Kim Leung's Blog

2011: The Year of Gratitude

kimleung — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 20:24:15 +0000

illustration by Roberta Baird

Oh, hi! I am back. The new year has prompted me to return to this blog. February third was the first day of the Chinese new year. And I want to publicly roll out my new year resolutions here, in hopes that the more people I share my resolutions with, the more people I have to hold me accountable.

2010 was a rough year for me and some of my loved ones. And the primary reason that I have gotten through the past year in the manner that I have–still whole and healthy–is because of the love generously given to me from my friends. As I enter this new year, I feel so lucky and grateful.

A new year is no free pass–we are not magically handed a clean slate. In many ways, I still carry weight from the last year, and with it the responsibility to see things through and pick up the pieces. This 2011, I am not necessarily expecting a better year, but I am confident that whatever challenges the year of the rabbit may bring, I will be able to get through it unscathed because I have my family and friends’ strength, love and support. I have many reasons to be grateful, and I wish that my everyday life and lifestyle reflects my gratitude. With that in mind, this 2011 I resolve to:

Welcome each morning with a sun salutation and a cup of water.
Appreciate what my body is capable of by giving it want it wants—no more, no less. Give it work when it wants to work, rest when it wants to rest. The only necessary ‘diet cleanse’ there is will be the only one that I will put my body through, and that is, cleansing myself from negative body thoughts and talk.
Express my appreciation to the Chinese teachers and mentors that I have had over the years– those who have taken the time to teach and encourage me to study Mandarin–through practicing with much greater diligence.
Make time each day to journal–to write for myself. I seem to make this resolution every year–some years I am better at this than others. These last couple years my journal entries have been sparse. It can be hard to carve out the space and time to do this type of writing. So, I have started a new approach. In addition to keeping my regular journal notebook, I journal on small index cards. These cards I carry on me throughout the day so that I can easily jot down any quick thoughts. At the end of the day, I date the cards, and I keep them in a small tin box where they are organized chronologically. So far, this has worked well for me, and has gotten me to write for myself much more regularly–even if it is a just a few sentences a day.
Single-handedly save the postal service. The postal service has been in dire financial troubles; and has recently announced that it plans to consolidate or close 2,000 branches. With email, sending physical cards, invites and letters have turned into a rarity. I share in LA Times columnist Meghan Daum’s sentiment (“In Praise of Snail Mail”) that nothing can wholly replace mail in its original and physical form. So, I will take it upon myself to send the post office an influx of letters, care packages and greeting cards created and written by yours truly. And for the sake of the postal service, I will self-sacrificiously encourage my friends to send me more snail mail.
Less buying new things. More homemade gifts.
Partner with my sister Madeline in her sincere and noble efforts to preserve our family’s recipes and history through her blog Restaurant Baby. The more I am confronted with the transient nature of things, I find myself grappling with the question of how I can pay my respects to the people and the things that have come before me. Restaurant Baby is Madeline’s and my way of paying homage to our roots as daughters of restaurant owners. More and more, I see the value of preservation as a means of knowledge sharing, and a necessary part of true progression; so is creation. Restaurant Baby, intended to be a constant work in progress, is home to my family and childhood recipes, as well as new recipes that Madeline and I can claim as our own.
Be a good friend by helping my friends stay on top of their new year resolutions and life goals.

Well, there you have it- my short list. I will close this with a humble thank you to my loving friends who have stuck with me through thick and thin. Wishing all a brilliant year of the rabbit!

Muslims Serve Detroit on the 9th Anniversary of 9/11

kimleung — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 18:29:31 +0000

(cross-posted)

Sarah Youssef doing weed work at Piquette Square.

On Saturday morning, the ninth anniversary of September 11^th, Muslim Americans from across Metro Detroit gathered at Clark Park in Detroit. They were there to participate in “A-Ok Detroit: A weekend of restoration and remembrance”, a day of service in commemoration of 9/11 that was organized by state and local non-profit groups.

