Author: Adrianne Cheung
Asians in Animation
Can I Have a Spring Roll and Chicken Fried Rice?
Today, my friends and I went to an Asian fusion restaurant. It serves curries, pad thai, chow fun, lo mien, Singapore noodles, sushi, hibachi and Chinese American food as well, like the “General Tso’s chicken” and “Sesame Chicken”. These types of restaurants are quite normal in America and the food is usually fine, but the food is usually not very authentic. It’s just not what you would get at home. As a Chinese American, growing up I would get so offended when they said that Chinese-American restaurant food was Chinese…
#BeingAsian
In the mighty world of Twitter, there lives a hashtag, “#BeingAsian”. It is an interesting mix of people complaining about the racism they’ve faced, poking fun of Asian stereotypes, and celebrating Asian/Asian American culture. Ultimately, it is about Asians being Asian, living their lives, sharing frustrations and sharing their happy events. Some of the posts are included below. They point to the extent to which our ethnicity permeates everything we do and go through. The encounters of racism on the train might be few but they wouldn’t happen at all if we were…
“You must be smart.”
Google: “You’re Asian. You must be smart.” and behold the many articles and blogs about the being the model minority. I am not for writing on the same topic so many other people have talked about but maybe if enough people complain about the same exact thing, it will get noticed; so I’ll add my 2 cents to the fray. Now, on the surface, the assumption that Asians = smart people seems like a good thing, but look closer, and think about what that statement is really saying. Because we…
Asian + Math = Headache
I recently spoke on a panel of seniors to potential Mathematics and Computer Science majors to give advice on how we knew Math was the right major and how to distribute classes once you’ve decided. We began by describing our experience declaring the major. To preface, I was the only Asian American on this panel, but I was not the only woman nor was I the only person of color in the room. I happened to be the last to speak so I said, “I had a very different experience…
Feeling Comfortable Yet?
Last weekend, our class journeyed to Raleigh for a conference hosted by the East Coast Asian American Student Union (ECAASU) focusing on Asian American identity. One thing that stood out to me was simply how happy most people were to be surrounded almost solely by Asian Americans. It is an observation that doesn’t seem to leave much discussion. But if you are a ___ American and if you have ever walked into a room full of ___ nationals, what do you recall feeling? Was it as comfortable as with people…
Delving Deeper
When I say Lunar New Year, what comes to mind? Do you know why we celebrate it? Why it is important? To me, Lunar New Year celebrations bring to mind performances, firecrackers, the culture of my parents’ birthplaces, tradition, and most of all, family. At home, I always partook in the festivities as a dragon dancer, performer and volunteer. I have fond memories of friends and family and the day brought me closer to my heritage. Hundreds of people would come to the festival; kids would play carnival games, parents…