Adventures in Multicultural Living: Oh! Oshogatsu! Missing Japanese New Year's Day - AnnArbor.com

The doorbell rings. The dog barks. I turn on the porch light, open the front door, and…

No one is there. Then I look down. A package!

Ooh, I was not expecting any more Christmas presents. I bend down to pick it up, and I hear the unmistakable sound of…

Rice.

A box of rice. A very big box of rice. Who would ship me a very big box of rice?

I stagger into the house, the sound of trickling and flowing rice filling my ears, and I put the very big box down on the kitchen table. I look at the label to see who in the world would FedEx me a very big box of rice and smile when I read, “Koda Farms.” (click on link for more)

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Wishing for an American New Year's Eve - AnnArbor.com

From IMDiversity.com Asian American Village Editor Frances Kai-Hwa Wang:

Oh the excitement of New Year’s Eve! The perfect little black dress, impossibly high heels, dazzling rhinestones, an invitation to THE New Year’s Eve party of the year, a handsome and suave “New Year’s Eve Date,” a fluted glass of champagne, cute foods, counting down with the crowd, getting magically kissed right at the stroke of midnight (the primary purpose of said “New Year’s Eve Date”), singing Auld Lang Syne with one’s dearest friends, starting on that new year’s resolution to lose ten pounds (tomorrow)…

Oh the glamour! The style! The fantasy! As the child of immigrants, with my nose pressed up against the glass, it all seemed so exquisitely “American” and romantic, “better” in a way that as a child I had somehow decided that cars with trunks, ten-speed bikes, store-bought clothes, Adidas running shoes, and the symphony must be “better” and “more American,” because they were things “real Americans” (read Caucasian Americans) took for granted but which my sensible immigrant family would never indulge. I thought we were so uncultured and uncouth. (click on link for more)

Wishing for an American New Year's Eve - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Is Christmas any less Christian if you put up a Bodhi Day tree? - AnnArbor.com

From IMDiversity.com Asian American Village editor Frances Kai-Hwa Wang:

One of my daughter’s Jewish friends from preschool once said that she liked coming to our house this time of year because we were the only other people who did not have a Christmas tree, either. Her mother described the conflict her child felt at school having to do Christmas-themed art projects such as decorating trees, which, regardless of what you call them, are still Christmas trees. Even a 5-year-old could see this.

It felt good to know that she found comfort in our home, although I had to confess that the real reason we did not have a Christmas tree at that time was that we used to always travel over the holidays. I was raised Catholic. We do celebrate Christmas. However, we did it reflexively.

So then I nearly scared my children to death with the pronouncement, “Now that we’re Buddhist, maybe we shouldn’t celebrate Christmas anymore.” (click on link for more)

Is Christmas any less Christian if you put up a Bodhi Day tree? - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Learning about Christmas and Santa through the claymation classics - AnnArbor.com

from IMDiversity.com Asian American Village Editor Frances Kai-Hwa Wang:

Asian American journalist Lisa Ling once said on The View that as a child she thought Santa liked Caucasian children better than Chinese children because he always left much better and bigger gifts, like stereos, for her Caucasian friends, whereas he only left small gifts, like batteries and toothbrushes, in her stocking.

When I heard that, it was as if I was hearing silver bells. I always got batteries and toothbrushes in my stocking, too. I had grown up thinking that gifts from Santa always had to be small in order to fit inside the stocking.

It was not until I was in my 30’s that I discovered that some people received gifts from Santa that not only spilled out of their stockings, but covered the floor and piled up as high as the Christmas tree. Some people did not even bother hanging up stockings by the chimney with care, as they knew their gifts would be bigger than that. Is that allowed? (click on link for more)

Learning about Christmas and Santa through the claymation classics - AnnArbor.com

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Learning about Christmas and Santa through the claymation classics - NAM EthnoBlog

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Emily Hsiao: a role model for my children, an inspiration for me - AnnArbor.com

IMDiversity.com Asian American Village editor Frances Kai-Hwa Wang writes about a cool APA young adult and the importance of APA role models for all of us:

My first memory of Emily Hsiao is from 11 years ago, when she and a bunch of her little 7-year-old girlfriends were sitting in a tree yelling “Kiss! Kiss!” at my daughter and Emily’s little brother, who, since they were both 3 years old at the time, would oblige, much to the giggles of the 7-year-old girls sitting in the tree.

