![\"asialogo\"](\"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/368\/2014\/07\/asialogo-150x150.png\")
<\/p>\n[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_fullwidth_header title=”The Midwest” text_orientation=”center” background_overlay_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.34)” _builder_version=”4.25.0″ title_font_size=”50px” background_color=”rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)” background_image=”https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/ain\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/368\/2024\/03\/The_midwest_upright-1-e1710878511846.jpg” parallax=”on” custom_padding=”100px||100px|” text_shadow_style=”preset3″ global_colors_info=”{}” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off”][\/et_pb_fullwidth_header][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”|||” custom_width_px=”695px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.24.3″ text_font_size=”15px” text_line_height=”2em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Asian American\u00a0experiences\u00a0 in smaller Midwest towns often seem like a minor footnote or an afterthought,<\/strong>\u00a0whereas their counterparts on the coasts are well documented and discussed. What are lives like for Asian Americans in the Midwest? How do these experiences differ from those on the coast? Does living in smaller and more culturally homogeneous communities bring distinct challenges or advantages to the Asian population? \u00a0 What does it mean and take to be an Asian American in the Midwest?<\/p>\n \n<\/div>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”#e2e2e2″ custom_padding=”|15px||15px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u00a0Jane Murakami –\u00a0<\/strong>“Growing up and being as American as I am, that when someone reacts to me as a person of color… it’s mind blowing… I walked into a bar, and… I felt like Moses, the seas just parted. … Everybody’s just, you know, staring and watching me go past.”<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_video src=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/r0eNP-w7nZk” _builder_version=”4.25.0″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_video][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”#ffffff” custom_padding=”|15px||15px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_video src=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/veUnkgjBJYQ” _builder_version=”4.25.0″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_video][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”]Caroline Ticarro Parker<\/strong> “Growing up in the Midwest is very different than growing up on the West Coast. We lived in California and Oregon… and I remember my husband saying ‘I can\u2019t believe I\u2019m the minority.’ Welcome to my world.”<\/p>\n Ameeta Sony<\/strong> – “I spent maybe about two months in the West Coast of California area. And I noticed there are a lot of Asians there. So you\u2019re not the minority necessarily… Whereas when you come here, it\u2019s different; you stand out.”<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Asian American\u00a0experiences\u00a0 in smaller Midwest towns often seem like a minor footnote or an afterthought,\u00a0whereas their counterparts on the coasts are well documented and discussed. What are lives like for Asian Americans in the Midwest? How do these experiences differ from those on the coast? Does living in smaller and more culturally homogeneous communities […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":849,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-225","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/ain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/ain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/ain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/ain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/849"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/ain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225"}],"version-history":[{"count":32,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/ain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1723,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/ain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/225\/revisions\/1723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/ain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n\n\t\t\t\t\tJane Murakami Transcription<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
I was working for Job Service North Dakota… at the time… when 9\/11 happened. And… I, I was in Fargo, which is in the far east and I was supposed to go to Bismarck which is further west. And… I said, \u201cYou know, I\u2019m not real comfortable going to Bismarck right now\u201d. And they said \u201cWhy?\u201d And I said \u201cEh… I\u2019m a little too dark to be out in western North Dakota at this time.\u201d And, and the people that I worked with were like \u201cWell what do you mean?\u201d I mean, because they didn\u2019t see me as being a person of color, you know. I think that, that growing up and being as American as I am that when somebody reacts to me as a person of color it, it\u2019s, I mean it\u2019s mind blowing. I was at a, at, at, I think it was an Eagles Club or something. A friend and I were sort of playing and… it was during Winter Fest in Valley City which is you know, the whole state of North Dakota comes and watches the rodeo and things like that. But it was… and I walked into the bar, and, I mean I felt like Moses, the seas just parted. And, and everybody\u2019s just, you know, staring and watching me go past. And everybody\u2019s like WOW. And that, that was very surprising \u2018cause that was like 40 minutes away from Fargo so I didn\u2019t realize, you know, how insulated that city was. You know, in Fargo, you see many different colors at any times, but in Valley City it was still, I was still a novelty.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\tCaroline Ticarro-Parker Transcription<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
