Where east meets west at home Where east meets west at home (December 05, 2003)

Display exhibits Asian American life
by Teresa C. Brown

One child recollected her mother's "smooth" hands as she worked dough in preparation for Chinese New Year. Another depicted the soulful eyes of his Asian grandfather. And yet another child wrote that although Asian, he was not different from anyone else.

Created to a theme of "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," the winning entries from the "Growing Up Asian in America" program will be on display through the end of the year at the Pleasanton Public Library.

The three-panel, double-sided display showcases the winning essay and art entries from the competition, said Nancy Johnson, Young Adult/Adult Services librarian. "This is the third year we've had this display," she said. The program is in its fifth year and is organized by the Asian Pacific Fund, a Bay Area philanthropic organization.

Johnson first booked the display to exhibit in Pleasanton in 2001 when Won Taek Seo, then 7, a Lydiksen Elementary School student, won with his entry. Since that time, the display has become an annual feature at the library and is usually exhibited at the end of the year.

Johnson explained that the roving exhibit was displayed at about 10 other Bay Area libraries for about a month before moving on. Pleasanton is fortunate to have the display for two months, she said.

The written entries include:

"My first image of being Chinese brings thoughts of food. I savor the quality of life with delectable dishes and home-cooked meals." -Madeline Weeks, age 13, Los Altos.

"If you ever have the fortune of traveling to the Philippines, stop by a small province named Nueva Ecija. To you, it may be a dusty farm area, with rice fields reaching as far as the eye can see, but to me, it is my home. I have never been to Nueva Ecija, nor the Philippines for that matter, but that is where I began. There, in a small wooden house, is my history." -Samantha Ondrade, 13, Walnut Creek.

The entries in the display reflect the diversity of the Asian culture in America. About 1,300 students, kindergarten through grade 12 from throughout the Bay Area, participate in the competition, which is held in January. The artwork is reproduced and an exhibit is created and displayed from May through December.

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