Asian Culture Discussion Thread

[robpzee612]

I can't eat with a chopsticks. shrugs

 

[Nawzlew]

I can't eat with a chopsticks. shrugs

For shame.

 

[wj4]

I can't eat with a chopsticks. shrugs

Again. It depends on the texture of rice. Went to get hotpot with my girl last night. They used some small grain rice. Had to use the soup spoon when there were a few grains left

Brown rice is no problems.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Doesn't South Korea have this problem too?

It's possible considering they have pretty similar cultures.  All I know is Japan is the one with the demographic problem and that they're actively promoting marriage and relationships so they aren't stuck with a bunch of geezers and a broken economy in 20 years.  I would say it's pretty distant to asian american culture though.

South Korea has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. In fact, I once saw a story online that said if the situation wasn't reversed, the trend will cause South Koreans to be extinct by 2750.

Asia in general has alarmingly low birth rates. Here's an interesting post about it.

http://www.eastwestcenter.org/news-...eclining-birth-rates-raising-concerns-in-asia

 

[robpzee612]

I can't eat with a chopsticks. shrugs

Again. It depends on the texture of rice. Went to get hotpot with my girl last night. They used some small grain rice. Had to use the soup spoon when there were a few grains left

Brown rice is no problems.

Noodles, rice, and pho I can't do it. :\

 

[sharpshooter718]

I watch six abs shortcuts... son is yoked for an asian american..

 

[limonyfresh]

I watch six abs shortcuts... son is yoked for an asian american..

Everytime I come across his videos I think of Bolo.

 

[littletiger]

South Korea has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. In fact, I once saw a story online that said if the situation wasn't reversed, the trend will cause South Koreans to be extinct by 2750.

Asia in general has alarmingly low birth rates. Here's an interesting post about it.

http://www.eastwestcenter.org/news-...eclining-birth-rates-raising-concerns-in-asia

Interesting, but 700+ years is a seriously long time.  Racial assimilation would probably be a bigger factor for extinction of south koreans than fluctuation between birth and death rates for that time period.

Noodles, rice, and pho I can't do it.

Tried following the directions on the packaging?  That's how I learned, unless you hold your pens and pencils funny

 

[limonyfresh]

yo well said, that is a powerful way to look at it...because it really puts the responsibility on the individual to come to terms with how & what to identify with; the idea that it would be more self-inflicted culturally is one that makes a whole lot of sense but is there not really a western conception of 'asian' that is problematic beyond the sort insular self imposed cultural ones? you'd expect most parents to try to define a space they want their kids to inhabit culturally, but like if an 'asian' person decides to rebel? and chose some other identity, is there something from the external western perspective culture that puts some definition or value on this asian person who is not i guess obviously 'asian' culturally? is there any pressure from outside the culture to be a certain 'kind' of asian? like is there a penalty for being too assertive, or the like?

Can only speak for myself so this is not a generalization, just my experience. Let's take something simple such as veggie/vegan/gluten free diets which I have personally experimented with all the above and talked about with explicitly with other family/asian friends. For one, food is a huge part of the culture so naturally you telling someone else that is going to bring up a ****storm of questions and they will be judging you hardcore. If you imagine going to a family dinner (where there are large dishes of food and everyone sits around with a bowl of rice and picks from the same platter) and you have to be the one telling everyone that you need something special made up for you because of xyz reason, you can start to see how much social pressure there is to conform to this "ideal" asian prototype. Now multiply this times 3x day and 52 weeks/yr, and so on.

To me, that's essentially how they try to beat any kind of "rebellion" out of you. They will test you every chance they get until you give up or they feel you are literally hellbent on continuing to do so. The other point is this nebulous idea of balance or yin/yang, so just by merely mentioning this topic, an elder will sense that you are seeking to undermine Asian tradition, culture, health and a host of other social phenomena.