“Eid Mubarak. [Blessed Holiday.]” They greeted one another with hugs and kisses on the cheek. The night before, they had just celebrated the end of Ramadan and the beginning of Eid with friends and family, officially breaking 30 days of dawn-to-sunset fasting.

This year, Eid overlapped with the anniversary of 9/11, making the day particularly significant for Muslim Americans.

Rev. Barbara Clevenger and Iman Muhammad Mardini lead the opening prayer at "A-Ok Detroit" on the 9th anniversary of 9/11.

Representative Rashida Tlaib, the first Muslim woman to win a seat in the Michigan legislature, said that both 9/11 and Eid emphasize personal reflection, and that doing community service is a great way to pay respects to both occasions.

But this year, Eid and September 11th also come at a time when the American media is heavily focusing on “Islamophobia”, and when discussions of the proposed Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero have sparked hateful rhetoric. According to a recent poll conducted by the Washington Post, approximately half of all Americans hold an unfavorable view toward Islam.

This surprises Christina Rountree, a Muslim American who joined a crew of volunteers who helped clean up Piquette Square, Michigan’s largest shelter for homeless veterans. “I’m frustrated,” Rountree said referring to the recent negative publicity Muslims have received, “but I’m not angry.”

She says anger can get tiring. As a young African American woman, and flight attendant, Rountree has been a target of discrimination not only for her religious faith.

Rountree says her personal philosophy is to “just do it”—to spend less time talking about the problems, and more time doing something about it. It’s this type of attitude that brought her out on a Saturday morning to help clean-up her city.

Volunteering beside Rountree was Imam Aly Lela of the Islamic Association of Greater Detroit (IAGD). “[Volunteering] is how [members of IAGD] chose to celebrate Eid, and commemorate September 11^th,” he said, “9/11 happened to all of us as Americans. Instead of using this day to point fingers, we need to be more united.”

Sarah Youssef, a Muslim American who also came out to participate in “A-ok Detroit”, recalls where she was on 9/11. “When the plane hit the first tower, I was in high school in a classroom without a television.” While walking to her next class, still unaware of the terrorist attack, Youssef saw her friend get shoved against a locker and called “a fucking terrorist” by another student. She didn’t understand why until she arrived to her next class, where her teacher had the television on.

On that day, Youssef, along with many of her Muslim classmates, were pulled out of school early by their parents because of concerns for their safety. This confused and angered her. “I felt like I had nothing to hide. I did nothing wrong. I am an American. I was born and raised here. This is my country too.”

Since 9/11, Muslim Americans have experienced increased discrimination and profiling by the media and the public. But for so many Muslim Americans, life simply goes on.

Rountree makes a conscientious effort not to live her life on the defensive. Following 9/11, a friend asked her whether she is going to lead her life just talking about what Islam isn’t, or whether she is going to lead her life living out what Islam is. “That question really impacted me,” Rountree said.

Muslim American Zenobia Lee also volunteered at “A-ok Detroit”. When asked why, she said, “Because I care about my community.” It’s not because it’s Ramadan or the anniversary of September 11^th, Lee says, service work is an essential part of her Islamic faith and lifestyle.

Muslim Americans who did community service on the 9^th anniversary of 9/11 didn’t do so to make a political statement. It was not a publicity stunt to get positive attention at a time when the media is so focused on the issue of Islamophobia. They participated in acts of service because that’s what they did before 9/11, and that’s what they will continue to do as concerned citizens.

After a day of weeding outside Piquette Square, Imam Lela will return home to celebrate Eid with his wife and three daughters. He will return to Clark Park early the next morning for another day of community service.

Iman Aly Lela of the Islamic Association of Greater Detroit stands in front of flags half raised at Piquette Square.

Sarah Youssef and Christina Rountree

Taking a break from weeding.

China’s One Child Policy Turns Thirty

kimleung — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:37:37 +0000

Don't be deceived. They are as cute as they are bratty.

