Beautiful Country - H

I'm getting out more these days, to see shows. E and I went to see Lord of the Dance a couple of weeks ago. I think it's one of the most entertaining shows I've seen. They gave two encore presentations. The audience just wouldn't sit down.

We also went to see Making Tracks last night, an Asian American Rock Musical, at the SJ Rep with some of my coworkers. It tells the story of Chinese and Japanese immigrants to the US and the struggles that their children face too. It's still a little unpolished, but pretty well done and funny too. I'm not one to be all pro-Asian Americans and stuff like that (although I am learning a lot simply by being here in Cali and working at my mostly Asian-American school, and I'm enjoying it), but I was very impressed with the show, particularly the voices. I've never heard Asian-Americans sing like that! Go Asian-Americans! I'd recommend going to see it. It's showing until mid-April, I think.

They did a good job of portraying the sacrifice that immigrants made to be here, the hopefulness with which they came, and the disappointment they met when they finally landed on "Beautiful Country." Some of that resonated with me since my parents are first generation immigrants, and they've faced the same kinds of hardships and disappointments to be here as well. I realize that I can't forget what my parents and our family endured because I'd lose some self-definition. Just thinking about it gives me a whole lot of perspective and a firmer grasp on my identity.