As far as western perspective goes, diet is a particularly interesting space to inhabit because even in dominant culture it's unclear whether an omnivorous or veggie lifestyle is really advantageous health-wise. So now let's say you are at home and you are getting #### for living life a certain way. Everyone is complaining that you are making their life difficult b/c they have to make xyz just for you or they have to buy xyz because of this preference. That would probably not be too bad, however as a vegan/vegetarian then you go out into the world and you are getting the same exact questions from coworkers, bosses, ect. Bottom line is if it doesn't follow the Asian model, it probably doesn't exist in the Western model, which is just to say if you are going to take on something "countercultural" you basically have to create a value mechanism that is wholly driven by your own accomplishments because outside of that you probably won't be getting any type of positive reinforcement. e.g. Your parents will think you are weird and difficult for being Vegan and then your Coworkers may not question you but they'll be like "Oh, that's interesting." If in your head you are consciously thinking "I like this lifestyle because I feel better, look better, and can think better," then you have a good chance of overcoming these social pressures. I''m willing to say it's probably less harmful when you get questioned outside of the Asian culture but then again I've met more Asians that quit a veggie lifestyle than I've met that are currently veggie. I'm probably getting outside the scope of your question now, but it really just means in any model whether it be a career choice or lifestyle choice not taught to you as a kid in the "Asian Model," you have to be VERY resistant to social programming especially Asian social programming otherwise you run the risk of succumbing to the pressure.

 

[wj4]

I watch six abs shortcuts... son is yoked for an asian american..

Everyone in the fitness world hates him. I don't know him personally but he's good at marketing so I can't knock his hustle. My Filipino friend from HS used to be 150 lbs wet and he has the same physique. Dude eats so much and so clean.

Nothing fits him except for tanks and t shirts though

 

[bostoiah]

Lol someone mention Jin?

That brought me back haha

He was the man back in the day.

 

[tokes99]

^speaking of jin i saw i interview with him fairly recently, i guess he moved to hong kong and lightweight became a movie star over there? i think now he is trying to do christian rap???

Saw this on reddit.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-...-locking-themselves-in-their-bedrooms/6601656

Japanese culture is kinda messed up.  Too much emphasis on a working life and apparently not enough men and women are hooking up so that there's a deficit of a younger generation

Doesn't South Korea have this problem too?

the majority of the industrialized world has this problem...not to the same extent as in japan, but as a general trend whenever/wherever woman are given some measure of freedom, to be educated, pursue their own interests, and not have men control their lives women tend to both delay having children & have less of them...really the only place in the world this not the case is the continent of africa; specifically sub saharan africa

i really can't add much to the conversation but this thread has been rather enlightening thus far, i see a lot of parallels i wouldn't have necessarily expected...

 

[wj4]

Jin moved back to the states after a stint in HK. He said he was more successful over there but moved back because of his kid. I'll post more about it later. Hard to do from the cell.

 

[wj4]

Noodles, rice, and pho I can't do it. :\

Right now. Lol.
View media item 1618291

 

[robpzee612]

I just ate some pho earlier too lol

 

[ccastro02]

Are south Asians welcome to this thread or should we just


View media item 1614438

LMAOO! So much truth to this great post.

 

[moe200069]

after many years of dating asian and latina women, i recently started ******* with a white girl. Seeing so many asian women dating white men during and after college had me wondering if the reverse worked for heterosexual relationships. in any case, AMWF got me rethinking life. got me feeling like Keni Styles.


I just happened to revisit the General Forum after many years of not checking it out and saw this thread. I'll go back and read from page one. Interested in what folks thoughts are.

 

[limonyfresh]

Wis, you're a lefty??

 

[sharpshooter718]

Everytime I come across his videos I think of Bolo.

i wanted to say that but didnt want to get banned... lol

 

[wj4]

Wis, you're a lefty??

Nah man. I hold the spoon with the right and use chopsticks with the left to move the noodles in. Lol.

 

[HEATHEN]

I just use a fork.

 

[sea manup]

I just use a fork.

 

[HEATHEN]

I'm south Asian so......


I mean a lot of desi folks eat only with their hands b.


So a fork is definitely a step up.

 

[derrtay]

Wish I could be more active daily but will respond to discussion later tonight, 

in the mean time, I see Jin being mentioned so enjoy 

I used to remember(and surprisingly still remember) all of his freestyles 

 

[freedmind2015]

Quick question, for all my NYC Asians, why is it that when ever I see an Asian female with a white guy she always has an exclusionary look of accomplishment? It doesn't really bother me, but imagine when you were a kid on the playground and some random kid had a look like "look at my toy, aren't you jealous", that sort of look.

...is it love, or some misguided sense of accomplishment?