NEPAL: Ganesha, Diwali, and Ravi Shankar too « The Himalayan Beacon

Neat! Just found my Ganesha, Diwali, and Ravi Shankar too article and photo reprinted last October 18, 2009 in The Himalayan Beacon, published by Barun Roy in Darjeeling, India:

NEPAL: Ganesha, Diwali, and Ravi Shankar too « The Himalayan Beacon

Frances speaking at showing of Vincent Who?

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, American Citizens for Justice former Executive Director and current Advisory Board Member, will be introducing the documentary film, "Vincent Who?" during the US Social Forum in Detroit.

Vincent Who?
Wed, Jun 23, 2010
10:00 am | AFSCME Building, Detroit

A Documentary film directed by Tony Lam and Karin Wang, Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Producer Curtis Chin
New website: http://vincentwhofilm.com/

for more info http://organize.ussf2010.org/film-festival

Frances speaking at Center for Japanese Studies Workshop in Cultural Competence

Frances Wang will be a speaker at a University of Michigan Center for Japanese Studies Workshop in Cultural Competence on Monday-Tuesday, June 21-22.

The Center for Japanese Studies in collaboration with the Centers for Chinese, Korean, and Latin American & Caribbean Studies, and the Program on Intergroup Relations present:

Understanding your Students: A Workshop in Cultural Competence

Michigan is home to a diversity of families from around the world, some of whom are here temporarily and whose children are enrolled in American schools with little or no knowledge of English language and American culture. This workshop will introduce the various cultures of these children, the challenges faced by these students—challenges that are distinct from their American counterparts— recommendations for accommodating such students in a typical school classroom, and resources available within the community for teachers and their students. The first day will focus on the culture of the Japanese and the differences that can create misunderstanding. The second day will introduce other cultures, topics applicable to all immigrant and expatriate groups, and allow participants the opportunity to listen to international voices. Participants may register for both sessions, or each session separately. International foods will be provided for lunch. (click on link for more)

Center for Japanese Studies

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Remembering Vincent Chin 28 years later - AnnArbor.com

Posted: Jun 20, 2010 at 12:51 PM AnnArbor.com
by Frances Kai-Hwa Wang

Before I came to Michigan for graduate school, the only thing I knew about Michigan was that it was where Vincent Chin was killed. My parents’ Japanese-American neighbors warned me to sell my father’s Toyota 4-Runner and buy a Ford Bronco. I asked about safety as much as I did about academics before I decided to come.

Saturday was the 28th anniversary of the baseball bat beating that caused the death of Vincent Chin. Unfortunately, with the recession and rise in anti-immigrant sentiment, the case is even more relevant than ever. (click on link for more)

Remembering Vincent Chin 28 years later - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: U of M Center for Japanese Studies hosts cultural competence workshop for teachers - AnnArbor.com

June 21-22, an interesting workshop for teachers entitled “Understanding your Students: A Workshop on Cultural Competence” will be sponsored by the University of Michigan Center for Japanese Studies, in collaboration with the Centers for Chinese, Korean, and Latin American & Caribbean Studies and the Program on Intergroup Relations, and held at the University of Michigan. This workshop seeks to help teachers, school administrators, school counselors, and families celebrate diversity while seeking to better understand the international students that have become an increasing part of the classroom. (click on link for more)

U of M Center for Japanese Studies hosts cultural competence workshop for teachers - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: NAACP Juneteenth Celebration at Wheeler Park Saturday - AnnArbor.com

I always thought that slavery ended after Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation until a transplanted Texan first told me about Juneteenth, the celebration commemorating the day that news of freedom finally reached the slaves in Texas on June 19, 1865—more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. The celebration started in Galveston, Texas but has now become a sort of African American Fourth of July celebration, spreading to communities across the country.

The Ann Arbor Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) will be celebrating Juneteenth this Saturday, June 19, at Wheeler Park from noon to 6 p.m. with music, poetry, storytelling, games, children’s activities, vendors and food.(click on link for more)

NAACP Juneteenth Celebration at Wheeler Park Saturday - AnnArbor.com

Graduation Season--coming home, heading out, and the Chinese School community - AnnArbor.com

At the Ann Arbor Chinese School graduation ceremony this year, all the students gathered together in the multipurpose room at Northside School to honor this year’s graduating seniors. The high school class told funny stories about them, their parents shared fat baby pictures, the school presented them with framed diplomas to mark the 15 years they have spent here (preschool to grade 12), and the two graduates took a moment to share their wise, old insights with all the little brothers and sisters about why they should study Chinese. Kevin talked about how he is going to continue to study Chinese this summer and in college. Daniel talked about how he will not know what to do with himself on Friday nights.

I was surprised to see several graduates from previous years who had gone off to college and then come home for the summer sitting at the back of the room. What were they doing at Chinese School again? The ones who used to teach the younger kids stepped right back into their old classes. Others visited their teachers and friends. Some had just come from their Chinese School class reunion for more Chinese School memories.

How important this place and this community and these friends must be to them that they gave up a Friday night to visit. (click on link for more)

Graduation Season--coming home, heading out, and the Chinese School community - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Wear Maize and Blue to the King School Ice Cream Social - AnnArbor.com

At Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School’s Leslie Science and Nature Center assembly Friday, Francie called on a boy to answer a question, then hesitated, “I was about to say the boy in the Michigan shirt, but that seems to be almost everyone today.”

King School was a sea of maize and blue Friday. It started long ago, at King School’s Silent Auction, but more recently, families received an email, phone call, and blog post from King School Principal Kevin Karr reminding families about the King School Ice Cream Social on Friday:

WEAR MAIZE AND BLUE!
As a result of the money donated at the silent auction fundraiser, please remember everyone must wear wear maize and blue at the ice cream social. This includes fans who root for Ohio State, Michigan State, and similar lesser universities.