As she grew older, I often asked Emily to babysit so my girls could develop a relationship with an older sister who could later lead the way for them and talk to them about teenage girl stuff should the need ever arise. I wanted to surround my children with positive role models, both famous (poor Tiger) and local, so I was always looking for cool Asian American and multiracial teenagers and young adults who could lead and inspire my children (and occasionally babysit too). However, I never thought that some of these kids might become role models for me, too. (click on link for more)

Emily Hsiao: a role model for my children, an inspiration for me - AnnArbor.com

Photo courtesy of Andrew Fang at www.photasa.com.

Updates: Asian American Jobs, Career Features

New positions added this week to the Asian American Village Jobs Center.

Also wanted to call attention to a feature reading, Some Asian-American MBAs Look for Work Overseas. Long job fair lines, bleak employment outlook have some new MBAs looking to kick-start their careers abroad -- and offers benefits especially for those who are fluently bilingual, or have wanted to do heritage travel.

Off-site Recommended Reading:
Dear USA Today: Asian-American Unemployment More Nuanced Than You Think
A thoughtful response that examines the unemployment picture on a diverse community, and stresses the complexity and precision that the topic deserves. The piece is a response to the USA Today article, Cultural factors help limit recession's impact.

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Wanting 'one right way' - resisting multiculturalism, diversity, tolerance - AnnArbor.com

from IMDiversity.com Asian American Village editor Frances Kai-Hwa Wang:

Years ago, a friend from Chicago was visiting right around dinnertime, when we decided to make noodles or pasta for dinner. I started boiling the water and rummaging around for some vegetables when he declared, “That’s not how you make pasta!”

I was surprised because my family is northern Chinese and so I have been eating and making noodles all my life. I was speechless when he pushed me aside in my own kitchen and instructed me on How To Make Noodles—by peeling and mincing the garlic just so and drizzling the noodles with olive oil. Years later, I learned that this recipe is called pasta aioli, and is certainly one way of making noodles, but in his mind, it was the only way to make noodles, and I was wrong for wanting to make them any other way. (He thought I was wrong for crushing the garlic with my grandmother’s cleaver, too.)

Soon thereafter, I was at an Italian couple’s home with a group of friends when dinnertime overtook us. Our hosts started making pasta with a simple marinara sauce to feed everybody. All the women gathered around the kitchen, ooohing and ahhhing and watching and learning until someone commented, “You’re such a good cook.” Cici with her long white hair and throaty accent was completely unimpressed, “I am not a good cook, I am just Italian.” (click on link for more)

Wanting 'one right way' - resisting multiculturalism, diversity, tolerance - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: The Sunday after Thanksgiving: The post-holiday debriefing - AnnArbor.com

From IMDiversity.com Asian American Village Editor Frances Kai-Hwa Wang:

The Sunday after Thanksgiving: The day we pack up, gratefully drive back to our own home in our own town with our own way of doing things, and are stuck in the car together for hours and have no choice but to talk to each other. It is a time to reflect on the (peculiar) people we met and the (wacky) things that happened, and it is a chance to talk to the kids about what is really important to us as a family. I call it the post-holiday debriefing (and I recommend this in my Multicultural Toolbox workshops as one strategy for combating racism and intolerance in the extended family).

