Belly Good Cafe and Crepes, Jtown
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Quiet Asian kid sitting in the back of the class
Thinking too much, trying not to seem brash Breaks away only to look back it seems as if life is actually on track Social anxiety takes its hold, seems as if I'll never be bold. Soon to go, soon to fade sometimes I just have to break away Stay away, stay away, stay away Isolationism is the way to play Americans finally got their way Stay away, stay away, stay away Doughboys have come to fight, raise your fists, face the plight Woodrow Wilson promised the world would be bright But Quiet Asian kid, sitting in the back, everyone just assumes I'm on crack, here I sit, thinking of Wilson's promise and listening to Mr. Schmidt tell us how it all went amiss. Things are lost and things are won the Democrats just weigh a ton, Stubborn and still, ready for the kill, Republicans have yet to be outdone A cross between worlds, so caught up in between There is no place to hide, only everywhere to be seen Quiet Asian kid tries to take a stand speaks up during the class debate, but still just cracks under all society's weight. A weight much too huge for just one small Asian kid But my shoulders are broad and I hold the control grid To my life, and so what I become is only what I make of myself. There is really no need to live in strife No need to dwell no need to delve into Wilson's broken promises To think only of all our loses NO! Because Quiet Asian kid takes a stand and even in APUSH, raises her hand She speaks for the first time on her birthday And everything seems to go down in a mighty earthquake. ~Admin Ash Dim Sum = Awesomeness.
My family and I often frequent this pretty good dim sum place on Noriega, a few blocks down from Safeway and close to ABC Cafe. Here's some detectible food porn of my lunch XD -Admin Ash Meet the newest addition to my family: Morgan Lee
He's a cute little bean. Just thought I'd share this cool news with ya'll XD -Admin Ash My Favorite Bubble Tea
Super Cue Cafe in Parkside is one of the best! Unequaled by any other bubble tea company, my fav. Cup sizes are definitely price appropriate, good for budget. Kind staff are always there and ready to help! Many of my friends love this place. Yellow tea is my fav, but that's just me. Don't be fooled by the store front, the inside is awesome! I absolutely love this tea shop and I hope you do as well. Can't tell people enough about this shop, raving about it! Knockout bubble tea and amazing staff, so much love. by Arthur Milham (submission) Is Super Cue or another joint your fav place for milk tea? Tell us!!! Click on the About section to submit post Like us on FB @TheIdealSriracha In light of the passing of yet another major holiday, I'm prompted to reflect on the role and meaning of family. Most people close to me pretty much understand I'm not the most expressive person or the most keen on expressing my deeper emotions. When something's really wrong, I tend not to say anything, which, for the most part, doesn't really end well. I'm working on learning to confront my problems and not allowing them to pass in silence, but my own problems have not been the only thing that has been roaring around me lately. Let's just say that Asian families often mean complicated relations, most if which contain major back-stabbing/hate. My family hasn't reached anything too extreme (which unfortunately doesn't apply to all of the Ideal Sriracha authors) but that is not to say that we are without our problems.
