So, what's that like?

Some shower thoughts being visibly Chinese in rural Vermont, plus new writing for One Thing

The funny thing about being a person of color living in a place like rural Vermont is that the white people who surround you have few if any, preconceived notions of who you are based on your ethnicity. I suspect this is partly attributable to a lack of interpersonal exposure due to living in a rural place, perhaps partly due to a different media diet that may not contain as many racial stereotypes, and partly due to the greater emphasis on kindness and neighborliness in daily life around these parts. In most cases when I meet someone new, I feel seen as just “a person” as opposed to “an Asian person.” As someone who was never good at math and didn’t hang out exclusively with other Asians growing up, it’s liberating not to have to overcome those hurdles. Other things I’ve managed to avoid while living up here include being called “Bruce Lee” and “Jackie Chan” by strap-hangers on the subway or being told to “go back to China” by some random Long Islander while walking down the street in Manhattan’s Chinatown.

The most othering experience I consistently encounter is that most people I introduce myself to will remember my name the first time we meet, even if it takes several times to remember Alex’s. There’s also the occasional “Oh, that’s such an interesting/beautiful/unique surname!” from a well-intentioned old lady working at the polling station or municipal office, but I know it comes from an earnest place, even if it feels cringe to receive. Even people wearing MAGA paraphernalia smile and wave hi when we pass each other on Main Street. I may not be of them in the way that a white person wearing my same clothes might be assumed to be, but I also don’t feel the default otherness that I’ve experienced in predominantly white spaces I encountered while living in more diverse parts of the country.

Anyway, this is all to say that it hasn’t been a problem… yet. However, the fact that the closest Asian grocery store is a 90-minute drive away did start to grate on me pretty deeply after a while. This is why I was so happy to be introduced to the Asian grocery delivery service Say Weee by our friend Bryan. It’s been an absolute godsend and it was a privilege to write about it once again for the One Thing newsletter. You can read the full essay here or at the link below. (And if you sign up for Say Wee using this link, we will both get $20 off our next order.)

🟧 An Asian grocery store for anywhere