This month marks the 30th anniversary of China’s one child policy. I have a distinct memory of learning about the one child policy in grade school during social studies class because that particular lesson prompted my elementary school crush to say one of the sweetest things a boy had ever said to me…

After class, the then-love-of-my-life approached me and said, “So, what this means is, if your parents stayed in China, you would have never been born?” I’m the fourth child in my family, so I told him “No, I guess not”. “Gosh,” he said, “Well, I’m glad that they came here then.”

I don’t know what followed afterward. Those were the days that when I liked a boy, I picked on him. So, I might have told him to get lost. Oops.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand- the one child policy. At age 30, the policy is no novelty. Its not making the news headlines–but it continues to have a big impact on China’s social and economic landscape.

Advertising for the one child policy, 1980s

The one child policy may be hard to conceptualize for Americans, who may read it as a violation of freedom and choice, while proponents argue that it is a necessary measure to curb China’s giant population, which is commonly cited by the Chinese as a source of many of the country’s social and economic ailments.

Interested in learning more? Check out the following:

Marketplace has compiled interviews and profiles of those directly impacted by the policy. Hear different perspectives, from the parent who has always longed for a bigger family, the only child who faces the burden of being the sole caretaker for her parents , to a point of view from the law enforcement side.

The Economist reports that there is rising opposition within the country against the one-child policy. Some advocate a nationwide two-child policy. In some rural areas, and recently in Shanghai, couples are allowed to have a second child without penalty. And married couples who are themselves the only child in their family are allowed to have two children.

“One child norm breading brats, warn experts“. This headline from China Daily explains it all. No new news. It has long been a concern that the one child policy would lead to the spoiling rotten of millions of children.

China Beat and Marketplace reports less children, less labor. Labor shortages are popping up in China, a country long known for having a limitless supply of labor. This is exected to have a lasting impact on the world economy.

The one child policy has led some couples to abort their female fetuses, and in much rarer cases commit infanticide. This has led to the creation of a wide gender gap, a high ratio of boys to girls, making it much more difficult for young Chinese hetero men to find a partner. This is also complicated by what the Shanghaiist calls a trend of dating foreign men among Chinese women.

On Trader Joe’s: Love and Secrecy

kimleung — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 21:28:54 +0000

For the people out there with strong affection for Trader Joe’s (like me), or plain old curiosity, Fortune magazine has an in depth profile on the company, looking at how it became so successful, and–particularly interesting–how tight-lipped the company is about its practices.

The company has never participated in a major story about its business operations. Its CEO, Dan Brynes, declined repeated requests to be interviewed by Fortune. And all of Trader Joe’s suppliers are under agreement that they “shall not publicize its business relationship with TJ’s in any manner”. Fortune speculates on why the company maintains such secrecy:

…Trader Joe’s business tactics are often very much at odds with its image as the funky shop around the corner that sources its wares from local farms and food artisans. Sometimes it does, but big, well-known companies also make many of Trader Joe’s products. Those Trader Joe’s pita chips? Made by Stacy’s, a division of PepsiCo’s (PEP, Fortune 500) Frito-Lay. On the East Coast much of its yogurt is supplied by Danone’s Stonyfield Farm. And finicky foodies probably don’t like to think about how Trader Joe’s scale enables the chain to sell a pound of organic lemons for $2.

Snapshots from Confucius Temple, Shanghai

kimleung — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:50:11 +0000

Wen Miao, the Confucian temple in Shanghai, is a quiet get away within a city that never stops. When my dad came to visit me, I made a point to take him here because crowds make him nervous, and Wen Miao is one of the few destinations in Shanghai where it is possible to find yourself alone. Also, a secular temple, I thought it appropriate for my dad who calls religious worship plain superstition. Here are a few photos I want to share with you.

Every Sunday morning a bustling used book market takes place in the courtyard

Worshipers light incense.

Wen Miao is a destination for many students, who come to pay their respects to the great scholar.

For two yuan, you can write a prayer to Confucius and place it on a prayer tree.

Wind catches the prayers on trees.

Dear Confucius... Please help me pass my exam.

Although many of the buildings have been reconstructed, Wen Miao still offers a good example of historic Confucian architecture. The third path of the temple, the back, is dominated by natural scenery.

Three story pagoda, originally built in 1730.

A lion guards the back gate.

Snapshots from Xi’ an

kimleung — Fri, 14 May 2010 00:31:56 +0000

I had a week off for Qing Ming festival, and spent it in Xi’ an, otherwise known as the home of the Terra-cotta warriors. Because I can have anti-social tendencies, I did not go with anyone that I know. The intention being that I could use some quiet alone time to do some writing and soul searching. Instead, on the train, I just so luckily happened to bunk with three very rowdy girls who liked to talk about boys and shopping. And lets be real, I am so not above talking about boys and shopping. So much for the writing and soul searching. I spent the week exploring Xi’ an, and getting to know three very dynamic individuals. Here are some photos from the trip. Hope you enjoy!

Creepy or artistic? Originally created by local artists for the Beijing olymics, they are now housed at the Terra-cotta Museum. The project was financed by Johnson & Johnson, who is also a patron of the museum.

Hua Qing Springs, famous for being the bathing spot of Yang Guifei, one of the four great beauties of ancient China, and the favorite concubine of Emperor Tang Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty.

Julie at Hua Qing Springs

Truthiness Alert: This diorama of pumpkins and potatoes were taken at the Yen' an Revolution Memorial Museum, and intended to show how China was a land of plenty even during the Cultural Revolution. Yen' an--a 5 hour bus ride from Xi' an--was the final

Anna at Mao's former residence in Yen'an

Tour guide at Yen'an. Sang a traditional Shaanxi song for us, and then proceeded to sing a Liu DeHua pop tune.

Billboard at Yen'an

Taken at Ba Xi'an Monastery

What the Stark Expo and China’s World Expo Have in Common

kimleung — Wed, 12 May 2010 04:35:42 +0000

Stark Expo

China's World Expo, opening ceremony

There is a scene in Iron Man 2 that only my friend (and fellow American) Leila and I seemed to chuckle at. “Pepper” Potts was scolding Tony Stark for wasting time and money on the Starks Expo, a year-long event showcasing Stark’s technological innovations—or as Pepper calls it, an extension of Iron Man’s ego. Watching the movie from here in Shanghai, the domain of the World Expo, the irony is hard to miss.

Here are some news and perspectives on the World Expo selected by yours truly:

Adam Minter, author of the blog Shanghai Scrap, describes the Expo as, “a sprawling 5 square kilometer metaphor for China’s soft power initiative and ambitions.” [Sinica]
For people unfamiliar with the Expo, a short Q+A about what it is, and why it’s taking place in Shanghai [Reuters]
The Expo in photos [The Big Picture]
NPR reporter accuses Shanghai World Expo mascot of being a plagiarized version of Gumby [China Hush
Shady financial dealings shadow the US Pavilion [Shanghai Scrap ]

Boy crisis? No job too big for the Hardy Boys, says Kristof

kimleung — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 17:20:57 +0000

(cross-posted)

There’s a crisis in boys’ education, and the Hardy boys can solve it, according to the New York Time’s Nicholas Kristof.

In a recent column, Kristof argues that it is so passé to fuss over girls’ lack of advancement in mathematics; instead, the new and most pressing gender gap issue in education is the boy crisis. In recent years, girls have pulled ahead of boys in reading in every state, according to a new report by the Center on Education Policy.