I had a confused conversation with an earnest new parent and recent immigrant last week about “the requirement to wear blue and what color?”

I tried to explain that maize means yellow and what happened at the Silent Auction (see Up Front Section of the June Ann Arbor Observer), but quickly realized that I had to start at the beginning. (click on link for more)

Wear Maize and Blue to the King School Ice Cream Social - AnnArbor.com

Bidding War at King School - arborweb.com

Appears in June print edition of Ann Arbor Observer, also posted online at ArborWeb.com on 6/11/2010

At King School's ice cream social on June 11, principal Kevin Karr will be triumphantly wearing maize and blue. This may not seem out of the ordinary for a U-M alum who special-ordered a big block M on his parking space sign, except that this year, Item #325 at the King School Silent Auction to support student enrichment was "The Karr Jersey"--the chance to make Principal Karr wear another team's colors. A proud, well-organized OSU contingent pooled their resources, even going viral to fund-raise at an elementary school in Columbus. Karr was getting nervous about a possible scarlet and gray fate. In the end, though, U-M fans prevailed with a combined winning bid of $520, beating out Duke, Stanford, Michigan State, Purdue, Yale, Columbia, the University of Phoenix, in Karr's words, "last and least, the Ohio State University!" Now Karr is rallying everyone to join him in wearing the colors of Michigan at the social, even--no, especially--the OSU families.

Bidding War at King School - arborweb.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Khaled Mattawa poetry reading at Nicola's Books Wednesday - AnnArbor.com

Assistant Professor Khaled Mattawa, of the University of Michigan Masters in Fine Arts Creative Writing program, will be reading at 7 p.m. today at Nicola’s Books. Although last week’s Radius of Arab American Writers conference is over, we are fortunate to still be able to hear its writers. There is a short accessible article about his work in the Kalamazoo Gazette. (click on link for more)

Khaled Mattawa poetjavascript:void(0)ry reading at Nicola's Books Wednesday - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Learning across ethnic lines from my Greek-American brother and Miss USA Rima Fakih - AnnArbor.com

I was once walking down South University with a tall, dark and handsome friend who remarked what it must look like, what would people say, what if my family found out.

We were just walking, but after we parted ways on the corner of South University and Forest, I realized that danger was much closer than he realized. My Greek American brother Evan worked right there, two doors down. (Of course, I confessed instantly the next time I saw my Greek American brother Evan, who guessed the restaurant we had had lunch and then explained in brotherly fashion what my friend’s real intentions had been. “Really?”)

My children are one-eighth Greek, and when I first met Evan and his family, I had a lot of questions about Greek culture and language. I was also trying to decide whether to enroll the children in Greek School in addition to Chinese School. Evan told me stories about how empowering it was to learn Greek dance at Greek School, and I told him stories about what a bad student I was at Chinese School. We quickly realized that our experiences at Greek School and Chinese School were basically the same, just a different language. We started joking that we were family, and it was always a good feeling when Evan would defend me anytime he caught anyone giving me grief, “Hey, that’s my sister.”

When I inadvertently gave my son the same name as Evan’s father, “You named him after my dad?” the bond was complete. (click on link for more)

Learning across ethnic lines from my Greek-American brother and Miss USA Rima Fakih - AnnArbor.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Ya'ssoo Greek Festival this weekend at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church - AnnArbor.com

My children and I attend a lot of cultural festivals, so my children are cultural festival connoisseurs the way other more normal people might be connoisseurs of gourmet food or fine art. It is a rare festival that holds the children’s attention year after year, even as they get older and begin to outgrow some of the things they used to love when they were younger.

The Ya’ssoo Greek Festival of Ann Arbor is one of those events that the children continue to cherish, in part because it is our chance to learn a little more about the children’s Greek heritage, in part to see their friends and classmates dance, and in part (ok, in large part) because of the food! As the blue and white signs have been popping up all over town these past few weeks, the anticipation (and salivation) has been steadily building, especially as we drive past St. Nick’s beautiful copper dome on Scio Church Road. (click on link for more)

Ya'ssoo Greek Festival this weekend at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church - AnnArbor.com

Ya'ssoo Greek Festival - arborweb.com

Originally appeared in June print edition of Ann Arbor Observer. Also posted online 6/4/2010

I always smile when I drive down Scio Church Road and see the big copper dome topping St. Nick's Greek Orthodox Church. I remember when they built it and moved from their former Main Street location, how proud the children and I were to honor their Greek heritage by sending in our tiny little donation check to do our part. It feels like we have "always" gone to the Ya'ssoo Greek Festival, so I am surprised to discover that it was revived only in 2007 after a twenty-three-year hiatus.

As we enter the gate, we stop and ponder the directions: fourteen brightly painted arrows nailed to a post. To the east: Athens 5273 miles and Constantinople 5328 miles. To the west: Tijuana 1936 miles and Kathmandu 7566 miles. The Kouzina and Taverna are also to the east, so we head east first. (click on link for more)

Ya'ssoo Greek Festival - arborweb.com

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Indian classical music concert featuring Sugata Marjit Friday at University of Michigan - AnnArbor.com

The University of Michigan Center for South Asian Studies will present an Indian classical music concert titled, Sangeet Sandhya--An evening of enchanting Indian classical Raga music and spiritual bhajan compositions, at 8 p.m. Friday at Britton Recital Hall on North Campus.

The concert features Sugata Marjit, a renowned vocalist from India, who will be accompanied by John Churchville on tabla and Mandar Phadke on harmonium. (click on link for more)

Indian classical music concert featuring Sugata Marjit Friday at University of Michigan - AnnArbor.com