Let me preface this by saying my children attend a school named Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary. They know about racism and they know about resistance. Three of the four children are strong and tough girls, so much so that Little Brother used to put his head down and cry, “I don’t have any Girl Power.” Add on that their mother is a writer on multicultural issues and a civil rights activist who speaks out on behalf of others. We are not easy people to have over for dinner. (click on link for more)

The Sunday after Thanksgiving: The post-holiday debriefing - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Diversity at Huron High, in everyday life, at U-M Hospital - AnnArbor.com

Some hard questions for ourselves from IMDiversity.com Asian American Village editor Frances Kai-Hwa Wang:

I am standing under the arch when the bell rings dismissal time at Huron High School, and I am swept up by a sea of young faces—Hispanic American, African American, Arab American, Asian American, Caucasian American, multiracial, more. What an incredible environment in which to grow up. I see young adults of every hue, every size, every background, every religion, every culture. I hear different accents, different languages, different slang. I knew Huron High was diverse, I have studied the school’s statistics on paper, but to stand in the middle of it and let it wash over me…

I am struck, however, by the thought: Where are all these children’s parents in my life? Why do I not see them every day as I walk through this same city? Why do I not swim in a similar sea of colors and cultures? How have we segregated or stratified our adult lives through work or socio-economics or class or neighborhoods or churches so that diversity can even be an afterthought or relegated to a once-a-year show-and-tell for MLK Day? Clearly the people are here. Where are they in my life? (click on link for more)

Diversity at Huron High, in everyday life, at U-M Hospital - AnnArbor.com

Adentures in Multicultural Living: Creating our own multicultural Thanksgiving traditions - AnnArbor.com

From IMDiversity.com Asian American Village editor Frances Kai-Hwa Wang:

My neighbor Lisa always celebrated two Thanksgivings while growing up in Ohio, a tradition she and her siblings continue every year. First, they have a traditional “American Thanksgiving” on Thanksgiving Day with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. Then, on Friday, they have “Lebanese Thanksgiving” with hummus, kibbe, fattoush, grape leaves, hashwe rice pilaf, and meat and spinach pies. That makes for a lot of cooking and a lot of food, but with five siblings and a ton of cousins, nobody misses a beat.

At Thanksgiving time, many families are caught wondering how to celebrate this quintessential American holiday — a holiday that is as much about the food as it is about family and giving thanks. Family is easy, everyone has family, as is the idea of giving thanks — especially for families that may have come to America because of war, oppression, poverty or lack of opportunity. However, celebrating a tradition that is not your own is more complicated than it looks. (click on link for more)

Creating our own multicultural Thanksgiving traditions - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Learning from the Nuances of Tea - AnnArbor.com

From IMDiversity.com Asian American Village editor Frances Kai-Hwa Wang:

My neighbor and I were having a quiet cup of jasmine tea in my kitchen when I noticed that she was burning her fingertips repeatedly trying to fish the floating tea leaves out of the boiling hot water in her cup. Without thinking, I gave her a spoon so she would not burn her fingers. Then I looked down at my cup and realized that I did not have a similar pile of tea leaves sitting on the side of my saucer, nor did I have any tea leaves floating on top, nor did I ever.

Then it occurred to me, “Oh, if you blow on the tea leaves while you are drinking, they will sink down to the bottom by themselves.” (click on link for more)

Learning from the Nuances of Tea - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Sharing Day and the Meaning of Autumn across Cultures - AnnArbor.com

From IMDiversity.com editor Frances Kai-Hwa Wang:

Every Friday is Little Brother’s “Sharing Day” (Show and Tell) at school. Sharing Day is very serious business in Kindergarten, and he spends the entire week thinking about what to bring. This week, he is supposed to bring something that reminds him of autumn. He asks his sisters, who give him all the regular ideas: a leaf, a pumpkin, his sister M dressed up like the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). However, because his turn is on Friday, they are pretty sure that other kids will have already brought in all those things, so he will have to be especially creative.

Because of the work that I do, our family does not always see the world the same way as the mainstream or “normal people.” There is often a multicultural twist. When Little Brother was supposed to bring a circle, he brought a package of Korean Nong Shim ramen noodles. When he was supposed to bring a square, he brought a package of Indian masala ramens. When he was supposed to bring a triangle, he brought musubi (Japanese rice balls made into triangle shapes).

So what does autumn mean to us? (click on link for more)

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Sharing Day and the Meaning of Autumn across Cultures - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Relishing Real World Halloween Costumes - AnnArbor.com

From IMDiversity.com Asian American Village editor Frances Kai-Hwa Wang:

After spending the weeks leading up to Halloween researching horrific racist and sexist costumes, and commiserating with other Asian American activists, it is a pleasure to attend the University of Michigan Halloween Concert and see that all is still well in the real world. Those online commercial costume websites may be glitzy and gross, but they are for the uninspired minority.