That’s right, when girls pull ahead of boys, it becomes a crisis. Never mind that both sexes are actually scoring higher in reading now than in previous decades, what matters is that when you pit the two sexes together in a zero-sum game, boys are falling behind girls. And that’s what this ‘boy crisis’ is about, according to a report by Education Sector, an independent think tank:

“The hysteria about boys is partly a matter of perspective. While most of society has finally embraced the idea of equality for women, the idea that women might actually surpass men in some areas (even as they remain behind in others) seems hard for many people to swallow. Thus, boys are routinely characterized as “falling behind” even as they improve in absolute terms.”

But education shouldn’t be seen as a zero-sum game. So, if there’s an idea about how boys can be better served by our education system, it deserves attention. But it’s a shame that propagators of the boy crisis myth only seem to come up with hokey proposals to reform the education system that are neither good for boys or girls.

Kristof makes the case that schools should teach more from literature that appeals to boys in the classroom, and apparently that would be books that fall under the category of “ghosts”, “boxers, wrestlers and ultimate fighters”, and “at least one explosion” because what are boys made of but dogs, snails and puppy dog tails.

As boyishly innocent as Kristof’s proposal may seem, organizing boys and girls’ reading material and curriculum by gender is a disservice to children of all sexes. Not to mention, it’s been done before. The same essentialist presumption about how boys and girls’ minds are wired differently had been used to justify policies that prohibited women from getting equal access to education.

Not all boys like guts and gore, not all girls like princesses and glitter, and not all children identify as boys or girls. To state the obvious, people’s preferences are not only shaped by their sex and gender, but also their experiences, class, race, etc.

So, though Kristof cites both his and his sons’ childhood affection for The Hardy Boys as support for his proposal to bring more “lowbrow, adventure” books into the classroom to entice boys to read, I have a hunch that the white-picket-fence Hardy brothers won’t be as warmly embraced by, say, a Hispanic or black boy from a low-income, single parent household—the demographic that is fairing among the worst in our education system; which is also to say that this isn’t just a boy crisis, but an issue of race and class.

The achievement gap between students of different races and classes are much larger than the gap between genders, anywhere to two to five times, depending on the grade. Working on closing the economic and racial gap would benefit minority boys in low-income households—the most disadvantaged group in our schools– much more than assigning them books that have “at least one explosion”.

I am not saying that our classroom reading list does not need reform. I was not assigned a single woman author in English class during my senior year of high school. And I’m going to make an educated guess that if you have gone through high school, you too can probably count all the woman authors you were assigned to read on one hand. So, it’s hard for me to empathize with the argument that we aren’t giving our boys enough guy-lit…

What’s that supposed to mean anyway–guy-lit? Kristof mentioned The Hardy Boys series. His colleague, David Brooks—another propagator of the boy crisis myth, and a proponent of sex segregated schools—mentions Hemingway, Camus, Tolstoy, Homer and Twain.

I read Homer, Camus, Hemingway and Twain in high school. So, if that’s what he’s calling guy-lit, then most of the stuff they make kids read in school fits that category anyway. We girls are forced to read this “guy-lit” stuff all the time. And although I think it’s a disservice to students of all genders that so few woman authors are assigned, Camus’s The Stranger and Twain’s The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn are among my favorite books. Meanwhile, Huck Finn was one of my male classmate’s least favorite books. Why am I bothering to mention something so unremarkable? Because there are people like Brooks and Kristof with the bizarre perspective that boys can only enjoy stuff written by dudes.

There’s a crisis in boys’ education alright, but it’s not what Kristof thinks it is. The problem starts when boys learn that it’s not okay to be beat by a girl. The problem is lowered expectations—the notion that boys don’t have the capacity and attention span to appreciate good literature if it’s authored by a woman, and doesn’t have “at least one explosion”.

In a world where gender is tightly policed, literature offers a way in which people can temporarily step out of their shoes, and learn about the experiences of others. If Kristof’s proposal of “nurturing boys with explosions” is actually taken seriously, it would be a grave disservice to our boys and our society.

