The Riksha

riksha speaks to the Asian American experience. Here are the stories, thoughts and ideas we share: That story your mother told you about breaking a bag of rice open in the airport when she arrived in America? How about that food porn fried chicken joint on Elston all your friends would love? Whats up with the huge wooden spoon and fork on your wall or the wooden naked guy in the barrel? Why do you not wear shoes in your house, again? Youve been here your whole life and can only speak English, even though you grew up in a bilingual household. And yet, occasionally, strangers still compliment you on your clear diction. You grew up with only white friends and have never even dated an Asian. Folks ask if youre Arab, or Eastern European or Hispanic or Eskimoanything but Asian American. What about getting beat up when you were a kid, because they thought you knew karate? How about being called Chink or a Chinaman, whether youre Chinese or not? A story about the hotdog eating contest. And that moment when you began to identify as Asian American, when you didnt before? And it felt weird to even say it? Im Asian American. Thats what I am. When you watched The Joy Luck Club at the Fine Arts, thrilled to see an entire cast of Asian actors? People who looked like you, in a family like yours, on the big silver screen, for the first time. And deflated when yet another Asian character is whitewashed? An article about voting for the first time. Remember when you got the promotion at work because they assumed you were hard working, and good at programming and math and you were (or you werent)? When people dont believe you are Asian Americanwhen you arent yellow enough for them? When that woman at the mall complemented your spouse, asking what country your kids were adopted from, because they didnt look like her? A stunning photo of a woman in a hijab on a metropolitan street. riksha provides a space for capturing the Asian American experience through compelling writing, commentary,