My object, the rice cooker, represents the Chinese culture that my family comes from. The rice cooker was one of the few things that my parents knew how to use when they first arrived in the United States. My parents were poor and unable to get an education beyond high school so they decided to migrate from the city of Fuzhou, China to America in search of a better life and better job opportunities. I find my family to be unique because they’ve never given up in the face of adversity. My parents worked hard to fix their financial situation by coming to America alone at a young age to earn money to support my grandparents in China. Even though at the time, their finances made things difficult, my dad still chose to take a risk to invest in a restaurant for the sake of our family. Many of my peers who have similar stories are from the city of Fuzhou. Their parents also migrated for the sake of their families. They met difficulties when they first arrived in the United States since they had minimal education and no knowledge of English. For many of them, the rice cooker was one of the few things in America that was similar to China. The rice cooker is something that brings me and my family comfort in a country where the culture is so different from the culture where they grew up. They have lost a few traditions ever since they moved to America but cooking rice will always be a daily routine that reminds us of our memories in Chin

– SL

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant