Racial Interactions
The Asian population in Northfield has gradually become more visible and vocal over the last few decades. With that racial diversity comes the opportunity for the mostly “white” town folks to socialize, communicate, and develop professional and personal relationships with these rather different ethnic and cultural groups. Asian Americans here, for better or for worse, stand out in a crowd. What kind of experiences do our storytellers have in regards to racial interaction, tension, and perhaps even discrimination? Most of them note a certain degree of misunderstanding due to lack of cultural knowledge or history. However, they also believe that the community at large is cordial, courteous, and open to learning. Some even take advantage of such mishaps to rebuke long-established racial stereotypes.
Naomi Munggai – “I just toughen up… I cannot take all these things personally all the time. For little things… I’m not going to look at that, and… let it spoil my day or my life. I’m just going to move on.”
Naiomi Munggai Transcription
There was a parent close by and she said “oh stop by at my house I have two girls and you have two girls and, you know, they can play together.” And I thought that was a genuine invitation. And me, silly, I said “oh, I’ll do that.” When, you know, on the way from home, because we walk and I said “I’ll do that.” So, walking back from preschool, this was Longfellow School, house is there, and their house was along the way. I stopped there and rang the doorbell, and I saw the kids outside, the two girls, and rang the doorbell. And, the grandmother opened the door and she said like “What do you want?” And I said “Oh, is, is so and so in the house because she, she told me we can stop by here, you know, my kids can play.” And she looked at my kids and she goes “Go, go, go, go inside, go inside.” Asked the two grandkids to go in the house. And then my two girls couldn’t understand like “What happened? We were just playing in the school and now we cannot play with them?” And I felt so bad for, for my girls. I felt so bad. And they were saying like “Mom what happened? We were just playing with them. Why is it we cannot play?” I said “I don’t know, but we are not coming back. We are not walking this way ever. We are going to go that way next time. We are not passing here.” And so they asked me that question and I felt that… discrimination. I came home, I told my husband. He said, “If that is going to break your heart, you better learn it girl. This is tough world here.” And I said, “Yes, sir. I’m going to learn.” And so, I just toughen up after that, you know, like I cannot take all these things personally all the time. For little things, somebody look at me differently, I said, no, I, I’m not going to look at that and I’m not going to let it spoil my day or my life. I’m just going to move on.
Ameeta Sony – “I also had people… asking where I was from and said, ‘Oh, do you use elephants in Thailand? You know, as a means, a mode of transportation?’ Then I will say ‘Oh, not anymore.’ She said ‘but I saw that, in The King and I.’ … I don’t get upset. I just find… it our opportunity, actually, to tell them about our country.”
Ameeta Sony Transcription
And another story I thought was interesting is because I don’t look Thai in a way. You know, so people have that expectation that Thai should look a certain way. So, when I went to the grocery store there was a kid there and she turned to me and she said “Hola!” And I had just come from Thailand, I had no idea what “Hola” meant. You know, and I looked at her I said “What is she trying to say here?” And she said “Hola” and I said “huh” and I felt so bad because I didn’t know how to respond because I didn’t know. And the kid looked at me and she looked so disappointed. You know, and that was so sweet in the sense that in a small town where people try to kind of interact with you. So, those were kind of nice experiences I’ve had. But I’ve also had people in small towns coming to me and saying, you know, asking where I was from and said “Oh, do you use elephants in Thailand. You know, as a means, a mode of transportation?” Then I will say “Oh, not anymore.” She said “But I saw that in The King and I,” you know. And I said “Oh, that was, you know, centuries ago. And now we are just like any other country.” We just, I’m not, I don’t get upset. I just find it, that it’s our opportunity, actually, to tell them about our country. And not, we shouldn’t get upset or angry when people ask questions like this. Or, one time I had somebody come and ask me whether there are bathrooms in Thailand. So I said, “Yes, we do have,” you know. But people did not know much about Thailand when I first came here. If I say I’m from Thailand a lot of people would think I said that I’m from Taiwan. But nowadays everybody knows where Thailand is.
Toui Mohlke – “The teachers and the faculty used to get the two of them [my daughters and another Asian American student] mixed up. … Just because they were one of the very few Asian kids around was kind of an eye opener when I first moved to Northfield.”
Toui Mohlke Transcription
Her [a family friend’s] daughter and my daughter are the same age. And the reason that we, our families ever got to know each other is because her daughter, Leah, and my daughter, Casey, they… the teachers and the faculty used to get the two girls mixed up. They’re both half Asian and half Caucasian. They really don’t look anything alike, but that’s, you know, there’s so, so few Asian kids, and most of them are adopted, actually. The ones that they, that are around. Yeah… that, I mean, that one still cracks us up because they really do not look anything alike. And to have the two of them mixed up just because they were one of the very few Asian kids around was kind of an eye opener when I first moved to Northfield.
Jane Murakami – “Anytime someone, a veteran, sees me that was stationed in Japan during the war they have to come up and try their Japanese out on me.”
Jane Murakami Transcription
You know, I took Norwegian and the instructor’s reading off the roll and she’s like “Anderson, Andreson, Bjorkland, Bjork, Muri, Muri, Muri-. So, but you know, like I said “Jeg snakker lit norsh” [I speak a little Norwegian]. I worked in the King’s Room and during Christmas festival you have all these people coming back. And of course, anytime someone, a veteran, sees me that was stationed in Japan during the war they have to come up and try their Japanese out on me. And so I would just look at them and say “Jeg forstår ikke. Jeg snakker norsh,” [I don’t understand. I speak Norwegian] and they’d just kind of “WOAH,” you know.