"Stealing Buddha's Dinner" day 1

The first part of this story to stand out to me was the mention of the discovery of the Vietnamese market. This immediately reminded me of "Tastes Like Cuba" where both immigrant families forced from their homes to the United States find excitement, comfort and hope in the discovery of a place to provide something familiar for their families. In this story, the market is also described as a meeting place for many Vietnamese Americans to meet and build a community. Secondly, I noticed a very clear distinction between gender roles within the family. The girls and women congregate in the kitchen, served the father's friends at parties, mentions of finding a husband were very frequent in casual conversation, and Rose was largely abandoned for becoming pregnant out of wedlock. The father and Rosa come into conflict over these roles as she is strong willed and plays the role of financial provider. It is clear that this family resists conformity to their new surroundings. As other families adopted "American" names and cuisine, Rosa largely rejects this movement and seeks to preserve their roots despite the discomfort of the children. I, myself, felt somewhat torn in this conflict. I understood Rosa's motives but I could relate to feeling like a outsider and in a state of "limbo" between two identities that the children were experiencing. I found it very charming and innocent that the narrator was so enthralled by ice cream. I thought it was interesting that she used the Vietnamese word for ice cream more often than the English. Something to special to and loved by her was so directly connected to what she had left behind.