Book 1 Post 1
After hearing the brief synopsis of each book in class, I knew I was going to choose American Like Me: Reflection on Life Between Cultures by America Ferrera. I thought I would be only able to relate to the stories of Asian Americans, but I was wrong. There were a lot of similarities between immigrants regardless of their nationalities. Not only did they make sacrifices such as giving up promising careers in their home country, but they also had to confront the rampant racism. My parents also gave up careers in the tech industry when immigrating to the United States, and they faced racism quite occasionally, particularly when they attended church; people would make nasty comments and stare at them when they showed up. Eventually, my parents and many other members in the Asian community decided to rent a house to have their own church service. These stories only made me appreciate and respect them more.
I thought this book was a relatively easy read because the stories were short and varied from one another. I also enjoyed how I was able to learn a little bit about the many cultures included in this book. I thought Carmen Perez's story was particularly interesting. Her story highlights the importance of interacting with other cultures and its role in mitigating racism. Liza Koshy also talks about this during her time in Houston, Texas. People expected her to experience racism, but she only experienced kindness from the many cultures in her neighborhood. Also, I am quite jealous and impressed by Michelle Kwan. Jealous because she was able to explore a career that is often not supported by Asian parents, but I was amazed by her resilience and willingness to take risks, such as when she took the senior test without her coach knowing.
Hello David, I'm sorry about what your parent have gone through. From a first generation immigrant's perspective, I see the America today as one of the most inclusive places in the world, but it is true that minorities were treated a lot worse only a few decades ago. And there are still many things that can be improved. There are some parts in America that I still feel uncomfortable to travel to. I have had heard nasty comments when traveling to those places. But I feel like even within immigrants ourselves, there's a lot of internalized racism; some of us think we have gone through more hardship than the others, while some other thinks they are more deserving of the limited spots to become American. I've seen immigrants who don't even want to blend into the American society or embrace the idea of a "melting-pot". They are comfortable in their enclaves and that's it. To those people, I'm sure reading the stories from other immigrants would be even more inspiring.
ReplyDeleteThis book seems very personal to you in a way. It's interesting to hear about the message of the book, and seems like something that I would like to read further on down the road. I hope you enjoy the rest.
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