have to admit my favorite Vietnamese dish of all time is the Com Tam dish. Com Tam is a traditional Vietnamese dish famous for its serving of broken rice (very small grains of rice) with the most-flavorful pieces of meat that you will ever taste. Com Tam is usually serve on an oval plate with a pint of broken rice on the right side of the plate. On the left side, there is a small serving of salad (including uniquely shaped carrots, cucumbers, and lettuce). On top of the broken rice, there is a delicious sauce called moi hanh (chopped green onions sauteed in oil) that is drizzled on the broken rice to add flavor. Since the meat is the most popular part of the Com Tam dish, it is extravagantly placed in the middle of the plate. The meat can be beef, steak, or chicken that is marinated for a good 2 hours before it is cooked and served. Egg rolls are also served with Com Tam, which adds more to the diversity of the dish.

Overall, Com Tam is a great Vietnamese dish that brings friends and family together!

Photo from Biggest Menu.

By Chinsin Sim, APIASF Scholar Although I am not Japanese, I do...

Mon, 13 May 2013 17:01:18 -0400

By Chinsin Sim, APIASF Scholar

Although I am not Japanese, I do appreciate their culture, traditions, and food. Recently, I discovered Zabu Zabu in Berkeley, CA, which is a great destination for Japanese food. The above photo is shabu-shabu, which is a dish that cooks paper-thin slices of meat, tofu, and raw vegetables in broth over a lit fire. In addition to our “All you can eat” shabu-shabu order, we also chose to get the unlimited sushi option. For the record, I never liked sushi until I came here. This place changed it all.

Before I get called out for posting a food review, I want to say that this is a perfect dining experience for friends and family. Not only was I able to share a bonding experience with my friends, but I got the opportunity to try out a different dish from another culture. We were able to talk, cook, and bond while cooking together. We all took turns cooking the meat and ordering different sushis. I was very happy to discover this hidden gem with my friends. It’s funny how food unites us, regardless of our ethnicity, culture, or background.

Labor of Love: Nail Salon Work and Advocacy (Part III)

Mon, 13 May 2013 16:03:00 -0400

By Linh Chuong, APIASF/GMS Scholar
Originally posted on The Treatment: Writing Medicine and Illness

« back to Part II

Nowadays, nail care is booming. It is in fact the fastest growing sector in the beauty industry, making an estimated six billion dollars in annual sales, and is reputed to have grown three hundred percent over the last decade.[viii] The growth of industry oversight, however, has not increased to keep up with the industry itself. According to the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, “nail products contain more than 10,000 chemicals, 89 percent of which have not been evaluated for safety by any independent agency prior to marketing,”[ix] and according to the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, there is currently “no law requiring disclosure of certain ingredients such as fragrances, flavorings, and anything designated as ‘trade secrets.’”[x] Professional quality nail products are also excluded from ingredient labeling requirements by the Food and Drug Administration.[xi] Simply put, there is not enough known about the products we are spreading on our hands and our feet, and that technicians are breathing in on a daily basis.

As someone who once thought she was going to be studying chemical engineering, I know chemicals are not all bad. We are made up of chemicals and even lab-produced chemicals can be good (e.g. medicine). Yet, I also know that at the bare minimum there are three products found in nail products that are linked to a host of illnesses. The National Healthy Nail Salon Alliance contends that:

Toluene helps create a smooth finish across the nail and also keeps the pigment from separating from the liquid in the bottle. It is a common volatile solvent that is released into the air and can impact the central nervous system. It can also cause irritation of the eyes, throat and lungs and is a possible reproductive toxin. Formaldehyde, which is used as a nail hardening agent, is also a volatile chemical that can evaporate into the air of a salon. Formaldehyde is known to cause cancer. Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) is a plasticizing chemical, added to nail polishes to provide flexibility and a moisturizing sheen. DBP exposure can effect thyroid function and, in pregnant women, has been linked to reproductive problems in baby boys as well as to decreased sperm count in adult men.[xii]

Pouring through written testimonies of thyroid cancer and respiratory problems, hearing my sister talk about the headaches she gets from sitting in the shop for sixty hours a week, and imagining the unborn children my thirty year old sister could have, I need for things to be better for her and her coworkers.