The children and I sit in the mezzanine of Hill Auditorium in front of about three or four rows of giant bumblebees. The closest one is a big stout bumblebee with a beard, long black arms folded across his yellow-striped chest, stern expression on his face, sparkly silver antennae dangling in the air in time with the music. (click on link for more)

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Relishing Real World Halloween Costumes - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living--Ode to Halloween Costumes, Plus Warning - AnnArbor.com

From IMDiversity.com Asian American Village editor Frances Kai-Hwa Wang:

As I child, observing the world as it was presented to me by the mainstream, I often decided to shut doors myself before anyone actually told me to. Growing up in the age of Farrah Fawcett, I knew that one had to be blond in order to be beautiful, by definition. My horseback riding friends and I knew from statistics that at ten years old we were already too tall to ever become jockeys. Common sense told me that I could never become a country-western singer, no matter how many pairs of cowboy boots I owned. Even school assignments like, “If you could live anywhere in time, where would it be?” were problematic because I knew that as a girl, and as a Chinese girl, I would not be able to just “drop in” anywhere in history.

However, once a year, I could be whatever I wanted to be, construct whatever image or story I wanted for myself, travel backwards and forwards in history and literature, creatively cross over any social barriers. It was also a chance to pretend to be pretty and show off how smart I could be.

One night a year—Halloween. (click on link for more)

Adventures in Multicultural Living--Ode to Halloween Costumes, Plus Warning - AnnArbor.com

Yul Kwon (!) Named Deputy Chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at FCC

October 21, 2009

FCC CHAIRMAN JULIUS GENACHOWSKI ANNOUNCES SENIOR STAFF IN INTERNATIONAL AND CONSUMER AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS BUREAUS

Washington, DC -- Today, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced the appointment of Mindel De La Torre as Chief of the International Bureau and Yul Kwon as Deputy Chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.

"The FCC has an important role to play in empowering and protecting consumers and ensuring that they have access to world-leading communications networks and technologies," said Chairman Genachowski. "These talented individuals have vast public and private sector experience in communications policy and I am delighted to have their expertise at the agency."

Chief, International Bureau, Mindel De La Torre.
Since 1998, Ms. De La Torre has been the president of the consulting firm Telecommunications Management Group, Inc. (TMG). Prior to joining TMG, Ms. De La Torre was the deputy chief of the Telecommunications Division at the International Bureau, which she joined in December 1994. Ms. De La Torre also worked at the Department of Commerce -- for over four years at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and for three years in the General Counsel's office. She has been a member of various U.S. delegations to International Telecommunication Union conferences, such as World Radiocommunication Conferences, World Telecommunication Development Conferences, and Plenipotentiary C onferences. Ms. De La Torre has a B.A. from Vanderbilt University and a J.D. from the University of Texas. Having lived overseas most of her life, she speaks fluent Portuguese, French, and Spanish, and is proficient in Italian.

Deputy Chief, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, Yul Kwon.
Mr. Kwon's diverse career spans across law, technology, business, and media. His government experience includes lecturing at the FBI Academy, drafting science and technology legislation as an aide to Senator Joseph Lieberman, and clerking for Judge Barrington D. Parker on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. In the business and technology sector, Mr. Kwon has held positions at McKinsey & Company, Google, and the Trium Group. He also practiced law as an attorney at Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis and at Venture Law Group. In 2006, Mr. Kwon became the first Asian American to win the CBS reality show, Survivor. His subsequent media activities include working as a special correspondent for CNN and as a co-host for the Discovery Channel. Mr. Kwon obtained his B.S. degree in Symbolic Systems from Stanford University and his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served on the editorial board of the Yale Law Journal.

