Blogs

By Amanda Andrei     Adventures in Asian Art: An Afternoon at the Museum by Sue DiCicco (with Deborah Clearwaters and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco) follows three young children and their mother as they explore over fifty artworks and artifacts from San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum. Each page is a fabulous spread with a photograph of an …

Column By Lily Qi I would really love to see a woman succeeding Senator Barbara Mikulski. I admire Congresswoman Donna Edwards for many reasons—her passion, her intellect, and her strong principles. As a single mother, she overcame tremendous odds to become Maryland’s first black Congresswomen. As a woman, minority and immigrant, I find her story particularly inspiring. But I am …

By Barbara Stillwater This September, I had the good fortune to see Jackie Chan while visiting the set (actually, it was one of many sets, with filming also to take place in India and China’s Xinjiang region) of his upcoming action movie, Kung Fu Yoga, which is set to be released next year. As an American expat living in China, …

A few summers ago I found myself listening to a concert at the annual Okinawan festival in O’ahu, Hawai’i. I closed my eyes and began to sway to the sound of the strumming of the sanshin and to the melodic tilting of the woman singer’s voice. She sang in a way that enveloped me in love, yet pierced me with …

By Lisa Xia On the road, things tend to follow Murphy’s law. When everything is on the upswing and things couldn’t be smoother, nothing ever seems to go wrong. On the flip side, it seems that when everything and anything can go wrong—it does. Traveling on a shoestring means that when things break down, there is less disposable budget to …

By Tamara Treichel Many tattoos are carriers of tiny tales and conveyers of messages. The tales and messages can be expressed as images, phrases, or words. Tattoos can be easy to read – a person’s name enclosed in a heart obviously means the wearer has (or had) affection for a certain person, so one’s heart can literally be worn – …

By Tamara Treichel These past few months, I had a stint teaching an English SAT Class at the Chinese Community Center in Houston on Saturday mornings. I thought it would be a nice way to become more familiar with the Chinese community in Houston. As I was feverishly preparing myself for my first class on a Friday night, my husband …

Harajuku is a district in Tokyo, Japan. However, nowadays, it represents more than a name, it is a trend, a culture, and a concept. Japan has known for its offbeat trends, and Harajuku can be considered as the center of Fashion in Japan, particularly, the center of the young and innovational cultures. History The beginning of the Harajuku culture can …

By Jamie Lin Spring is in the air already. From office look to casual weekend styles, from clothes to accessories, this year the Asian fashion trends are as usual influenced greatly by western trends, we can see a lot of baggy loosed pants for both men’s wear and women’s wear, masculine dress style has also appeared in the Asian women’s …

By Tamara Treichel Upon posting on Facebook that I, the quintessential urbanite and downtown D.C. native, was headed for Alaska, two of my Facebook friends were quick to associate the trip with Alaska’s former governor. “In search of Sarah Palin?” one of my Facebook friends quipped. Nope. Instead, I was in search not only of the breathtaking, pristine nature of …

This month our mother/daughter blogging duo has decided to focus on holiday traditions—or sometimes the lack thereof—around this time of year. Jian: The holiday season always makes me more homesick. Christmas music playing on the radio or coming out of shops everywhere reminds me of large family gatherings on holidays, especially around the Chinese New Year, in China. With a …

This week’s blog post comes from Aozora Brockman, a sophomore at Northwestern University. Brockman is studying anthropology, creative writing, and Asian American studies.  She is especially interested in researching racial issues that impact the Asian American community and is currently involved in an independent research project on how Asian American masculinity is viewed by non-Asian female fans of K-Pop male idols. …

In this blog post, our blogger, Amanda, talks about the fusion of different cultures at her family’s Thanksgiving table. Read more stories from our writers in the print edition of the November 2013 issue! There are five types of carbs on my plate. Sure, it’s Thanksgiving, and you’re not supposed to think about calories from the last Thursday in November …

As a nod to this month’s theme of food, mother and daughter blogging team  Jian and Lisa are tackling cultural traditions around eating and drinking. Jian: Do you remember as a teenager, you’d never want to have Chinese food when we went out to eat? Whenever I asked you what kind of cuisine you’d like, you always gave me the …

By Amanda Andrei As summer transitions to fall, our diets also shift with the seasons. This is the season for savory crockpot stews, warm baked goods, and soon enough, holiday treats. But before summer completely ends, many people turn to canning, pickling, and fermentation to preserve their favorite summer produce for the cooler months ahead. Granted, those of us who …

This week’s blog post comes from Aozora Brockman, a sophomore at Northwestern University. Brockman is studying anthropology, creative writing, and Asian American studies.  She is especially interested in researching racial issues that impact the Asian American community and is currently involved in an independent research project on how Asian American masculinity is viewed by non-Asian female fans of K-Pop male idols. …

Jian Ping is the author of Mulberry Child: A Memoir of China, which has been developed into an award-winning documentary film. Ping was born and raised in China. Her daughter, Lisa Xia is originally from Changchun, China, but was raised largely between cultures for more than 20 years in the United States. Xia graduated from the University of Illinois and now …

By Amanda Andrei This blog post is a follow up to our article about gluten allergies which you can read here: http://www.asianfortunenews.com/2013/07/hidden-intolerance-and-allergies-gluten-sensitivity-in-the-asian-pacific-american-community/ Lately when walking through grocery aisles, I’ve noticed that more and more packaging highlights the ingredients a product doesn’t have (gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, rice-free). Reacting to the health concerns of their consumers, producers are giving them more choices—ones without …

Jian Ping is the author of Mulberry Child: A Memoir of China, which has been developed into an award-winning documentary film. Ping was born and raised in China. Her daughter, Lisa Xia is originally from Changchun, China, but was raised largely between cultures for more than 20 years in the United States. Xia graduated from the University of Illinois and now …

This week’s blog post comes from Aozora Brockman, a sophomore at Northwestern University. Brockman is studying anthropology, creative writing, and Asian American studies.  She is especially interested in researching racial issues that impact the Asian American community and is currently involved in an independent research project on how Asian American masculinity is viewed by non-Asian female fans of K-Pop male idols. …

This edition of Youth Voices is written by Helen Zhao, a graduate of University of California, and now managing editor at Daniel Magazine. She writes about growing up as a Chinese American and coming to terms with her race and identity.  By Helen Zhao On Halloween night at the Hammer Museum, the first ever China Onscreen Film Biennial presented the …

Youth Voices is a blog written by Asian American youth around the country. Kara Chyung is a high school sophomore in eastern Pennsylvania. A second-generation Korean-American, she is fortunate enough to experience the advantages of two different cultures. She is a passionate student, an avid tennis player, a clarinetist, a student council officer, a member of her Scholastic Scrimmage team, and a vocalist …

Announcing our new blog: “Flavors of Asia” by one of Asian Fortune’s own – Amanda Andrei. Amanda became interested in the historical, cultural, and symbolic meanings of food after conducting anthropological fieldwork in southeast Asia and writing her thesis on the perceived lack of Filipino restaurants in the DC area. The Asian continent spans a diverse geographies and climates, not to mention The …

Jian Ping is the author of Mulberry Child: A Memoir of China, which has been developed into an award-winning documentary film. Ping was born and raised in China.  Her daughter, Lisa Xia is originally from Changchun, China, but was raised largely between cultures for more than 20 years in the United States. Xia graduated from the University of Illinois and …