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Blog 12 Cars

There is a belief that all Asians mostly Filipinos drive a Honda Civic. This is a common stereotype that I fall under. People use the term, “rice out”  when they talk about modded cars. People tend to point out, “look at that ricer” when they see a lowered civic with a spoiler and tinted windows. When I first got my civic i was super excited. I told all my friends that I wanted to rice out my car and they all replied ,”of course you do.” Then I realized that was expensive. But it is cool but stereotypical going to a car show and seeing a bunch of riced out cars, mainly civics, subies, Lexus, Mazda. When with my friends I would sometimes would try to race random people and they would make fun of my car because it was stock and not riced out like everybody else’s. But I still love my car

-Nick Valencia

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BlogPost #16

You walk into a Chinese restaurant order you food and after enjoying it and full of your stomach, then comes the fortune cookie, the one you break in half and there come that little slip that give you that fortune you have been waiting for. The fortune cookie is one that can be offered in most Asian restaurants but the way it was originated has a lot of stories that no one really knows where it might have started as it skips across many religions, countries, leaders, cities and much more. But where the invention come into place is where some say a Japanese man by the last name of Hagiwara in 1914 in San Francisco or David Tsung in Los Angeles in his Hong Kong Noodle Company. But both of them fortune cookie have a simple ingredient in the way it is created. Using flour, sugar, water and eggs. So simple if you thought it had secret ingredients. But there is a trick in the way you see a bent cookie, in the moment that it is baked, it can be baked for a bit. And then take out quickly to be shaped in its form that most see it. It is just science when it is warm it is easy to bend and shaped before it turns hard and then it is too late. 

Getting a fortune cookie at a Chinese restaurant was so cool for me when I saw it. It thought that it was the Chinese tradition getting a fortune cookie after meals. But later I started hearing that it is not real Chinese desert. Then alter looking into it I found out that the invention is made in the US. so, every time I go into an Asian restaurant and after meals, I receive the check. With fortune cookie on top. I just pay the check and leave the cookies on the table. Cause that has ruined my childhood that I would love the fortune cookies. Remember Fortune cookies are not real Chinese desert!!

-Marco G.

Source:

https://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/fortunecookie.html

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Blog 11 cultural tattoos

There are many people with cultural tattoos. Some of them actually know and believe in what they get while others get it for the looks of it. I want a Filipino tattoo because I am proud to Filipino. This led me to look up cultural tattoos and by doing so i get a glimpse of my culture and this is defiently leading me to getting to know, practice and represent my culture proudly. The one i am considering getting is a sun turtle which represents origins and family. I never want to forget were I come from and do not want to let down my family.

-Nick Valencia

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Blog 10 Pop

Producing our power. It is our gratitude and remembrance of the Third World Liberation Front. The TWFL was a fight for ethnic studies here at SFSU. This was at a time were alot of minority groups were being oppressed and silenced. The students took action and advocated for the ethnic studies we have today. 

Pop was a way for all of the AAS classes to be heard. Asian Americans have a voice just like every other group and we deserve to be heard. Pop was a outlet to display injustices either against our community or even within the community. Each group had an underlying meaning embedded within their piece. Pop was a way to creatively express these problems and to connect the community as a whole. Because we have a large community, and if we came together like a family, as we should, there would be no problem we can’t face, there would be no one that could silence our voice, our voice together can be heard throughout generations. That is what the students of the TWLF accomplished. 50 years later we are adding to their legacy through Pop and that will continue as long as there are students in AAS, especially aas 218 with the great ate Irene :). 

Pop for me was a very unique experience because I have never done anything like that before. I got lucky with my group because of all the hard work we put in and as well as the fun times we had. Giving 110% into the performance was amazing and there is no other feeling like it. Believing in the dance and recognizing the meaning behind, we had to give it justice by making it one of a kind. Which I feel like we did. One thing we did that I really enjoyed was getting the whole class together in the end to be part of the dance. Being in front of everyone with the support of my classmates, no family, was incredible. It was truly amazing. 

-Nick Valencia

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Blog 9

Recently there has been a popular Asian American actor and martial arts expert that has been blowing up. His name is Stephen Oyoung. Most popularly known as Mr. Negative in the new Spider Man video game.

