Tuesday 1/10 - Yazzie

 Tuesday 1/10 


Tuesday, January 10th was a bit of a "rest day" for the Asian Culture Studies J term, since we stayed on campus all day. We started off the day today by participating in a seminar discussing Lion City chapters 6-10, which lead to multiple in-depth and abundant conversations regarding Eastern education vs North American education and the effects of educational standards on children and society. Students shared their personal experiences with education and compared statistics from different countries's schooling systems. Mr. Zhou also brought up the interesting topic of totalitarianism being more common in Asian countries and if that method could be beneficial in any form. For the rest of our morning, we watched the 2020 film Minari, an Asian-American immigrant story directed by Lee Isaac Chung. The film was a beautifully touching and emotional film telling the story of a Korean family of 5 trying to make it in the farmlands of Arkansas, and is loosely based on the life story of the director. Overall, we learned a lot from both the seminar and the film. 





After lunch, Mr. Zhou shared his story coming from China to America and shared a bit of his father-in-law's immigration story and the hardships that he endured coming to the United States. It was really interesting to hear a more personal account of the Asian-American experience and how that transition is different for every individual. Mr. Zhou highlighted how it's important to pay attention to the stories of all (Asian) immigrants, refugees, and even students seeking education in the United States and give every one of them a voice. We also heard from a guest speaker, Mr. Han, about race and his experience as a biracial Asian-American. He also prepared an engaging and interactive activity that prompted discussions surrounding race and how we all have different experiences growing up in America. Overall, this stay-at-school day was super educational and interesting, and we're excited for the rest of this j-term!




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