Here's something about Lunar New Year that makes it so special: In China (and for most chinese people around the world) Lunar New Year is a chance to go home, eat dinner with the entire family and spend some quality time with loved ones. Yup, that means loud, crazy Asian people all gathered at one place to celebrate. It's actually a really heartwarming sight to see, but like I've said, complicated family relations (and for some reason, especially those in Asian-American homes--from my observations, at least) keep this from actually happening. This past season has been particularly awkward for my family. I don't know if it has always been this way and I was just too young/blind to see or whether my family has just stopped trying to get along at all, but let's just say that Christmas dinner was a mix of silence, silverware clanking on plates and small talk that really was more like polite words to fill void rather than actual discussion of meaning. And so yea, here we are again during Lunar New Year and I can't help but feel like a douche for not having better communication skills or working harder to make my family work(?). I don't really feel like that's my job but I guess I kind of screwed up and sometimes fear of further screwing things up stop you from trying to make things right. Sure, we avoided awko-taco situations this time, but I can't help but feel like I've failed, like I've done wrong, like I've let people down with what I haven't done and said. So with a heavy heart and clouded mind, I will say good bye to this Lunar New Year and hope to the heavens that maybe, despite the lack-luster start, the year of the horse won't be all so bad. How did your new year go? Hopefully better than mine, but hey, this is just the beginning right? I have a whole year to do amazing and wonderful things. Let's not waste it fearing or thinking of useless things. Leggo! Now, before we get started, I guess I should give some background on myself and my life. I am Asian-American living near Ocean Street. My Chinese mother is from Emeryville, Ca and my father from HK. By blood, I am a European, Indonesian, Chinese American. (As if this doesn't give enough to explain the title) For most of my childhood, I have identified more with my Chinese side. However, I have always felt have in and half out of the Chinese community...and here's why.
As many San Franciscans know, there is a large Chinese population within our 49 square miles. Most of us are from Canton/Hong Kong. Likewise, Cantonese is more dominant here than Mandarin. You can here waiters shouting Canto in a dim sum house and endure a Chinese grandmother arguing on the Muni. The pre-recordings on Muni speak it. Kids speak it. Adults speak it. Every Cantonese person in this city speaks it...except for me. I'm one of the few first generation Cantonese-Americans who doesn't know how to carry a conversation in our language. Sure, I know how to order food, insult people when needed, and the difference between m goi and do jeh (both=thank you), but ask me about the weather and all you will get is a smile followed by my insecure voice in English. Ever since I walked into preschool, I have always been jealous of all my friends who can speak. I often wonder what it would be like if I did. Often, I feel left out because I can’t understand. Often a friend will start speaking in Canto to my other friends and while I miss the whole conversation even though I’m sitting with them. (The amount of jokes and gossip I haven’t understood could fill a book) And don’t get me started on the looks I get. “Oh…so you’re first generation, and your dad is from Hong Kong…and you don’t know how to speak Canto…(insert puzzled judgmental look)…well thats ok.” Yep. I’ve gotten that look from people my age to senior citizens. The look I get when I tell people I can speak Spanish is even better. (Been studying since 3rd grade) Canto has been a wall that blocks me from connecting to my Chinese side. I know it really shouldn’t but it does. There are moments where I feel like a Chn-Am expat in China, an outsider looking in at one own’s culture. Yet, getting back to my cultural confusion, there are moments where I feel like singing the Chinese national anthem at the top of my voice. For about 9 years of my life, I went to a rich, private K-8 school in Pac-Heights. While I did learn a lot at my school, I was the butt of many jokes. Like a lot of Asians, maybe not here in SF but in other cities, I endured being treated like a second class citizen. To many of my classmates, I was that Asian kid who was so Asian and for some reason didn’t act like “normal” American kids. The ironic part though…wait for it…is that it was mainly the hapa kids who made jokes about me. It always amazed me that someone could come up to me and say “You look and act so Asian…whats wrong with you?” with a face that looked more Chinese than mine. After pondering this daily occurrence, I realized that they felt ashamed to be Asian and wanted me to share their shame. While being made fun of for years was not fun, it did cultivate a lot of pride in my heritage that helped with my lack of Canto skills. This pride has stayed with me to this day. It also made me realized that while having pride in my culture was important, it was also important to have pride in my individual self. As I write this article, I’m blasting the latest K-pop songs along with a few Narcrocorridos (Mexican ballads about drugs) into my ears. I’m drinking Genmai Cha while eating ice cream with chopsticks, though very quickly before it melts. I’m texting my Latino friends in Spanish while updating my status of Facebook. I realize I’m not the most typical Chinese-American, but that’s ok. I’m happy with the way things are. San Francisco is a Meca for diversity. I like to think culturally confused kids like me at to it. by James Wen |
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