Stephen is Asian American who is making a name for him self. He’s been in countless video games like Spider Man and Destiny 2. He has also been in a number of films and tv shows NCIS and has appeared on the Dc show Legends of Tomorrow. What makes him stands out is his martial arts that all of his characters uses. 

I found his Instagram account and started to look at all the video games and films he has been in. I’ve played the Spider Man game and his work was incredible. Because it was him who was dressed up in the motion suit and did all of his moves and stunts. 

-Nick Valencia 

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Last Blog

Asian Americans and Rice

Rice is a major part of Asian culture and cuisine in the United States and in Asia. Growing up I would rarely have side dishes such as pasta or potatoes I would instead always eat rice. This is seen throughout Asian america families were the staple side dish was rice. You would have stuff like adobo and rice, season and rice, kare kare and rice. This didn’t stop their we would also have fried rice, sushi which has rice, and even eating steaks with rice. Rice could also be found at big parties and events in my family. Having a 18th birthday, your best believe we will get a huge tin of rice to go with the food were serving, Asian food or not their will be rice. Rice is just a big part of Asian American families and cultures. Yup can see this in many dishes that include rice with it or it is meant to be eaten with rice. Foods such as sushi and fried rice all contain rice in them. So with this in mind it is safe to say that in Asian American culture rice is very important to the people in it due to the amount of times one may eat it in their lifetime if they are apart of the culture

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Blog 13

Asian Americans and Basketball.

I see that Asian American youth culture gravitates towards basketball other than any other sport in America. You can see a lot of young people playing basketball at the gym, parks and even some teams. This sport is very popular and i have no idea why it is. Maybe just because it’s easier to play on your own our with a couple of people, or it's not as dangerous as football. Or maybe it’s because the sport is so mainstream that Asian American youths gravitate towards it. Well even if that’s the case basketball is a big sport in Asian American culture and you can also see Asian American players in the NBA such as Jeremy Lin, and Jordan Clarkson. These players are respectably good at their positions and always receive minutes in the game. Showing that Asian American culture has expanded and evolved itself to include basket ball in it. Overall the Asian American youth seen to be very attracted to this sport and it has become a part of Asian American culture.

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Blog 12

Asian Americans and Football.

Football is aa big part in American culture and is very popular in the United States. However with this popularity and how huge football is as a sport and organization we do not see a lot of Asian American athletes participate in it. In the NFL, and college football teams there are little to n Asian American athletes on them. Is this because of Asian American culture not being fond of the sport or is it something else. Besides the case to me football is my favorite sport in which I platted for a couple of years. I would not trade the experience of playing the game and being apart of the team under no circumstance, even though it did slightly cripple me for life. Asian American Culture seems to be more gravitated towards basketball other than football, and i do not know why. Maybe it’s Asian American parents that are scared for their child’s safety and football puts their child at risk while basketball is a less physical sport. However I would like to see more Asian American people participate and strive to be great at football because to me it’s the best sport created to this day.

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Blog #14 - Extra Credit

Volunteered at the Nihonmachi Little Friends 5k Run/walk. I had a good time, I wish I ran.

-Justice Devera

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Blog #15 POP! Cook On!

My POP performance was a skit. We based our skit off a cooking show. At first we had nothing planned. We improved a lot during class, we didn’t have props to show the class during our weekly meetings, and some of us, including me, didn’t remember our lines. We would meet up and get stuff done each time but as POP got closer our motivation got better. To be honest, when we performed out skit at POP it was our first time performing the whole skit together as a group with all the props. We had some last minute changes but in the end everything turned out well. Right before our skit, each member of the group was nervous. I ran back and forth in the back to calm my nerves, Kevin was jumping up and down, but right before we went on stage, the group huddled and at that moment, we were ready to perform. We produced our power via assimilation. Our concept related with assimilation because we are adapting cultural influence toward the food.

This POP experience helped me overcome my fear of stage fright. The other performances were educating, some were touching and emotional, and some were funny. POP had it all from a fashion show to music to food to short films and more.

Taking this class was the best decision, I found a family inside a classroom and that is something I’d never thought would happen. This class was home away from home.