In order to tackle this problem, one must navigate a complicated political web, a map of policies that interact to oversee cosmetics. Authority, funding, and enforcement capabilities to help improve the nail salon industry volleys between the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. There are community-led organizations that work with each other, politicians, the government agencies, and the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to advocate for changes in policy. I interned with one of these groups in D.C. who hoped to one day have technology that allows for more conscious monitoring, like sensors in cellphones to recognize when toxicity levels become too high. The industry needs to change to recognize the labor rights of nail technicians, health care, and immigrant rights. There is a need for understanding how environmental issues are not just about conserving rain forests in South America, but also grappling with the pollution in nail salons and the chemicals found in nail products. These goals may be farther off in the future.

Until there are better job opportunities for these women, nail salons will continue to be run, staffed, and trained in large part by Vietnamese women. What needs to happen now, then, is not a boycott. Ending your patronage won’t destroy the cosmetics industry, but it might cut off these women from already limited means of earning income, opportunities to be entrepreneurs, and the achievement of their American dreams.

As citizens, we can demand our politicians craft and fund legislation that better protects our bodies and our environment. As consumers we can ask companies to produce nail salon products that do not contain the toxic trio and ask shops to stock green options or bring our own.[xiii] We can ask for cleaner air: vent hoods can be installed at the work stations, improving ventilation overall in the salon space.[xiv] And as human beings, we can be nice to the workers at salons, because it is my sister, my aunt, my community who stands by you and greets you there. Tell my sister I miss her and say hello: chào.

_____________________________
[viii] Gorman, Alexandra and Philip O’Connor. “Glossed Over.” Women’s Voices for the Earth, Feb. 2007 < http://www.womensvoices.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Glossed_Over.pdf> Web.

[ix] National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum. “The Nail Salon Industry and the Impact of Cosmetic Toxins on API Women’s Reproductive Health.” Feb. 2008. 1

[x] Porter, Catherine A. “Overexposed and Underinformed: Dismantling Barriers to Health and Safety in California Nail Salons.” California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative. April 2009.16

[xi] Gorman, Alexandra and Philip O’Connor. Feb. 2007. 8.

[xii] National Healthy Nail Salon Alliance. “Phasing Out the Toxic Trio: A Review of Popular Nail Polish Brands” May 2009.

[xiii] The 2009 Phasing Out the “Toxic Trio” report produced a simple survey of the major companies and shows which of them have made their products “three-free.” This can be used as an initial reference guide. However this information was self-reported and not confirmed by independent laboratory testing.

[xiv] Most of the organizations discussed offer recommendations. Some sources include the EPA’s <http://www.epa.gov/dfe/pubs/projects/salon/nailsalonguide.pdf> and Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice’s < http://strongfamiliesmovement.org/assets/docs/ACRJ-Nail-Salon-Health-and-Safety-Handbook-English.pdf>

By Pauline Dong, APIASF/GMS Scholar Small Phở restaurants can...

Mon, 13 May 2013 14:40:47 -0400

By Pauline Dong, APIASF/GMS Scholar

Small Phở restaurants can be found everywhere here in the largest Vietnamese community in Little Saigon, California. A lot of the times, one Phở restaurant can be found just two blocks away from another. It is certainly a famous Vietnamese dish in Southern California, if not all of California.

However, Phở is not the only Vietnamese dish that’s available for tasting. My personal favorite is the humble Bánh Bèo. These are flat rice cakes topped with mung bean, green onion, and shredded shrimp served on one whole plate or many little dishes on platter. Usually, this would be served with a bowl of sweet and sour fish sauce on the side called Nước mắm. This Central Vietnamese dish is delicious and deserves just as much fame as Phở. If anyone ever visits California, make sure to stop by for the Phở if you’ve never had it before, but don’t forget the Bánh Bèo either. Don’t be afraid to try something new!

Bánh Bèo muôn nặm. Long live Bánh Bèo.