This week, students utilized what they have learned throughout the semester and through their interviews to create a presentation about the Economic Development of Chinatown. 

ALL THE STUDENTS DID A GREAT JOB WITH THEIR PRESENTATIONS! WE ARE PROUD OF YOU AND ALL YOUR HARD WORK!

Click here to view the student presentations.

Part two of our session consisted of a tour led by CAAAV's (Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence) Jason Chan. We explored the history of Chinatown and the current issues of gentrification experienced by residents of Chinatown.  Jason took us around to different apartment buildings where CAAAV have organized in the past and are currently assisting.

THANK YOU JASON CHAN for assisting us in leading the tour!

Click on the photo for more pictures of the session.

By: Bernice Chan 

Gentrification-- I didn't know about it until a few months ago. It's interesting because the teens who hang out in Chinatown, going for the bubble tea or pho, don't see the problems in the residencies they pass by. In the skit our group did, we acted out a scene where 2 young professionals were looking for a place in live in an apartment that was already full. The owner then told some tenants that rent would be raised and if they couldn't pay, they'd be kicked out. The tenants then rushed to the community organizer for help. While acting as one of the young professionals, I realized that I'd much rather have been the community organizer helping out the tenants. It felt wrong asking for the space, knowing that there was a family I'd be kicking out. I wonder how much this scene applied to real life, and if, in reality, the tenants would have been kicked out. Here in the scene, there was a happy ending because the apartment was rent stabilized, but I've heard of other ways to get the family to move (e.g. not doing the proper repairs).

We were asked about our roles in the community for fighting gentrification. I think mine is to be informed about the issues at hand. The ideal would be for more teenagers to get involved with CAAAV, but I think a simpler/ much needed starting point is to inform my peers around me about what gentrification is and current efforts against it. How does gentrification affect my life even though I don't live in Chinatown? Hm. 


To view what we did during the session, click here.

Click here to view the pictures.

Why are immigration stories important?  How have immigrant stories impacted you as an individual? 

By: Bernice Chan 

It is vital that immigrants' stories are heard. Today, majority of the residents in Chinatown are the elderly. They've seen Chinatown from the beginning, when there weren't nearly as many Asians. They remember the high gang activity and crime rates.  Over the decades, Chinatown has completely changed, with entirely new issues. These immigrants are the ones who are being affected by gentrification. They are the ones who have the languge barriers and have never learned English in this ethnic enclave. Their stories need to be heard because once they're gone, there is no story. If their stories aren't told, it'll be as if they never lived.

In terms of advocacy, it's important to have voices behind the issues we are fighting for. Without faces and stories of those being affected, there is a lost of connection between those advocating and the general public. Hearing stories evokes sympathy and discussion, with those similarly affected wanting to also take a stand and raise their voice.

However when asked about how immigrant stories have affected my life, I tried to think of which story I knew that I could use in answering this question. The problem is that there hasn't been one. No impact comes to mind. This is precisely the reason why more stories need to be told. And on a larger scale. I know my mother's story but it hasn't really impacted me other than a recurring realization of how lucky I am.

It's so easy to just hang out in Chinatown with my friends and be completely ignorant of the stories behind the worker at the bakery, for instance. I also feel like many people, which I may be part of, think they know the immigrant story- there seems to be this all encompassing one with the idea that an immigrant came from China for better working opportunities and educational ones for his/ her children. I think we need to emphasize the specifics. There isn't one story that describes every immigrant coming here. There may be themes they share, for instance, falling victim to the negative impacts of new industries and businesses that have sprung up in Chinatown. (This reminds me of last session where one of the mentors brought up that the new popular businesses in Chinatown, for instance, bubble tea, or the new condominiums and hotels being built, aren't catered towards the residents of the community).

Answering these questions about the importance of conducting interviews and oral histories reminds me why i joined Shared Stories.

