Today, the Asian Cultures Intensive Learning trip took our most distant trip, leaving New Jersey and nearby Philadelphia in order to explore the East Asian cultures thriving in Chinatown New York City.
First, we stopped at an Art Gallery with an exhibit on Modern Japanese art. One part of the exhibit focused on the work of “Living National Treasures”— Japanese artists commended with a national status as the very best at their craft. The particular artists on exhibit in the display specialized in Japanese pottery, using multicolor clay to sculpt pots and other ornaments influenced by traditional Japanese styles. Another exhibit on display showcased a painting, set in Japan but taken by an Israeli artist, whose hyper-realistic style caused many students to at first confuse the painted portrait of a woman for a photograph.
After finishing up the art exhibit of Japan, we began our study of Chinese culture. First, we stopped at a Chinese restaurant called Red Egg, where we enjoyed traditional dim sum — including rice, noodles, and many, many types of dumplings — along with some Chinese tea for a filling but refreshing lunch.
Then we headed to a Chinese-American museum, where we met a tour guide who took us around Chinatown explaining the history of the places we saw in intricate detail. Among some of the interesting facts we picked up were:
1. Chinatown, still next to Little Italy, used to be an Italian neighborhood itself. The neighborhood’s most popular park — today, it was full of many elderly Chinese-Americans playing games and gambling at tables in the sunlight — is called Columbus Park, because it was originally built as part of the old Italian neighborhood, when new laws against bad living conditions mandated the creation of a public space.
2. Due to discrimination against Chinese immigrants, often only workers were allowed in the country, leading to a shortage of women in early Chinatown.
3. Chinatown has been a popular tourist destination for a long time, with a booklet guiding to the area dating from 1906 using racist language and describing the Chinese residents as mystical yet industrious.
4. Many Chinese in Chinatown have become Catholic due to cultural exchange between the Italians and Irish who also lived in that part of the city.
5. While there are other neighborhoods in NYC that speak Mandarin, Chinatown itself is predominantly a Cantonese-speaking area.
After our tour, we had some time to explore the local shops, where students tried Chinese candies and bubble tea before boarding the bus back to MFS. The weather is beautiful. Chinatown is crowded and prosperous. We experienced the feeling in a big city today.