It's funny how differently little kids view their environment. Watching them interact with each other and responding to their childishly tact-free questions never ceases to amuse me.
Today at casey elementary after school chess club, gene, steve, albert and I went to go teach and play with the 20 something kids that signed up for this new program. I remember tutoring kids a ghetto elementary schools in high school, and while there are fundamental differences between them and the middle-upper class kids today, one thing always remains the same with these kids: how bluntly they point out my obviously different ethnic background.
As soon as I sit down at a table with two boys in the middle of a chess game to introduce myself, one kid looks up at me from behind his thick owl-like glasses and exclaims, "You look like one of them Japanese anime people!" I blink, thinking 'thanks, kid' and calmly tell him I'm not Japanese, I'm Chinese, and go on to explain the difference. I'm interrupted by the boy's opponent, who tugs on my sleeve and informs me he watches all of the Jacky Chung's Adventures on TV. I give up and tell him it's Jacky Chan's Adventures.
Later, while walking around, I hear Steve and Gene explaining to another curious kid that they're Korean and Chinese, respectively. I look around the room, and while there is a pretty diverse mix of kids (Caucasian, African-America, Hispanic), there's few Asians. I start thinking that with all the TV they watch, you'd think these kids would have more contact with Asian culture than Jacky Chan's Adventures. But thinking back, there really aren't many Asian movie stars, no Asian people on sitcoms, and few, if any cultural references to Asians in mainstream television or cartoons. No wonder the few Asian people they see seem so exotic.
Surprisingly enough, this is neither a post conveying irritation or indignance. This has happened so often I'm not longer surprised. It just makes me wonder whether or not it might be a good idea for some of us Asians to drop out of business, medical, and law school and become actors and actresses so we can more visibly promote our culture. Not that I'm going to be doing that, mommy daddy reading my blog. I'm going to graduate with a degree and work - I promise.
Today at casey elementary after school chess club, gene, steve, albert and I went to go teach and play with the 20 something kids that signed up for this new program. I remember tutoring kids a ghetto elementary schools in high school, and while there are fundamental differences between them and the middle-upper class kids today, one thing always remains the same with these kids: how bluntly they point out my obviously different ethnic background.
As soon as I sit down at a table with two boys in the middle of a chess game to introduce myself, one kid looks up at me from behind his thick owl-like glasses and exclaims, "You look like one of them Japanese anime people!" I blink, thinking 'thanks, kid' and calmly tell him I'm not Japanese, I'm Chinese, and go on to explain the difference. I'm interrupted by the boy's opponent, who tugs on my sleeve and informs me he watches all of the Jacky Chung's Adventures on TV. I give up and tell him it's Jacky Chan's Adventures.
Later, while walking around, I hear Steve and Gene explaining to another curious kid that they're Korean and Chinese, respectively. I look around the room, and while there is a pretty diverse mix of kids (Caucasian, African-America, Hispanic), there's few Asians. I start thinking that with all the TV they watch, you'd think these kids would have more contact with Asian culture than Jacky Chan's Adventures. But thinking back, there really aren't many Asian movie stars, no Asian people on sitcoms, and few, if any cultural references to Asians in mainstream television or cartoons. No wonder the few Asian people they see seem so exotic.
Surprisingly enough, this is neither a post conveying irritation or indignance. This has happened so often I'm not longer surprised. It just makes me wonder whether or not it might be a good idea for some of us Asians to drop out of business, medical, and law school and become actors and actresses so we can more visibly promote our culture. Not that I'm going to be doing that, mommy daddy reading my blog. I'm going to graduate with a degree and work - I promise.
posted by Steph at 11:01 PM 1 comments
