Day 2

Day 2 - Asian-American Experiences and Personal Stories

01/08/2025

Sienna Kissack

A photo of the class learning about Sui Sin Far

In the morning, Mr. Zhou gave us a presentation on an Asian-American writer named Sui Sin Far. We individually researched about her life and came back together to share one thing we found interesting. We brought up various points, including things about her and her parent's life, along with her accomplishments and her popular books. 

A photo of our seminar questions on
the board about the short stories

After discussing Sui Sin Far, we read two of her popular short stories, one being "Mrs. Spring Fragrance," which is about the lives and hardships Asian-Americans go through when living in America. We had to annotate, come up with questions, write them on the board, and have a seminar on what we read to really understand how Asian-Americans and their cultures have become Americanized. We discussed gender roles in Chinese culture, along with how identity is shaped when living in a different country from the one  someone is originally born into.

In the afternoon, we heard about our teacher, Mr. Zhou's personal life story by going through different photos and talking about the history behind them. They dated back to when Mr. Zhou was in college and then to the time he was starting out as a teacher in Arizona. His story helped us understand the difficulties that can exist being an Asian American. We asked him questions about his life, and he gave us insight about the struggles he faced, as well as his achievements and accomplishments over the years.

A photo of the short stories we read (left)
and a book on Thailand (right)

At the end of the day, we were told to read a specific part of a book we were given at the start of our J-Term called Thailand: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture. We learned about the Thai language, how the pronunciation works when speaking in Thai, what to say in Thailand, and what not to say. The book also taught us basic etiquette to know when visiting Thailand.

We read these pages then proceeded to learn more about the Thai language by watching videos on how to say basic words in Thai. These two experiences helped us expand our knowledge on Thailand culture, as well as understand how they live their lives differently from America.