Also a wandering/unrelated thought I had on my commute from CPA: the subways need more signs to suggest that people give up their seats for the elderly. Every time the large crowd of Asians gets on at Grand Street, I see the old chinese woman scanning the car and eyeing the seats. I notice some move to a strategic location: towards the middle of the 2 doors to have more of a chance to sit down. Meanwhile, a teenager is playing Temple Run on his phone, completely unaware of, or used to disregarding, common courtesy. If there were signs that caught people's eye next to the bulletin advertisements, more people would realize they should be being more respectful towards the elderly. 


*Please think about these questions and add your comments to this blog post.

To view what we did during this session, click here.

Reflection of session:

By: Bernice Chan 

Today the fact I learned that I won’t forget is that the Chinese Exclusion Act limited the number of Chinese immigrants to 105. I got it wrong in Jeopardy because this whole time, I thought the Chinese were excluded entirely. It’s interesting because in school, the Chinese Exclusion Act was mentioned incredibly briefly and even when brought up at other Asian American conferences I’ve attended, no one mentioned the specific details. I think this represents the broader issues with educating the Asian American youth about their own history—there’s first a need to bring up the events and issues they are unaware of, but the second is a need to constantly revisit them because I, personally, learn something new each time. It’s only when I learn information again and again that I remember it well enough to tell others. Now, whenever someone mentions 1882 in Asian American history, I’m almost entirely sure of what they’re referring to.

We also learned about writing an Op-Ed piece, which is exciting. We’re using the stories from our interviews. Hopefully, we’ll compile them into one piece that’s good enough to be sent to other organizations and published. I interviewed Robert Louie, who works at Posh Jewelry in Chinatown. I feel like I should have been more specific in my interview because it ended up being more of a generic story of how he came to America from Hong Kong for the better employment and educational opportunities. I should’ve had more follow-up questions about the living conditions and opportunities in Hong Kong before he left. During that interview, I became more aware of how my Chinese is lacking. It was conducted in Cantonese, the language I can communicate to my grandparents with, but there’s still so many phrases I don’t know simply because we don’t normally use them in everyday life.


To view what we did during the session, click here.

To view the pictures from the session, click here.

Reflection of session:

By: Bernice Chan 

 After the name game we wrote down 5 important events in our lives. The process of asking my mom about these events and her experiences in America were eye opening. I've known that she had to work in the evening after going to English classes in the morning, but every time I ask about her initial experiences in America, she tells me more than she did before. It's the little details like how back then, it was hard to find a job in Chinatown because you needed a referral, which many immigrants didn't have. I didn't know my mom was so self-sufficient and independent in making her own money, while I'm just handed a weekly 20.      

We then went over an indepth review of the history from Asian American industries including railroads, construction, agriculture and mining to the Chinese Exclusion Act, to 1980's events concerning Vincent Chin, and present day Chinatowns. There's so much history that I know about but don't know enough to tell to others.      

After today, I realized (mentor) Linda was right. I need to find out my great grandpa's story, who's been in America since pre-1960's. My grandpa told me his dad told him to not come to America because life here was too hard. In my family, there's a rumor that  my great great grandmother-- was half white. There's so many stories waiting to be uncovered.   

To view what we did during the session, click here.

To view the pictures from the session, click here.

We wanted to give a big thanks to everyone who came out to support Shared Stories on Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012 including Nom Wah Tea Parlor for being a great host, all raffle and silent auction donors, guests and the wonderful volunteers.  The fundraiser was a great success because of all of you.  If you couldn't attend the fundraiser but made a donation, thank you also.

We were featured in two Chinese newspapers:

WORLD JOURNAL:
Click here for the article: World Journal
*Photo credit to World Journal  

We had students interview one of their family members as practice for their interviews with workers in Chinatown.  Then, they wrote a short story based on the information they uncovered, here are the stories: 

By Fang Lin:

He left family and came to America eighteen years ago. He came here for a better life for his family by earning more money. At the beginning, he just wanted to work for five to eight years and then go back to China. He found a job through an employment agency right away when he came here. He worked in a Chinese restaurant; twelve hours per day but with a low wage. He felt lonely because he did not have anyone familiar in America. The working conditions were hard. He had to stand all the time. The hard work took up all his time.  He had to work hard because he needed to pay the debt due for his immigration to the US.  

