Tag: Refugee
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Chapter 13: Salvation
I landed in Los Angeles International Airport in the summer of 1996 rockin my blue Adidas windbreaker outfit. I wore matching sandals and beanie and thought I looked like a dope Asian break dancer. After waiting on the curb for over an hour I realized that my Aunt wasn’t coming – she was stuck in traffic…
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3 Reasons Why God Doesn’t Need Pioneers in the U.S.A.
I love my America. But not in the xenophobic, nationalistic, make America great kinda way. I love it because Asian refugees like my parents are free to pursue hope. Mom and Dad risked their lives to escape a Southeast Asian country bombed to hell by war so that I could have opportunities. Through that journey…
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Money and Asians
We’ve come a long way from stashing all our valuables under the mattress or in a safe hidden somewhere in Mom and Dad’s bedroom. That’s how our folks and their folks before them did it for centuries. They keep all the gold, charms, cash and jewelry close by – and then gossiped about how much…
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Chapter 3: Fear
Fresno, California was the worst place you could be in the mid 90’s. Crime, drugs and gangs was rampant and part of your normal everyday occurrence. You can get robbed and stabbed by simply walking down the street with a new (or used) pair of Air-Jordan’s. Living on Fresno St. in a ghetto fabulous neighborhood…
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Chapter 2: Kung-Fu
Life was different in sunny Southern California (So Cal). Back in Massachusetts my brother and I would climb trees, explore the open woods in our backyard, and watch the bug-eyed raccoons dig through our trash from the kitchen window. So Cal Los Angeles area was an urban jungle with city as far as the eye…
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Chapter 1: Gangsta
This story begins in a very different part of the world – a place that is far from what we would consider to be normal. A world where you and I, no matter how Asian or culturally aware we think are will never fully be able to relate to. For our parents growing up in Southeast…
The Asian Rough Rider 