Critical Analysis Podcast Assignment Brainstorming

I am not entirely sure which book I would like to use for this assignment, but the book I am interested in right now is Almond Cookies and Dragon Well Tea by Cynthia Chin-Lee. The aspect that sparked my interest in this book was the relation it had to my own life. The book is about two girls, one who is Asian and one who is European. When the European girl visits the Asian girl's home, the two girls discover how sharing their cultures is a wonderful concept, because neither has anything to be ashamed about.

So the social issue I would focus on is cross-cultural acceptance. In order to do my podcast, I believe I will have to go ask for assistance from the media resources people (not entirely sure what their real name is!) because I have never tried recording a podcast before. I am excited to learn how to make one though.

Quotable Quotes!

"A woman sat in the passenger seat, staring straight ahead. The girl knew what the woman was staring at. She was staring at nothing."

To me this quote represents the dismal prospects that everyone in the train felt. Even a young girl could look around and realize that. She describes numerous people on the train with her, but this description really affected me more than the others because of how distinctly it describes their situation. They were all just uprooted, leaving their everything for nothing.

"In the beginning the boy thought he saw his father everywhere. Outside the latrines. Underneath the showers. Leaning against barrack doorways. Playing go with the other men in their floppy straw hats on the narrow wooden benches after lunch."

Sometimes reading historical documents of events like these camps during the war do not have the biggest effect on people. When just reading information on it, it seems like just that...information. But to see it from the perspective of someone who was actually there and experiencing it evokes an entirely different reaction. Especially through the eyes of a little boy. It is heart wrenching to see how having his father then his home taken away from him is affecting him.

Hi! My names are...

• Jen Yeu Chai/Yeu Jen Chai
• Jen Chai
• Chai Pie
• Shorty
• Asian Friend
• You!

Jen Yeu Chai/Yeu Jen Chai: This is my legal name. Now, you are probably wondering why I have it arranged two different ways...that's because my legal documents do not match. It is something I believe I should get fixed, but just have not done yet. On my birth certificate and drivers license it says "Yeu Jen Chai", but on my school documents and passport, it says "Jen Yeu Chai". Yeah...I am not entirely sure where things got mixed up, but so far it has not caused huge issues. Maybe I'll just go through life with two names.  I love my name though, mainly because it originated from my Chinese name. Sorry if this is confusing, but basically, my English name is my Chinese name backwards- Chai Yeu Jen. Even though I am an American-born Chinese, I love that my parents still gave me a Chinese name. It makes me laugh that people think "Jen" is an English name, but really it is my parents' translation of my Chinese name. 

Jen: This is just what most acquaintances call me...probably because I typically introduce myself with "Hi! My name is Jen!". It is also the name I use at work, so it makes me feel very professional and boring, to be honest.

Jen Chai: Most of my closer friends call me by Jen Chai. According to them, they are incapable of JUST calling me "Jen" and "Jen Chai" is just fun to say. I do not know how true this is, but it makes me love my name all the more because my friends love it. It also makes me feel kind of like Jackie Chan. 

Chai Pie: I love and adore food enormously. This nickname came from my ability to eat enormous amounts of pumpkin pie. I like it because some of my closer friends use it and it makes me feel lighthearted and cheery, because who isn't lighthearted and cheery around pie??? But this just highlights one attribute of me...my love for eating.

Shorty: I am very attached to this name because it brings me back to the time of high school team tennis. Shorty was my coach's nickname for me, and it eventually became the team's nickname for me. Whenever I went to tournaments, my teammates would always call me Shorty and my opponent always underestimated me because of my height. It gave me an advantage, because then I could take them by surprise (hopefully!). However, being short is not always advantageous...it makes life rather difficult at times.

Asian Friend: This nickname has two settings- in my dorm and in math class. For awhile last year, I was the only full Asian on my floor, so one of my friends took up calling me his Asian friend, which I did not mind at all! But the other setting is an entirely different situation. It sticks me into the stereotype that Asians are always good at math. I hate how people automatically assume I am good at math just because I am Asian. What if I am terrible at math?? I do not appreciate being labeled by people who do not know me at all.

My names are NOT...

• Jenny
• Jennifer

Jenny: I hate the name Jenny, I really do. It just bothers me...it makes me feel like a little kid. And it just does not fit me at all. I think part of it might be how feminine it sounds. If there were such a thing as a girl-scale, with girly-girl and tomboy on either end, my scale would tip significantly to the tomboy side. Jenny makes me feel like I am at a tea party.

Jennifer: Every year, I always have at least one teacher who assumes my name is Jennifer the first time they call roll. For some reason, they think my name must have been shortened by mistake and it must be Jennifer. Then, when I tell them my name is just Jen, they do not believe me and continue to call me Jennifer. I do not have anything against the name Jennifer...but it is not my name.