Chinatown Field Experience

Field Experience Paper: Chinatown

Many of us today have traditional cultural spaces that gives us the comfort to practice our traditions and values. For the field experience paper we needed to challenge ourselves by interacting with cultural spaces different then our culture. Out of all the cultural spaces around me, I decided to experience something completely different and visit Chinatown in Los Angeles, CA. Chinatown is well known for it’s colorful urban , a vibrant center of commerce, tourism, culture and community. Today, I describe my experience in this Chinese cultural space, connect theories/concepts from the textbook “Intercultural Communication: Globalization and Social Justice, and share what I learned through this experience.

This Chinese culture traveled across places and soon was replaced and maintained in a place called Chinatown in Los Angeles. The Chinese were re- territorialized and segregated from the whites because they weren't accepted by the majority and seen as a threat in job opportunities. As they arrived to reach the American dream as any other immigrant, they were pushed down and treated harshly. This new location was best for them because it brought unity to the Asian community. In the textbook “ Intercultural Communication Globalization and Social Justice written by Kathryn Sorrells there three types of cultural spaces: contested, segregated and hybrid

With the stereotypes that Chinese people are mean, bad drivers and slow, I was able to forget all those thoughts and leave judgments out the door. Somethings that I learned and had a huge impact to my life was being able to know that Chinese culture is somewhat similar with mines. As a Mexican- American we also have clothing, foods, and arts that represent a part of our culture. Both Chinese and Mexican immigrants in the past suffered through discrimination and harsh actions from the whites. Exclusions acts, camps and lack in resources was all experience by my culture and Chinese. As they are conservative with their stuff my culture is as well and keeps traditions that hold value to us. For instance, the Independence of Mexico is a day of celebration after so many years of wars and deaths to reach freedom from the Spaniards. (Takaki 48) It was learn and see that Chinese passed through a experience of despair and hatred by society. Due to cultural and economic situations in their countries they both came for a purpose of the American Dream. Today you see these two cultures work hard to feed their families and have a place called home. They practice and celebrate special events that are important and have been the majority population in Los