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China: Birth
I don't know much about my birth. How am I supposed to know? I only know what my mother has told me. And that was what I knew, and still know, of my birth. It is not very descriptive.
I am coming to the Land of the Golden Mountain over twenty years later in order to trade. There is a lot of demand for these things, you know. But they say you might lose yourself in the white men. I will write this down to make sure. -
America: The Inspection
They let me in. I am a merchant, of course. The inspection, though, did not go well. I was stripped naked--yes, in front of people. I saw the Statue of Liberty, and I thought this would be a fine place. It is not. It is a place for humiliation only. -
America: Tenementmates?
I am waiting for a friend to move into a tenement near where I keep my cart. (In fact, I practically sleep in that cart.) I am hoping to stay at my friend's house while I trade.
It has been a year since I've come to these States. I am physically, mentally, and verbally abused. My morale level is to me as below zero is to temperature. So I often wonder why I let myself go through this. I come up with the ridiculous answer that there is a high demand for trade. -
America: A Paper Man in a Just-As-Thin World
Today some people brought me in for questioning. I do not know what a paper boy is. I am not a boy, and I am not paper. The paper made from reeds in my country is not flesh.
The men explained to me that they thought I came to America under false identification. I did not, I explained indignantly. I am my own person, Chao Hou, a merchant. I do not understand. -
America: Is Two a Crowd?
I wonder about this country more and more. It is not wonder in a good sense. My friend wrote me a letter, and he was denied entry into the country. The Chinese Exclusion Act, he wrote that they told him, has been in effect since 1882. So what was I let in for? The people of this country are either really stupid or insane. I wish to get out of here as soon as possible. I will set out for home soon. I hope to be better recieved there. -
America: Poor Girl
It has been three years since the event I am about to describe. I do not fully understand it. It was a court case. The justice system in this world can never be faultless, I understand that. However, a fellow Chinese citizen was also denied citizenship here. Why are we somehow inferior? We can work just as hard, We can also prove it. What is wrong with these people?
