Learning To Be Asian

(My first attempt at sushi making.  These are spicy tuna rolls)

We entered the Korean Market. My boyfriend Jason and I.  There was a  sea of black hair.  Shouts and greetings all spoken in a language that is so foreign to me even though I probably heard it the very day I was born.  I started to get that feeling I get when walking around Chinatown or Japantown.

It's that sensibility of being a fake.  And please don't talk to me because you'll just look down at me disappointedly like you usually do when I have no idea what you are saying.  I usually feel silly for stressing out about situations such as these, but it's something I've struggled with growing up.  My cultural identity.

My family is an oddball.  Three of my siblings were adopted from other countries like I was, and we were raised in your typical All-American White household.  My youngest brother and my adoptive parents are Caucasian.  My oldest brother and I were from South Korea (Chungchongnam-do, Korea to be exact).  And my sister and middle brother were from the Philippines.  I remember having a few story books from Korea along with some traditional dolls, and a child sized hanbok (the South Korean word for a customary Korean dress.  Choson-ot is the North Korean term).  Other than that we never ate any asian food or learned any traditions.    

Imagine the culture shock I felt walking into that Korean Market!  Such strange unfamiliar foods in every isle.  Octopus chips, dried squid, boxes of adorable tiny sweets, and many, many, variations of noodles.  I was a little overwhelmed by it all that first time I shopped there about a half a year ago.  It was how I felt about Chinatown years before that.  

But when all the shock ebbs, curiosity and delight fills it's place and I just want to experience everything.  Even though I grew up on mac and cheese, I have always loved all things asian that I have come across throughout my life, (with the exception of dried squid, eww).  As an artist my drawing style has always been inspired by Asian art and anime.  I also have a weakness for the Sanrio store and Pocky.  

The more time I spend in California the more I feel like it's hard not to be influenced by the Asain culture thats so prevalent here.  But picking up a new favorite food (Japanese Curry!), watching a new anime (Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Kino's Journey are some new one's I've been into) or going to the Japantown Cherry Blossom Festival just isn't going to cut it anymore.  It's so much more than that.  There's history and fashion and a way of life.  I want to learn about many asian countries and all they have to offer.

So welcome to my blog of self discovery, all things asian, and yes even giant robots.