By James Wu:

Yi Liang Wu has been in this country for about 7 years. She is working as a waitress in
a restaurant. She has to work for a long period of time per day, but she earns about only 2000 per month. She told me that life isn’t easy in this country. She lives with her son and her husband in Chinatown. She thinks the people who live in this place are being treated fairly by the laws.

She works about 10 hours as a waitress per day. She has little time for sleeping and
eating. She has one day off per week. The reason why she works so hard is that she wants her child to have a better future. There are many differences between China and the United States. It takes about 17 hours to arrive to the United States from China. It’s hard to imagine a person can sit on a airplane for 17 hours and do nothing. But she thinks it was worth it for her to do that because there are many beautiful buildings in New York, and she can make connections with the people who were from other countries around the world.

She said she has more freedom in this country than when she was in China. There aren’t so many free laws in China and many laws are very strict. There isn’t any freedom of speech or the freedom of religions in China. You have to listen to the things that the government says, and you will get arrested by the police if you did a very tiny little thing wrong. She said the education in the United States are much different than those in China. The teachers in the United States have a different way of teaching students. They let their students to think and to imagine. They let them deeply understand the concept of certain things, and they explain to the student why things are the way they are.

She thinks this place gives her freedom. She is happy to live here with her family. She thinks that the country has given enough rights and powers for the immigrants to live in this place. She likes to travel around and meet new people.

By Jasmine Li:

Mother: 
America means the top, love and opportunity. In the beginning, I felt lucky enough to travel to this new land because many people don’t even have a chance to see the world besides their native country. I expected a better living condition, a caring neighborhood that was surrounded by many white people. In reality, America is different compared to what’s in my thought. I experienced culture shock. There are so many Asian Americans and they worked very hard to make a living. I lived with my sister for two years in the Lower East Side. She suggested that I work as a home caretaker because I didn’t speak English. I felt lost when I was taking the subway trains, especially the downtown and uptown signs, and I wasn’t able to make a call. It took me almost an hour to get to Chinatown. I went to church on Saturday because they offered free meals and gifts. I feel welcomed from my neighborhood. It was quiet and warm.

Daughter (Jasmine): 
When my mom and I got to America, she had to go back to school again because she didn’t know the language. First, she took a six-month home care course at the Chinese American Planning Council. They taught my mom how to respond to an emergency and how to take care patients. She was required to pass the exam for the certificate. After passing the exam, she dedicated her entire days and nights working as a homecare aide; carrying twenty five pounds of milk on her shoulder under the sun, washing dishes with cold water on winter days, and cleaning her patient’s body become her daily work. 

Sometimes, I see my mom putting liquid medicine on her legs in her room. I know that my mom is getting sick and her body is weaker than before we came here as each day passes by. But she has never complained to me. She was supposed to retire in China, and she decided to come to the United State all because of me. You can’t imagine how tough it is for a Chinese woman who doesn’t speak English to make minimum wage, buy food for her family, and pay expensive rent every month. She barely has money to buy new clothes for herself. When I asked her what some of her wishes are, she responded that “I want my daughter to go to a good college and eventually find a high paying job. I hope that she is not walking on the same path as I did because I never went to college.” It is an opportunity cost because she gave up her health for a better education for me.  

By Ke Xin Chen:

Billy Lam is currently a senior at Brooklyn Technical High School. He moved from Hong Kong to New York at the age of 11. He was taught basic English since elementary school, but nevertheless, it was hard to communicate with his peers. Thankfully, he has a brother a year older than him that he could practice English with at home. Billy excelled academically, especially in math, his favorite subject. He scored first place in the AMC both his senior year and junior year, quickly gaining him popularity among his teachers and peers. Most people usually describe him as the “smart, but very quiet kid.” Billy wants to double-major in math and engineering in college. During his free time, he likes challenge himself by solving difficult math problems that his teachers give him.

