Reactions to APA group presentations

Our Asian American Culture class did group presentations on the main Asian American culture groups present in society today: Filipino Americans, Chinese Americans, Cambodian Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Japanese Americans, and Korean Americans. Even though I had a general idea about some of aspects about the common Asian American culture groups like Chinese Americans and Vietnamese Americans, it was interesting to learn about the other Asian American groups and to also build upon information that I already knew about Asian American culture groups. For Vietnamese Americans, I already knew about the common dishes, history, and holidays that Vietnamese Americans typically celebrate, but I did not know that there are numerous religions that exist in Vietnam. The Vietnamese practice religions such as Buddhism, Daoism, and Catholicism. This is very interesting because I am part Vietnamese, and the only religion that I have ever associated with was Buddhism. I thought that Daoism was limited to China and that Catholicism was more of a religious practice that was found in Europe. However, I learned that religions can cross borders and be practiced by a variety of people.

As a Chinese American, I am very familiar with the background and aspects of Chinese American culture. However, even though I am very knowledgeable about Chinese American culture, I do not know much about the small details and facts. One fact that really surprised me in a Chinese American group presentation was that the majority of the Chinese food that I have eaten for my whole entire life is not truly Chinese. Rather, it is Chinese food that was Americanized. I learned that any food that is fried is not Chinese because the Chinese use fresh food, like live fish and live chicken. That means that Panda Express is not giving anyone a taste of China with its popular menu of fried rice, fried noodles, and orange chicken. None of those foods are Chinese at all. They have American aspects combined with them. Fortune cookies are not Chinese either. Americans created the fortune cookie. I found this really shocking because for so long I believed that the Chinese cuisine that my parents made for me to eat was Chinese, not Chinese American.

The Cambodian American group's presentation intensified me the most. I knew nothing about Cambodian Americans until the group gave their presentation. I was struck by the fact that a large genocide took place in which many Cambodians were held prisoner in somber-looking cells and were executed in massive numbers. It never occurred to me that such a large genocide would have such drastic effects on Cambodians. The YouTube video that the group showed depicted enough graphics to prove that the genocide was an important part of Cambodian history that would never be forgotten. I have heard of the genocide of Jews and people of Darfur, but this signigicant Cambodian genocide is not known by many. However, it is important to realize that this genocide occurred and affected so many Cambodians that we learn and understand history.

These series of Asian American culture group presentations gave me new insights into each of the common Asian American groups. I realize that each culture is similar and different in many ways, but each culture has its own unique place in Asian American culture. Since there are so many Asian American cultures that set them apart from each other, I say that there is not just one Asian American culture but many. However, they are all put under one label for us to recognize that they all represent Asian America.