Snapshots from Xi Tang

kimleung — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 17:27:28 +0000

I took a day trip to Xi Tang, a water town south of the Yangtze River. Nine river converges in Xi Tang, dividing the town into eight sections.The town is connected by over one hundred bridges built during the Ming and Qing Dynasty. Xi Tang is a historic cultural preserve. According to UNESCO,”The road and water system, ally and lane layout, architectural style, building materials and techniques…all appear exactly the same as their original state…thus possessing great historical authenticity.”

Travel blogs and websites boasts of the town’s tranquility. Tranquil is how I would describe the architecture and landscape, but I went on a Saturday, and the place was bustling with tourists from different parts of China. (The shooting of Mission Impossible 3 in Xi Tang probably played a role in popularizing the town.) But no matter, I was not going in search for a peace of mind anyway.

There are many small eateries and food stands in Xi Tang. You can find all sorts of zong zis in different shapes and sizes. I can’t give you an assessment of the food there. I was hoping to eat and sample more, but after discovering a dead bug in one my lunch dishes, my appetite waned. I did try the local bai si fish, pork zong zi, and cabbage hearts. I also ate stinky tofu for the first time there, though you can find stinky tofu all over China. You know, I always thought it would be stinkier…

Anyway, I wanted to share some of my photos with you. I hope you enjoy!

Intense eaters at 老地方饭馆 "Old Place Restaurant"

Red lantern

White-wash walls, black tile rooftops--characteristics of the buildings in Xi TangFish pond at "Drunken Garden", the sign reads "Fish Happiness"

Drying laundry, an everyday sight both in Xi Tang and Shanghai

HuGuo Grain Buddhist Temple

Shanghai's city flower

World Expo Threatens Shanghai Pajama Culture

kimleung — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:45:31 +0000

Wouldn't want to be the cop that has to take this lady in. (Image from Steven Chow's Kung Fu Hustle)

Apparently wearing PJs out on the streets at any hour of the day has long been a part of Shanghai culture. That I haven’t at all noticed this trend during the two weeks that I have been here is probably a sign that the government’s anti-pajama campaign is working. In preparation for the World Expo, starting here in May, the government launched an anti-pajama campaign that parades the slogan “No pajamas in public–Be civilized for the Expo”.

According to BoingBoing.com:
The South China Morning Post reports that the city’s Qiba neighborhood “has mobilized neighborhood committee officials and volunteers since July to talk people out of the habit of wearing pajamas in public.”
The government is concerned that the sight of Shanghai residents–particularly the grown-ups and elderly-dressed in colorful, patterned PJs in broad daylight jeopardizes the desired image China wants to present during the Expo. As host nation, China understandably and predictably wants to come off to its visitors from across the globe as sophisticated, modern, powerful. But they’re approaching this matter in the wrong way. Don’t fault the pajama people. Here’s where it would have been politically beneficial to exercise some national hubris: Hell yeah, we wear pajamas here without giving jack about what time of the day it is. We do things differently here. And if you got a problem with it, you better learn to deal because we aren’t changing.

If China took that attitude toward Shanghai’s pajama culture, people would return to their home countries with stories about how unique, practical and smart Shanghai and Chinese culture is: It’s okay to wear your pajamas out in public there! They look so comfortable, and free. Not to mention, their pajamas are so cute. How come we don’t do stuff like that here? Shanghai’s pajama culture would be the envy of the people of the world. But by policing what people wear in public, China missed an opportunity to be a trendsetter.

Justin Guariglia, author of the photography book Planet Shanghai, laments the death of Shanghai’s pajama culture:
“…Shanghai has moved one step closer to looking like every other major city in the world. In the process, it has lost a really unique and fun slice of culture which put a badly needed face on China, which the West primarily knows only for cheap labor, cheap manufacturing, pollution, and, recently, being their creditor.”
Shanghai pajama culture is dead, but not lost. It has been documented by photographers both professional and amateur. See Flickr, National Geographic, and Guariglia’s photos from Planet Shanghai.