Billy identifies himself as a Chinese and often talks to other Chinese students in Cantonese to maintain his speaking skills. He hopes to help improve the speaking skills of other students as well. “I don’t understand why people are so ashamed to speak in Chinese—because they think it’s too ‘Chinese’?” He explained that he will continue to embrace his culture and tradition, while at the same time adapt to the American culture, “I can only gain.” 

By Kily Wong:

Mee Mee Chin immigrated to America in 1964 at the age of 12 with her two brothers and mother from Hong Kong. They took a twenty-seven hour plane ride. Although she does not remember much about the decision to come to America, she remembers that she was sad because it was like a secret: “We weren’t allowed to tell anybody and we didn’t know when we were leaving. I knew probably a day or two before we left so I was not able to leave my address, or get addresses from my friends.” Obedient, she recalls not disobeying her parents, and only remembers that her mother constantly said, “Don’t say anything otherwise we might not be able to come [to America].” As a young child, she remembers that she was afraid to say anything to anyone, including her friends. As a result, her journey to America was not happy because she felt like she was leaving her life and friends behind. She was sad and confused.

She did not even take anything with her because she didn’t realize that immigrating to America meant never returning home. She recalls being too young to pack and assumed that her mother would take everything for her: “I thought she would pack it for me. I didn’t know what to bring.” I was too young to worry about those things.

On the plane, Mee Mee recalls being confused, afraid, and excited—all at the same time. She thought, Oh wow, it’s my first time on a plane. It’s exciting. We never go anywhere. In Hong Kong, Mee Mee never went on any long trips, except on the bus. She recalls, “As a kid, you’re like everybody else, you want a window seat and stuff like that.” But she remembers also being afraid.

On the plane, she got very sick. Mee Mee adds that many other people on the plane were sick as well. They were all sick most likely because it was their first time going to America. However, twelve year old Mee Mee was sitting alone: “Somehow I remember, I don’t know why, I was not sitting with my family. So, I was really sick and my mother did not know.” She adds that she couldn’t eat, even though she thought American food would be good. She couldn’t hold any food down. Not even the milk or juice, as she recalls that as the first time she had juice. Having never tried juice before, she remembered thinking that it was not as sweet as she thought it would be and that it was sour. By the end of the plane ride, she thought going to America was just a horrible experience.

When the plane landed in the airport, her uncle went to pick us up. But by then, she was really sick and extremely tired. So, when they arrived at their apartment, they just went to sleep. However, the next morning, they had to get up because it was Thanksgiving. She recalls that their spirits were lifted and that “we were really happy. Wow, such a big chicken. We didn’t know it was a turkey, because in Hong Kong there were only little chickens.” However, she also adds that while she and her siblings took very large pieces of turkey, it wasn’t until they took a bite that they thought it was horrible because of how gamy the meat was. They weren’t used to turkey, and she remembers not being able to “stand the smell of turkey.” Thus, they didn’t end up eating much and gave it to their mother.

It took her at least ten to fifteen years before she could say that she liked turkey. But now, “I love turkey.” Mee Mee adds that turkey wasn’t the only food that she has grown accustomed to. For example, now, she also loves pizza. She explains that for many Asians, they cannot tolerate cheese because there is none in Asia. Now, however, “I still have a low tolerance, but now I can eat it, and I like it. Before, I couldn’t stand the smell of cheese. It was terrible.”

For Mee Mee, one of the greatest obstacles for her assimilation into American culture in 1964 was the food: “There wasn’t Chinese food. As a kid you get used to the cookies, candies, [you had at home] and there was none.” She identifies the childish mentality that she used to have. Mee Mee explains that as a child, she had her favorite cookies and candies, and remembers how difficult it was for her to live without them: “It’s hard to say that’s it, I don’t want this stuff.” At different times, she would get different cravings for little nick-nacks that were unique to Hong Kong. She believes that it took twenty to twenty-five years before more of her favorite foods were available in Chinatown. Back then, Chinatown was only two blocks long and was very “backwards,” as she describes.

Mee Mee recalls that many “ordinary foods” were not present in her new neighborhood in America. She explains that there was no Dim Sum place to eat. In addition, she says that the Chinese food that was available was not very good or authentic: “The skinny noodles, forget it. The noodles were so fat—it was horrible…The wonton skin is a quarter in thick; I mean, it supposed to be thin-thin.” She adds that there were also no fish-balls, or other things that she would get in Hong Kong every day before she went to school.

