when i moved to Burlingame in 5th grade, i had a very difficult time making friends during the first few weeks of school. i had attended West Portal Lutheran (same school pastor went to!) for 4 years. going from this Christian private school full of chinese people to a dominantly white public school was some mean culture shock for me. the kids were so much badder and everybody wore brand name clothes...except for me.
i specifically remember nobody talking to me on the first day of school. i ate lunch by myself and felt so lonely that i couldn't wait for class to start again just so that i wouldn't be alone. but the most traumatic experience was working with my science group-Alex Myers, Jayce Basques, and Marcus Jaurning (?). oh my. these three white guys would purposely make feel me stupid by playing the repeat game and laughing at my "stupid questions." i never did a single thing to them. they disliked me from the beginning. i HATED them! i even remember one day where they made me so upset that when i got home, i couldn't do anything but cry shamelessly in front of my mom. but by God's grace, i met the two other korean guys in 5th grade, peter and bj. we became friends and started hanging out with the other asians...cause you know, we minorities have to stick together in this sick white world. =D just kidding.
my fondest memory of 5th grade was playing basketball during recess everyday. everybody would go straight to the courts and somebody would yell out, "International vs. America!" isn't that unbelievable? apparently, the "Amercians" didn't see us, asians, as people of this country. but i was too young and stupid to care about it at the time, and everybody would glady split up to their respective sides. we'd lose every game everyday. we tried so hard but those darn white people were so much better. BUT, there was this one day where kensuke was doing particularly well. i happened to be making most of my outside shots. peter was good as usual. and you know, we actually won that day! the Internationals rejoiced and the Americans were indignant. it was like an episode from Wonder Years!

right now, i'm taking an Asian American Psychology class and we're learning about acculturation. when i learn about different models and trends of Asian Americans in my lectures and readings, i'm filled with fascination as i fit more and more puzzle pieces together. it's crazy to reflect on my childhood and see all of the cultural conflict i went through. it's all finally starting to make sense! did you guys know that asians dislike making eye contact with other asians but tend to try harder with white people? (shaking head). freaking culture.

Thought of the Day: Seafood Pasta.
Song of the Day: 2pac-Toss It Up