This post is a culmination of going out to Philadelphia over the weekend of Friday April 14 – Saturday April 15. With so little time left in undergrad and uncertainty of where I’ll end up postgrad (NYC? Philly? Wisconsin? Connecticut?), there’s no time better than now to explore Philadelphia! Thank you to my shared monthly SEPTA pass and my close Mawrter friends for all the fun times (and all the ups and downs of college).
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Tag Archives: Chinatown
AMF & Friends Happy Hour
Yesterday after my internship at Center for Asian Health, I attended a Happy Hour event hosted by Asian Mosaic Fund (AMF). I was invited to an AMF gathering last semester and liked the people there. Aside from philanthropic giving, I want to get more involved and connect with the Asian American community in Philadelphia. The happy hour was hosted at Johnnie Walker Lounge in Chinatown Square, and attendees got to learn more about AMF and enjoy discounts on food and drinks. The event also highlighted the work of past grantee organization Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation (PCDC).
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Girls Night Out in Chinatown
My friends and I spent a much deserved Saturday night out in Philadelphia’s Chinatown for dinner and desserts tonight. We hit up Sakura Mandarin for dinner and Dumpling II for dessert. It was a nice break from dining hall food and a time for us to distract ourselves from school and boy problems, among other things.
Ringing in Lunar New Year in Chinatown
Saturday January 28 also happened to be the Lunar New Year. Of course, this is a big deal to me because I am Chinese American. Right after Wintry Mix ended, I bolted back to my room to change and literally ran to the R100 train station with two Mawrter friends. Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation was hosting a lion dance parade around Chinatown. Chinese tradition calls for firecrackers to scare away bad spirits and lion dances in front of business store fronts to welcome good fortune. The streets were quite crowded, but my friends and I were down for some late night adventures. 
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Election Day
It has been a pretty stressful election season for many of us at the Mawr and beyond. Like me, you’ve probably been overexposed to media coverage of conversations and controversies surrounding the candidates. All of this culminated on Tuesday November 8th — election day. From back-to-back shuttles provided by Bryn Mawr College Civic Engagement to constant statistics updates and social media proof that so-and-so voted, the push to get out the vote, especially among college students, ran strong. Here’s how my election day went:
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Grassroots AAPI Voter Registration
This past Saturday, I attended a voter registration workshop hosted by Asian Americans United, APIAVote, Cambodian Associations of Greater Philadelphia, and VietLead. The goal was to increase voter participation among Asian Americans in Chinatown. I had never registered anyone else to vote except myself, so I was curious what the process looked like on the grassroots level.
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Helen Gym’s Closing Keynote on Community Day of Learning
Councilwoman Helen Gym gave the closing speech for Community Day of Learning 2016. Gym is the daughter of immigrant parents raised in Ohio. She attended the University of Pennsylvania for both her undergraduate and graduate studies, was the director of Asian Americans United, and helped found Philadelphia Parents for Public Education in 2006. She is an advocate for community organizing and has helped prevent the siting of a baseball stadium and casino in Chinatown.
“Organize Your Own” Panel at Asian Arts Initiative
There were two great panel discussions at Asian Arts Initiative last Saturday February 13: Falling In with Dan S. Wang and “Organize Your Own?” a panel on the work
of four Asian American Socially-Engaged Artists. Asian Arts Initiative is an arts space for exhibitions, performances, artist residencies, youth workshops, and community gatherings. I’ve gone to quite a few open discussions at AAI and have come to appreciate this small intimate setting. I only caught the tail end of the Falling In discussion which started at 12:30pm because I had attended the ASA brunch. I was able to stay for the full 3-5pm panel though.
Photos by Hazel Photo/Paul Gargagliano
Chinatown Night Market
Tonight, Chinatown’s streets were transformed into a crowd of food trucks and food stands, music, entertainment, and more for the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corp. Night Market. 
Night markets are popular food and entertainment attractions in Asia, especially among the young people who like to go out late. Unlike tonight’s temporary pop-up night market in Philly, night markets in Taiwan, Korea, Japan, China, etc. are permanent structures. I hope to travel to Asia someday to experience an authentic night market, but for now, this is the closest I will get.