Sandyi Oriental Market

 I went to my first oriental market, Sandyi Oriental Market on Pima and Columbus. I was very interested in all of their food, it all looked really good and fresh. However, I did feel out of place when I was there. I was the only White person there and I had no idea what any of the labels said or even what a lot of the food was. Despite that, I was very impressed by their selection and would like to go back. I even bought myself some mochi!

Dexter's Laboratory

Lee Lee is one of Dee Dee's friends

from the cartoon show Dexter's Laboratory.

I use to watch this show a lot when I was a kid 

but I never really understood that the way Lee 

Lee looks informed my ideas about what 

Asian people look like. In the first episode we see 

her, she can't even open her eyes. Her name 

and even how she talks in stereotypical. It 

made me realize just how little American's 

truly know about how Asian people look and how 

easily we buy into stereotypes.  

You got Buddha'd!

 My roommates and I have a small, golden Buddha (similar to this one on the right) that we play a game with. We hide him in different places around our house and whoever finds it first got "buddha'd" and then hides it for someone else to find. I think the main reason we used Buddha was because it was small and one of us already had it. But the more I think about it, the more interesting I find it that we use a religious icon for a game. We wouldn't do that with a statue of a saint or of Christ. I think it's because Buddhism feels so distant and it's easy for us to forget about the people who practice it. 

Chopsticks

These are my chopsticks that one of my friends brought back for me from China. He gave a lot of people chopsticks which I found interesting. They were most likely pretty cheap and yet, they are able to exemplify Chinese culture. I use them a lot but only when I eat Asian foods. It's interesting that I can use a fork or spoon for any kind of dish, but only chopsticks with Asian dishes. I think it gives me a certain sense of authenticity and almost skill that I can use the chopsticks.

Fullmetal Alchemist

Anime such as Fullmetal Achemist is
incredibly popular in America, and it seems a little odd that it is. Other trends from Japan haven't caught on as well but anime and manga are huge. It's so big here that people attend conventions for it and many join in cosplay (which is dressing as a character from a show or book, in this case, an anime). To have a really good cosplay costume can cause a lot of money, yet people still do it. I think that is has to do a lot with anime being cool and foreign. Liking it sets you apart, which may be one of the big reasons so many people are drawn to it.

Pei Wei Asian Diner

 Pei Wei is one of the restaurants many people think of when they think of Asian food. However, it is highly Americanized. Pei Wei also tries to pass itself off as having food from many different East Asian countries such as Vietnam, Korea, China and Japan. My sister and I tried to find out how many dishes Pei Wei actually has from each country. They have 1 from Vietnam, 2 from Korea, 2 from Japan and the rest are Chinese. It seem to me that Pei Wei is trying to sell Americans the idea of what Asian food and culture should be like without making any effort to be true to the food or culture.

Maneki-neko

 Below are two examples of Maneki-neko statues that belong to me and my roommate. These cats are often found in Asian restaurants (I've seen many myself) near the entry way. The golden cat's arm will actually wave if it is pushed. This makes a lot of sense because the name maneki-neko literally means "beckoning cat". These statures are associated with luck in the Asian culture and it is believed that having one will bring the owner good luck. Surprisingly, these cats have caught on big in America. They now come in many colors from white to black to red to gold. They have also been made into key-chains, air fresheners and even piggy banks (like the smaller white cat). To me, I find it very interesting that we take something that is meaningful and lucky and make it into more of a trinket and a symbol of Asian culture.