When the first good café opened, Mee Mee recalls that the line would be so long that in order to get a little simple order, it took over twenty minutes. She says that it wasn’t even that good. Yet, “everyone’s flocking to it…it was so funny. We didn’t have it for so long, so we kind of forgot what it was supposed to taste like.”

But now, Mee Mee, after having been a secretary, owner of a bridal shop, and translator, wants to take on a fourth career by becoming the owner of a small Asian-fusion café. At first, she thought to start a restaurant, but now, she believes that she wants to open a café because it would be fun: “Young people can have wine, beer, snacks…They can sit around on couches, chairs, and on the floor. It’s casual, like me. I want teenagers, college kids, to come and just talk, like we are doing now. That’s what I’d like.” Although Mee Mee doesn’t know where she’d like to open the café, she believes that she wants it to be in a college town.

Ever since she was a child, Mee Mee was inspired by an Asian-American teacher named Mrs. Virginia Keys to do things besides study in school. Mrs. Keys helped open her eyes, as well as many other Asian-students’ eyes, to see all the other things that could be explored outside of the classroom. The woman invited students to go on field trips, plays, museums, and even into her very own home. She is the founder of Chinese-American Planning Council, which was first founded to help provide various services to the rising influx of immigrants to New York City’s Chinatown. To this day, Mee Mee is still in touch with her mentor Mrs. Keys and over the years. Even now, Mee Mee believes that there is still just as much opportunity in America as there was fifty years ago: “As long as you study hard, work hard, you can do anything.”  

By Ming Sinn: 

My dad was born in Hong Kong. He liked to play soccer and hang out in the park with his sister and brother when he was little. Because they didn't have electronics during that time, people liked to go to play in the park a lot. He also liked to watch cartoons on TV. His favorite food are curry and tuna sandwiches.

He had received twelve years of education in China. After he graduated from high school, his dad wanted him to follow his path to be a construction worker. Therefore, he stopped going to school and started working with his dad. He got married at 27 and became a father at 28. The child's name is Ming Ho Sinn. Unfortunately, they got divorced so my father had found another love in the U.S. My dad has been to the U.S. for 6 years. He came here to marry with another woman and he is still working as a construction worker in the U.S. He doesn't really enjoy his job because he believes that he deserves to get paid more compared to other English speaking workers. He likes both U.S. and Hong Kong because he thinks they both have their good sides and bad sides.   

By Qi Xiang Chen:

It was a cold, windy day when the person arrived in America. He took a 3 hour drive to the destination that is suppose to be his new home. On his way, he thought about what his new life would be like, how he would handle situations that he had no experience of. He asked the landlord many questions regarding how he should live his life and his daily tasks. It was a good thing he spoke Chinese. Without him, he would have had no idea what to do. He went out the next few days to buy grocery and foods, but constantly got lost and didn't know the prices. He had to ask his friend to accompany him until he get the hang of it after a couple of months. It might be confusing when you just arrived to America, but its not that bad after living there for a significant amount of time. 

By Ru Gao:

They thought U.S. was a land of wealth, prosperity, andopportunities. They came to this country because they wanted to make a ton of money for themselves and their family. He has been fighting for a good future for himself and also his family. Some challenges they faced were renting a house, looking for a job, and most importantly, the language barrier. My father still can not overcome that barrier. At the beginning, it's really difficult to communicate with others, but at least, his relatives helped him a lot. 

For the second time of interview, I felt it is easier for my father and me. Both of
us are getting comfortable in the interview. The proof is he talks more with the
description. When he just arrived here, houses surprised him the most because they all looked the same to him, with the same color and structure. Also, we talked about jobs. He thought of being a driver here since he worked as a driver for many years back in China. However, nobody wanted to hire him because he could not speak English at all. He hates this reason, but it is a fact. Soon, he realized that he has no choice but to pick a job that he didn't want.