I met Sophiemarie, a middle-aged, Chinese-American woman, at CALso. Somehow we got to talking and I found out that she lives in Chinatown. She mentioned how she feels a bit like an outsider there, everyone seems to think she's different because of her choices. I exchanged contact information because I told her I was interested in studying Chinatown at some point during my time at Berkeley. She also seemed like a very nice person, someone to meet up with to have tea, or something.
As I decided to think about Chinatown for this project, I emailed her asking if she'd have time to meet.
The next day, I ran into her on campus. I hadn't seen her since we had run into each other on the first day of school.
We planned a day to meet. She gave me three women's names who she said I should look up before we talked: Amy Tan, Lily Wong Fillmore, and the No Name Woman (Maxine Hong). She said all the (three) Chinese women talking about Chinatown are well-known across the country, and told me I would be the fourth woman one day. I laughed. When we got ready to say goodbye, she told me, "We're going to be serious about this." And I lost my smile and nodded, "Of course -- yes!"
The next day, we ran into each other again. She gave me a little branch with unknown-to-me fruit clinging to its stems. When I asked her what they were, she said, "Oh, just fruit." When I asked what they were called, she told me the name in Chinese, but I forgot it.
I then asked Kay ann Russell in class what the fruit was, and they explained it to me. "Eye of the dragon," a cousin of the lychee.
Due to workload, Sophiemarie was unable to come to my house for lunch on our intended meeting day. She said she was very grateful that I had invited her over, but she sounded very stressed on the phone.
I felt like I had nothing to work with now, as I had planned on "having material" after talking to her, and I was a bit lost. But then, I ended up writing something down -- something of a poem -- and I decided I liked it. It was Sophiemarie's inability to meet that day, that helped along this process.
We have agreed to get in touch once finals are over, but for this project I feel confident that I can absorb all that she gave me in our interactions to make something happen, along with some other points of inspiration.
*A note on talking to Sophiemarie on the phone:
Talking to Sophiemarie has been interesting and great. When on the phone, it seems as though I can't hear/understand half of what she's saying, yet I somehow feel that I can know what she's getting at. There have been a couple of misunderstandings, which is always an interesting thing to experience. She is so genuine and I can tell she really wants to help, and I think she reminds me of my family.
As I decided to think about Chinatown for this project, I emailed her asking if she'd have time to meet.
The next day, I ran into her on campus. I hadn't seen her since we had run into each other on the first day of school.
We planned a day to meet. She gave me three women's names who she said I should look up before we talked: Amy Tan, Lily Wong Fillmore, and the No Name Woman (Maxine Hong). She said all the (three) Chinese women talking about Chinatown are well-known across the country, and told me I would be the fourth woman one day. I laughed. When we got ready to say goodbye, she told me, "We're going to be serious about this." And I lost my smile and nodded, "Of course -- yes!"
The next day, we ran into each other again. She gave me a little branch with unknown-to-me fruit clinging to its stems. When I asked her what they were, she said, "Oh, just fruit." When I asked what they were called, she told me the name in Chinese, but I forgot it.
I then asked Kay ann Russell in class what the fruit was, and they explained it to me. "Eye of the dragon," a cousin of the lychee.
Due to workload, Sophiemarie was unable to come to my house for lunch on our intended meeting day. She said she was very grateful that I had invited her over, but she sounded very stressed on the phone.
I felt like I had nothing to work with now, as I had planned on "having material" after talking to her, and I was a bit lost. But then, I ended up writing something down -- something of a poem -- and I decided I liked it. It was Sophiemarie's inability to meet that day, that helped along this process.
We have agreed to get in touch once finals are over, but for this project I feel confident that I can absorb all that she gave me in our interactions to make something happen, along with some other points of inspiration.
*A note on talking to Sophiemarie on the phone:
Talking to Sophiemarie has been interesting and great. When on the phone, it seems as though I can't hear/understand half of what she's saying, yet I somehow feel that I can know what she's getting at. There have been a couple of misunderstandings, which is always an interesting thing to experience. She is so genuine and I can tell she really wants to help, and I think she reminds me of my family.