A Moment of Introspection

The idea of code switching, came up in class today, in our discussions of Donald Duk by Frank Chin. This topic is not something I have talked about in length in class before but I have herd it used elsewhere. I thought I knew what it meant before class, but I think I have been working with an incomplete definition. In the past this term had been used to describe how people would change their language use and behaviors on behalf of the comfort of others and this term had always been used with a negative connotation towards the person who was doing the switching as some how seeing the people they were switching for as being lesser persons. So admittedly this is not a good definition, or understanding that I have been working with because it did not account for the comfort and efforts to be included by the person doing the switching. That was always left out in the past.

Additionally, up until it was mentioned in class, I did not realize that code switching included accents. This caused me to really stop and do a double take in class, as I realized I finally have a name for what I do with accents. So I have what my mom always called a military accent; I adapt my accent to which ever one is around me. I once was in a room with ten different people from ten different regions of the US and we noticed that my speech had become very weird as I was attempting to replicate both the language use patterns and the accents of everyone in the room at once. This did not work at all, and I could not speak coherently to anyone for a while. Admittedly, I was also on pain medication at then time, so my mental capacities were not the greatest, but the reality remains that I have since done the same thing while sober; just with fewer accents at once. I have always felt ambivalent about the way I do this, and in someways it has been handy, but in others, I feel like a freak.

In doing a little research about this topic, I ran into an article by Matt Thompson titled “Five Reasons People Code-Switch” that was published by NPR on their blog about ethnicity and race. Both in reading the article, and in thinking about the discussions in class today my own habits come to mind, and I have to ask my self- why do I do that? I can’t help it, it is so hard for me to maintain my own accent, if another is presented that I even pick up accents from things I read that are written in such a way as to convey accent. I have to admit that I have worried about being seen as some how disrespecting others around me, or mocking them when I do this, but like I said I have little control over it, and I sometimes do not even know that it will happen. I do usual (these days) at least realize when I am doing it. When I was younger I did not. I do not intend it as an insult, and I do not think I do it to be demeaning to others. This is something that I think I will have to spend a lot more time thinking about.

Thompson, Matt. “Five Reasons People Code-Switch.” Code-Switch, NPR, http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/04/13/177126294/five-reasons-why-people-code-switch. 10/13/2017.


The Places My Brain Went This Week

Understanding were immigrants in general fit in to any nation is a far from simple challenge. While it seams like it should be a no brainier, this is something that has never been simple for any nation to figure out. Through out history there are examples of how different nations and peoples have dealt with the reality that humans can and will move from place to place. Thinking of the origins of America as a nation and the reliance that this country has had to have on immigration reviles a complicated and rocky relationship between the topics, that is far from logical. Trying to change the history of our nation to cover up the existence of peoples and events that are awkward to us is apparently just the SOP. Now admittedly there are not really any humans on earth who have not polished up stuff for the history books, it an inherent flaw of humans in general, but it is disturbing to see how the contents of our revisions reveal motivations so far against the stated goals of our nation.

Rocky Progress

My work this week on my creative project has not gone as far as I have wanted it to, in part because I have been sick, but also because I have been focused on my thoughts from the field trip. However, I have to admit that I have had some related thoughts between the topics. The art of Takuichi Fujii and Zhi Lin both created some strong statements about baring witness to different equally horrid events of American history. Both artists worked with some very powerful topics, that resulted in very powerful art. I also know that such events in other communities have lead to some amazing musical typed art. I want to know if the AAPIA communities have created music out of such experiences and if so, what does it sound like? Is it jazz, or blues or another form of music associated as being uniquely American? Or is it something else.

Field Trip Adventures

Notes from the Field Trip to Tacoma

Takuichi Fujii’s art is an interesting window on his life, as all good art should be.

It was interesting to look at how his styles changed through out his life, and it was significant to note the medium changes as well. I found it very significant that there were very few pieces with faces in them. While there are people depicted in his art, they very rarely have faces, so when they do, the faces really stand out. For instance, his work “Grieving Women” creates an even stronger haunting impression when this contrast between his other works is taken into account. I like this artist, and I think that his works will be of great significance in the future.

The idea that efforts have been made to erase the Chinese rail worker from history is really quite disturbing to me. In retrospect, I never did learn about any of this history from a history book. I did learn about it from family stories of how this country has not been a fair place to everyone, something that in retrospect makes this effort to remove such things from history even more disturbing to me. Zhi Lin’s efforts at documenting this history through art, are thus note worthy. I approve of the way that his art was done in such a way to involve the audience as it creates a stronger impact of the message of the work.