#AAS218SophiaT

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Blog #14 Church

My church was the Korean Catholic Church of St. Jeong-Hae Elizabeth. My Catholic journey has always been at this church from being baptized as a baby to confirmed as a Catholic. Saturday’s focused on the kids. There would be Korean class, which I didn’t participate in because of soccer, then dinner and playtime outside, then mass. Mass was in English and all the songs were up to date. Sunday’s however were “for the older people,” mass was in Korean and the kids who couldn’t understand Korean, like me, would get bored because the dialect was so monotone. My church was involved in many events and held many events. All of the kids knew each other and there’d be groups. It was like high school but a church version. My friends and I were apart of janggu, a Korean instrument that is similar to the drums. It has an hourglass shape with two heads on the ends made from animal skin. The girls typically played the janggu and the boys played the Buk, a differently styled Korean drum. It has a round wooden body, covered on both ends with animal skin. We practiced before dinner on Saturdays and one day we performed in Downtown Sacramento at an event. We would also have Christmas shows where each class grade performed in front of the elders after mass.

The youth group is apart of a bigger group called NCKCYM which stands for Northern California Korean Catholic Youth Ministry. This group was organized to essentially bring Korean Catholic churches across the bay and valley together. Over the summers NCKCYM would throw together a camp. Every year features a different unique theme. There were 4-5 churches that took a part in it. It was a week long camp with no phones. There were two, a camp for the middle schoolers and a week after would be a camp for the high schoolers. We were put into groups that mixed all the churches so we could meet new people, this group was our family and we did everything together during the camp. We did a lot of skits, one night we had a horror night where the counselors scared us, another night we had a singing/dance party. And on the last night everyone stays up all night to write letters to each other. Everyone at camp had a brown bag with their picture and name on it and others would just drop the letter on it. NCKCYM brings many Catholic Korean-Americans together and becomes a unit.

I stopped going to church when I started my sophomore year of high school. But going to church was the best on Saturday’s growing up. It was a real community.

#AAS218SophiaT

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Blog #13 Chinatown

Right here in San Francisco, we have Chinatown. This Chinatown is one of seven in America. It is centered on Grant Ave and Stockton St. It is the oldest Chinatown in North America and the largest Chinese enclave outside Asia. The first Chinese immigrants consisted of two men and a woman who arrived to San Francisco on the American brig, Eagle in 1848. In 1853, the first Asian church in North America was built. It’s a Presbyterian church, Old St. Mary’s Church. Many tourists have Chinatown on their bucket list of places to go. It’s a street that gives a little taste of China to tourists. There are many outlets on this street and restaurants.

When I went to Chinatown for the first time, it was surprising to see that it was only a street long. I thought it was much bigger and more of a “town.” However, the experience was very cool. The entrance of Chinatown has many animal sculptures. There were the three monkeys “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.” There were lions and a bear too. There were many shops that sold Chinese items. I bought a little buddha and it’s now in my room to give off positive energy. I got kung pao chicken there and honestly, it was alright. I should’ve googled reviews on restaurants before hand because my friends and I got sucked into this little restaurant that ended up being very overpriced and lacked some taste. The chow mein there was really good though.

Visiting Chinatown gave me a little taste of Chinese culture and it made me appreciate it alot more. I want to visit China and further educate myself with its culture.

#AAS218SophiaT

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Blog #12 Yakult

Yakult is a probiotic drink created in Japan in 1935. Yakult USA Inc. is a subsidiary of Yakult Honsha Co. Yakult’s mission is to contribute toward the health and happiness of people around the world. Yakult is in a small bottle, but in there are around 8 billion live and active good bacteria. It helps improve digestive balance and overall wellness. The company’s founder, Dr. Minoru Shirota, believed that a healthy intestinal tract leads to a long life.

I remember when Yakult was starting to get big in America. My mom would take me to the Korean market and she would get me the Yakult. But it didn’t have “Yakult” on the bottle, it was in Korean and I pronounced it differently that ya-kult. I don’t remember what Korean pronunciation it was but I do remember that when Yakult was out and all over the TV commercials my Korean church friends and I kept saying “OMG the white version of our drink.” Then at school I would see my friends with the Yakult in their lunchboxes. I remember feeling cool because I already knew what it was but annoyed because it was “my” drink and I didn’t want my friends to like the Yakult version but to like the one with the Korean title on the bottle.

