Chapter 1: Is That a Scallop in Your Martini?

My girlfriend and I were having dinner at a Thai restaurant. I was sipping on my lychee martini until a fairly drunk woman sitting close to us leaned over. Lacking inhibitions, the stranger asked why I had a scallop in my martini. I wasn’t in a small town in the middle of nowhere. This happened in San Francisco. I realized how little Americans knew about the other side of the world--let alone Asian Americans in their own backyards.

Growing up bi-cultural in Texas suburb, I was an American in school and Chinese at home. Many times, I served as a tour guide to the few friends who ventured into my home and stared uncomfortably at the discordant pile of shoes at the front door and at the bowls of mysterious food in the kitchen. My friends even dubbed it the "mystery bowl". Twenty years later, the popularity of anime, Kung Fu, interracial marriages and Asian fusion cuisines has perhaps indoctrinated Americans to Eastern cultures. But I see it more as an introduction. Does the average American really know about the rising Asian Tiger called China that is purported to rival the U.S. economy in a decade or two? The rest of the world knows about America.

This is going to be a casual conversation at your local cafe. Nothing will be considered taboo as I try to answer common questions and introduce the reader to topics I think they should know...

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