Well, I think growing up in Minnesota means that you have to accept the fact that no matter how old or where you go someone will stare at you. That you will still be WOW the only Asian in the room. I remember when my husband and I… were first engaged and we went, and he lives in, in an even, he grew up even, in an even smaller town in Minnesota. And we were in a pizza restaurant and no one would serve us. Everyone around us would be served and no one would come up to us and serve us… because they just didn\u2019t know how to talk to \u201cthe, the Asian\u201d in the room. And my husband, who again is not Asian, would be like \u201cI don\u2019t get it, why don\u2019t you ask her what she wants? She\u2019s right there.\u201d And my kids, you know, they know that they\u2019re the \u201ctoken Asians,” they were just complaining this school year they had a career fair, which should be a great opportunity for kids to see what\u2019s out there, they came home from that and said \u201cSo everyone that spoke today was white, male. Are they the only ones that get jobs?\u201d So, not only did they recognize that there\u2019s no diversity in ethnicity, but there\u2019s no diversity in gender. And that\u2019s just how the high school, kinda, brought together all the interesting jobs. I think in Minnesota you just have to be, I mean and I know there is a huge adoption population here in Minnesota… and I think we all are always surprised that we\u2019re not adopted. There\u2019s also a huge refugee population in Minnesota because Minnesota has a great social service network for refugees. And there are pockets in… especially in the Twin Cities where the population stays intact, the Hmong, the Somalians, the Vietnamese at one point. But yeah, I think that growing up in the Midwest is very different than growing up in the West Coast. We lived in California and Oregon for a brief time and I remember my husband saying \u201cI can\u2019t believe I\u2019m the minority.\u201d Welcome to my world. So, you just grow a tougher skin.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>
\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”#e2e2e2″ custom_padding=”|15px||15px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”]Toui Mohlke<\/strong> –\u00a0“When we lived on the East Coast… there were a lot of Asian people, we had a lot of friends. We spent every weekend with other\u00a0Lao people, and when we got here and there was…\u00a0almost no one… and that was a big shock.”<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\tToui Mohlke Transcription<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
There wasn\u2019t much of an Asian population in Minnesota at that time. When we lived on the East Coast there, you know, there were a lot of Asian people, we had a lot of friends. We spent every weekend, you know, with other Lao people, and we got here and there was, you know, almost no one, so that was a big shock. And, so we decided that we were going… stay here even though the winters were horrible and ended up liking it. And my parents have since moved back to the East Coast, but, you know, I… I think if I just went and lived on the West Coast for a while. I would… I mean there are so many Asian-Americans on the West Coast I, I think it would be kind of cool to blend in. Just, just try other parts of the US. I don\u2019t, I don\u2019t know if it will happen, because of, you know, money and work and, and all of that. But, hopefully someday. And then just, you know, we\u2019ve mainly, we\u2019re, we\u2019re staying in Northfield mainly for our kids right now. \u2018Cause they, they don\u2019t want to move, they have great friends here, they\u2019re having a…\u00a0successful experience in, you know, school, and, so I, I want to stay here for them. But it, it\u2019s, it\u2019s just a little more isolated and, and small town than, than I want to have for a very long time.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>
\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_video src=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/oI8dQq1Ehrw” _builder_version=”4.25.0″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_video][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|15px||15px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_video src=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/tkdP9HjE1TE” _builder_version=”4.25.0″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_video][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.25.1″ custom_padding=”4px|||||” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\tAmeeta Sony Transcription<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
Actually when I first came to the US I ended up in the West Coast. And I spent maybe, it was my first time here, I mean the US, so I spent maybe about two months in the West Coast of California area. And I noticed there are a lot of Asians there. So you\u2019re not the minority necessarily, because there could be a community where there are a lot of Asians. Whereas when you come here, it\u2019s different, you stand out. And I also find that in Asia people just go, life is busy there too, so people go about their business.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n