--FCC--
News and other information about the FCC is available at www.fcc.gov

Adventures in Multicultural Living--Ganesha, Diwali, and Ravi Shankar too - AnnArbor.com

From IMDiversity.com Asian American Village Editor Frances Kai-Hwa Wang:

I was at the University of Michigan Art Museum (UMMA) a few weeks ago when a museum staff member perched up high on the fourth floor where she could monitor many levels of the museum barked out at a family on the second floor not to touch. I turn to see a South Asian family showing their two young daughters, about 3 and 5 years old, an 11th century Ganesha carved out of volcanic rock.

Chastened, they back away. Curious, I go take a closer look.

The face is almost completely worn away from centuries of people touching and anointing the deity's forehead with tikka powder and oil, but he is still unmistakably Ganesha, with his elephant's head and round belly... (click on link for more)

Ganesha, Diwali, and Ravi Shankar too - AnnArbor.com

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Adventures in Multicultural Living--MiTAI Taiwanese Music Festival Honors Concert - AnnArbor.com

This Saturday, a rare opportunity to hear contemporary Taiwanese compositions performed by some of Ann Arbor's most promising young musicians on piano and strings, solo and ensembles. One young musician was warned that although the notes might look easy on the page, to not underestimate the challenge of interpreting music from such a different tradition--and by the way the composer is coming to hear you play his work.

Every year, the Michigan Taiwanese American Association (MiTAI) Taiwanese Music Festival Honors Concert celebrates contemporary Taiwanese music by giving young musicians--who have to qualify through two rounds of competition over several months--the opportunity to learn and then perform contemporary Taiwanese compositions....

More information available on the MiTAI website: (click on link for more)

MiTAI Taiwanese Music Festival Honors Concert - AnnArbor.com

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Adventures in Multicultural Living--Ravi Shankar and Daughter Too - AnnArbor.com

An email from my girlfriend, Sujata: Diwali is coming, and Ravi Shankar and daughter Anoushka, too.

What else is there to say? Even nine-year-old Niu Niu knows she wants to go.

University Musical Society (UMS) has all the details, including additional performances in the community of Indian music and dance, classical and fusion. This Thursday, October 15, at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor... (click on link for more)

Ravi Shankar and Daughter Too - AnnArbor.com

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Adventures in Multicultural Living--Mooncakes and Yo-Yos - AnnArbor.com

From IMDiversity.com Asian American Village editor Frances Kai-Hwa Wang:

We were going to have an moonlit picnic at the park--teriyaki chicken musubi, steamed little dragon buns, a thermos of hot jasmine tea, and of course, plenty of mooncakes. Thirteen-year-old Hao Hao had already written up a grocery list (which suspiciously includes "Pocky--1,000,000 boxes"). We had four pink and green paper lanterns and candles from Vietnam, one for each of the kids. It was going to be a rare Saturday night with everyone together, just to sit and eat as a family and look at the beautiful full moon, the Harvest Moon, while composing a poem or two for the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival (basically, Chinese/Vietnamese/Korean Thanksgiving or Oktoberfest...but without the beer).

But then rain was forecast.... (click on link for more)

Adventures in Multicultural Living--Mooncakes and Yo-Yos - AnnArbor.com

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Adventures in Multicultural Living Launch at AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living, the column written by longtime IMDiversity.com Asian American Village editor, Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, has just celebrated its one-year anniversary, shifted to a weekly format, and moved to AnnArbor.com (formerly The Ann Arbor News). She will also be blogging twice a week about upcoming multicultural activities in the community. Although the details will be local, the vision is national and international, and will be of interest to IMDiversity.com readers. The column continues to run at the Japanese American Citizens League's pacificcitizen.org, Voices of Adoption at RainbowKids.com, and InCultureParent.com (pending). Thanks for your continued support, comments, and forwards to your friends and organizations.

Join me as I explore Ann Arbor through a cross-cultural lens - AnnArbor.com

When I first came to Ann Arbor from California for graduate school oh so many years ago, I felt out of place, conspicuous, like a foreigner, like I was not wanted and I did not belong. Without a feeling of safety and understanding, it was difficult for me to maintain my footing, and I planned to graduate and run away as soon as possible. But on my way out of town...

http://www.annarbor.com/passions-pursuits/adventures-in-multicultural-living-introduction-20/