#AAS218SophiaT

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Blog #11 Avatar: The Last Airbender

Avatar the Last Airbender is set in an Asiatic-like world, borrowing from East Asian art and mythology. The show incorporates element bending with Chinese martial arts. The series presented itself in a style that combined anime with American cartoons. It relied on the imagery of East and South Asian, Inuit, and New World societies. The animation was mostly done by South Korean studios JM Animation, DR Movie, and MOI Animation. The show’s character designs were influenced by Chinese art and history, Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Yoga. The shows’ music was composed with a variety of instruments such as the guzheng, pipa, and duduk to match the Asian setting of the show. Many locations in the show are based on real locations in Asia. Avatar had many themes throughout, the themes represent the show’s message that it is more important to be yourself than to hew to the roles society expects of you. (According to Kirk Hamilton of Kotaku)

I always watched the shows on Disney channel or Nickelodeon with my siblings and Avatar: The Last Airbender was the first with Asiatic traits. If I see anything Asian on the TV, I feel proud to be Asian haha. Not that many shows back then included Asian American characters. This show is a perfect mix of anime and cartoon and emphasizes family, friends, community, and education.

#AAS218SophiaT

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Blog 10

During Thanksgiving break, there was an event in San Diego called, “MadeinPh.”  This event was basically an Asian american festival with mostly Filipinos. They had live performers, cultural food stands, and shops that were owned by Asian Americans. This event brought together everyone in the community, Asian or not. They even had cars for display. 

This event really brought the Filipino American community as a whole. Everyone was cheering and supporting each other, from the live performers, to chefs, and even shop owners. There is actually a really dope shop that had a stand, and I knew the owner by some close friends of mine. So I decided to show some support and bought a pretty awesome T-shirt. It felt good to help a fellow Filipino American who was passionate and hard working.

The whole event was really enjoyable. From good food to good music and even getting a new shirt. It was great to see every one in the community to get along and have fun together being that is being united is all about. Its about showing love and support for those around you. Especially when you don’t know them, because that is what a community does for you. 

-Nick Valencia

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Blog 9: Stereotypes

There are so many stereotypes for so many races. These stereotypes can either be far fetched or pretty accurate. We’ve all either been stereotyped or have stereotyped someone else. It is just what people do.

The stereotype that all Asians are good at math is false. While yes there are some that excel in math, there are others that struggle. One popular reference to this stereotype is in the show, “Family Guy” in the scene Peter Griffin is in a math class and the teacher says,”Okay class take out your calculators” and Peter brings out an Asian kid and tells him, “come on. Do math.” 

When I hear people joke about Asians being good at math I think of myself and how I disprove that stereotype. In high school my friend group would make jokes like this and at this time I was struggling in math. I would often answer “jokes on you i’m failing math” then they would end up calling me a dumbass. 

-Nick Valencia

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Blog #10 A White Wedding

My sister got married on April 8, 2017. Both her and her husband are in the US Navy and their wedding was unforgettable. My mom and her two closest friends marinated Korean BBQ and my uncles close friend barbequed it. We had a mix of home cooked Korean and American food that everyone enjoyed. The wedding was right next to the Yosemite. At the top of a hill, there was a lodge that roomed my family and my brother in law’s family. The view at the lodge consisted of mountains and greenery, it was beautiful. On the day of her wedding it was pouring and my sister was so stressed. Then it started to snow and they had a “white wedding.” After the ceremony, the sky cleared up and a rainbow came out. The whole day was like a movie. There were some American traditions that my sister changed. Both of my parents walked her down the aisle and my brother was the officiant. My grandma wore a traditional Korean dress, a Hanbok. People of many ethnicities came together. My brother in law is white, so seeing his side of the family enjoying and trying the Korean food was awesome.

My sister and her husband’s relationship is picture perfect to me. Her husband is very open minded and is now accustomed to the Korean culture. He has learned some phrases from my sister and whenever he would visit he would say a couple words in Korean to my parents or grandparents.

#AAS218SophiaT