The Reconciliation garden is an interesting place, that I will have to spend more time at at some point. This place is built in such a way to facilitate some serious thinking. Which at this point I am still doing. I can not help but think of the timing on when the Chinese were expelled from Tacoma and the timing on the massacres of rail workers that happened in various places around the state. I also can not help but think of the relationships between immigrants and the communities they immigrate to in general. Many things to think of.

What is home anyway?

A key component of the final paper for this class is going to be a working definition of the idea of home. What aspect of home am I going to use in this paper? My physical home currently, is a overcrowded two-bedroom apartment in north Centralia. It is in good repair, but attempting to fit my family into it has taken its toll. The building itself is nothing to write home about and is reminiscent of a set of barracks buildings from the outside. Inside it is much nicer, and has a relatively decent floor plan, and is equipped with good facilities for the price range it is in.

The home in the metaphorical sense for my family that I have created inside of this building is complicated. My husband and I live here with two children currently, but the third visits when she can. The children while not mine by blood, are part of my family. My parents, no longer form a cohesive family like they did when I was a child and I have three of them now. All three of them do not live in this state for now. My husband’s extended family all live here and it has been an adjustment for me to have people so close to us still be so far away. The children also have another side to their family that I am not sure how to address, that creates the “it’s complicated”part of my family. A big part of why this is so awkward, is the fact that we all live in the same state now, with in 100 miles of each other, all of which is a very new thing.

Then there’s where I grew up, and the place that I call home. My home is simply a memory of time and place and things were different than they are now. The physical house I grew up in is now only a memory. The family I grew up in is a memory. And sadly, the place for that house was is also a memory. This is not the state that is my home, it’s just where I am. As nice as Washington is it’s not Alaska. I want my fish back, and the trails made of dirt, and the mountains, and the snow, and the plants and trees I knew, and the moose. But for now, Washington will have to do.

I’m not yet sure which of these ideas I will use my paper, perhaps I will use a combination of these places and ideas. After all there is no right answer, and all of these things are my home. This will be something I’m going to have to think about for much longer.

An Exploration of My “Obsessions”

If I were to list my obsessions, the list would have to begin with music. So much of my life is centered around music in one way or another, it is impossible to imagine my life without it. To be more descriptive, it’s not just one genre of music that I am obsessed with. I’m obsessed with music itself, with writing my own music, with playing my own music, with listening to music of all forms shapes and kinds. So why you ask, am I not pursuing music in my degree field… Well that’s more complicated. I still have aspirations to one day become a music therapist (the idea of healing people with what I am most obsessed with seems like a win-win, and it’s amazing how powerful music really is) but the reality I’m not there yet. And I like food, and a roof over my head, and the heads of my family that I’m responsible for. So for the time being I am pursuing a focus which will allow me to both expand into music therapy later, and be able to actually get a job now.

On that note, attempting to create a focus for the final project in this class seems both daunting and yet simple simultaneously. Obviously, I want to do something with music. But I also enjoy watching anime now and again. And I have to have something that I can do research on. Attempting to research about composers of music for anime films and shows so far, has not left me with any insights on angles for a paper. While interesting, and certainly something I will continue to do in my free time, I’m not quite sure that attempting to relate the Asian American experience through such a topic will be effective.

On the other hand, what I could do is bring in another element of my obsessions in the form of history. The history of different forms of music has always been fascinating to me. So the paper about the history of Asian American music seems reasonable, and with this topic, it seems as though I would be able to relay a component of the Asian American experience. No guarantees on anything yet, but my efforts to sort this paper out, have gotten this far.

Testing one, two, three! Notes On Blogging

This is a testing of how to write a post. This allows us to edit the post and to make new posts. To use distraction free mode click the expand thing in the right hand corner.  The input box auto saves. yipie! Drafts are not posted, and you have to push publish to make them appear in the blog. When you do click publish, the post is made public, but there are other ways to publish a post. If you want this as a non public post, change the visibility settings to private, or create a password and share the pass word with who you want to read this. To get images at the heading of the post, chose featured image, and to get them in the text chose add media. When you use an image make sure to add a citation if it is not yours. In this class we are using MLA format.

Example Scissors Post

A personal journal – these posts will include any snippets (pun intended), fragments, partially formed thoughts, personal observations, etc., related to our program and which you may or may not reassemble into logical/linear fashion form by quarter’s end.