Category Archives: Family

U.S. Births Hint at Bias for Boys in Asian Families

The Fiancé and I have talked about how many kids we want, and what names we’ll call them. We have more girl names than boy names, mainly because in my opinion, girl names are a lot more fun to think … Continue reading

Posted in Discrimination, Family, Lifestyles | 12 Comments

Filipino Debuts, Cotillions and Mantillions

“I WANT A COTILLION!!” If The Daughter is anything, she definitely is NOT subtle. What’s a cotillion, also known as a debut? For Filipinos, it’s a  coming out party for girls, similar to a quinceanera but for eighteen year old … Continue reading

Posted in Family, Lifestyles | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Asian Males Behaving Badly

Back in my undergrad days, I once found some members of an Asian-American Students Association having noodles in one of the dorm kitchens. All of the guys were sitting down waiting to be served, while all of the women were … Continue reading

Posted in Entertainment, Family, Lifestyles, Observations | Tagged , , , , | 35 Comments

No “Welcome” Mat At My Front Door

Oh my god, if I hear or see the word “banana” used as a descriptor for Asians who have assimilated into “North American” culture, I am going to cry (like, actually.) And I don’t care if Asians are using the … Continue reading

Posted in Family, Lifestyles, Observations | 10 Comments

Finding Home

We’ve covered in previous posts and comments on 8asians the topic of labels and self-identification. Some of the opposing points of view have caused some heated debates, specifically around one label that I use myself, Taiwanese-American. While I won’t justify … Continue reading

Posted in Family, Observations | Tagged | 2 Comments

Disney’s “Trail of the Panda” Opened Last Friday

Disney’s Trail of the Panda opened last Friday, but you wouldn’t know about it if you lived in North America. That’s because this feature film is Disney’s second Chinese-language film and opened in mainland China. The film almost didn’t make … Continue reading

Posted in Current Events, Entertainment, Family, Movies | Tagged | 3 Comments

Love and Chinese Families

I recently discovered a blog called “Being Asian in America“. It’s fairly new (first post was May 3 of this year), and the writer seems quite young, but he strikes on quite a few interesting topics. One topic that immediately … Continue reading

Posted in Family, Observations | Tagged | 24 Comments

Why Americans Are Adopting Fewer Kids from China

Adopting a Chinese baby is nothing new these days in the United States. In fact, adopting a Chinese baby is fairly commonplace and has made it into mainstream popular culture, like Charlotte in Sex and the City adopting a Chinese … Continue reading

Posted in Current Events, Family, Observations | 20 Comments

Act of Congress Allows Mom to Stay

It took an act of Congress, but there’s good news for the mom I wrote about a few weeks back. She won’t get deported and separated from her kids and her partner. Shirley Tan was scheduled for deportation because she … Continue reading

Posted in Current Events, Discrimination, Family, LGBT | Tagged | 3 Comments

Tall, Short and Segregated Asians: Six Lessons from a Basketball Season

My sons finished their very long basketball seasons last month, and I was surprised how some of my own views on sports, basketball, and Asian-Americans changed after what seemed to be an endless season. Here are six lessons that I … Continue reading

Posted in Discrimination, Education, Family, Lifestyles, Local, San Francisco Bay Area, Sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Great Wall of China Longer Than Previously Thought

Scientists have discovered that the Great Wall of China is about 1,000 miles longer than previously believed. A two-year study carried out by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping used GPS and … Continue reading

Posted in Current Events, Family | Tagged | 2 Comments

Qingming, Chinese Tomb Sweeping Day

Qingming, Tomb Sweeping Day for the Chinese traditionally falls on the fifth day of April, but this year is the fourth of April due to Chinese leap year. While celebrated culturally by Chinese for centuries, Qingming returned as a nationally … Continue reading

Posted in Current Events, Family | Tagged | 4 Comments