Trip to Chinatown!

When everyone in our Spring Intensive course was initially asked what they were most excited about for the first week, practically everyone replied ‘Chinatown!’ This neighborhood located in the Lower East Side in New York City is a huge hotpot of culture. The transition into Chinatown is unmistakable, for gradually but surely all the signs, stores, and conversations around you are in Chinese. As a student learning Chinese, this was a very exciting opportunity for me to practice reading and hearing Chinese, but unfortunately it seems that just a year of learning the language was not going to get me far past being able to read one item on the menu! As our guide led us through the neighborhood’s key points, we learned the history and hardships of many immigrants & refugees who came to NYC, not only Chinese but also Jewish and others, and passed famous Buddhist temples, Jewish synagogues, and Christian churches. We even passed a Chinese-Jewish fusion deli-like store which offered pork bagels which shows how cultures mixed over time! Before arriving at the restaurant, we also viewed some notable art, such as some murals from the Chinatown Mural Project following the COVID-19 pandemic from artists Peacheeblue or Smart Crew, as well as the brick teenage mutant ninja turtle art of Invader (shown in the images below). For lunch, we dined at a Malaysian restaurant, as Malaysian cuisine is very similar to that of Myanmar, which was situated right at the edge of Little Italy. So, after enjoying a delicious plate of noodles and a refreshing lychee drink, my peers and I ended the day with a sweet treat at an Italian bakery just outside the restaurant which had gelato! It was really eye-opening to see how the culture of refugees and immigrants in Chinatown has endured throughout many years and hardships, and is still flourishing in New York City today!