ATTITUDE TOWARD F.O.B.S
(Updated to reflect the 100 most recent valid responses.)

Assuming you are an Asian American, what's your definition of an F.O.B. ("Fresh-off-the-boat" immigrant)?
Anyone not born in the U.S. | 31%
Anyone who speaks with a noticeable accent | 30%
Anyone who acts or dresses old-country | 39%

Assuming you are an Asian American, what's your attitude toward F.O.B.s?
I am fully open to friendships/relationships with them. | 44%
I am friendly but would not want to get too close. | 41%
I generally avoid them on a social level. | 15%

Assuming you are an Asian American, what do you find most annoying about F.O.B.s?
They play into offensive stereotypes. | 15%
They are obsessed with flashy materialism. | 39%
They maintain Asian customs and values. | 0%
They are no more annoying than other AA. | 46%
hopeless£¼

Um...stop talking...

FOBs are the most respectable form of Asians. You apparently have no recognition for bravery..adaptability...and subtle thinking which are all displayed by FOBs...

By the way...we are not on the same page if you are talking about Chinatown FOBs...because I am talking about the FOBs who gave up leisure...social status back in Asia to persue democracy and a better future here in the States for their children...
I guess Chinatown Asians are brave in their own sense but let me first educate you about FOBs of my type.

We FOBs are dominating the Academic field here in the US more so than any ABCs....

Us FOBs...we are like the future of China...because we apparently are the ones that can be obejective about problems in our homeland ...to the least...we are aware...

We are the hope of the Asian culture survival here in the US...since most ABCs(you) put no effort into learning about your(Chinese) culture...

Educated FOBs are often so much more confident than your average ABC that it is not enough funny...
I wish that they can be more comfortable with their Asian selves...

ABCs...
Larrii Kong....wants to send unaware ABCs back to China    Monday, August 12, 2002 at 22:10:18 (PDT)
MLK,

I completely agree! Being bi-lingual is an advantage, being literate in two languages makes you even more unique!

Plus, it's also an advantage in the working world.

I've been back to Viet Nam, and had a bombass time. The country is beautiful, the women are beautiful, the people are genuinely sincere & the food can't get any better. The standards of living is unbelievably cheap!

Going back to Viet Nam really changed my views. I really found myself while I was there. It was a gift to go there, a lifelong experience.

It's not like going to Hawaii where you'd stay at some exotic resort and sip on pinacholada all day.

It is a process of self-discovery. You'll encounter lots of homeless people, kids & adults who have been mutated due to toxics from war such as agent orange & other radioactive components. It's really sad, and there is no social security system to support them.

You come back realizing how privelaged you are in America, how lucky you have it; how rough your parents had it back then.

One piece of advice, IF you do visit VN: DON'T trash talk or provoke any type of behavior on the commies, keep a low profile!

I gave one of them the finger, and my uncle told me that I could get locked up for that. There is no U.S. embassy anymore, so BEWARE, there isn't anything the U.S. can do once you get in trouble w/the REDS.
A Memoriable Experience    Monday, August 12, 2002 at 18:40:27 (PDT)
Kiet

I hope that you'll grow up to learn that your arrogance is just going to bite you in the a**.

What do you think your parents once were? Does that mean that are they the lowest forms of Asians?

Do you even know what they went through, trying to escape to find a better life.

I do agree w/the part where some of them stick together & don't take a chance to improve themselves & head into a life of gang banging. However, that's another issue.

It still does not give you the rights to sneer down upon them as if they are lower forms of human beings.
I hope that your IGNORANCE will change!    Monday, August 12, 2002 at 18:09:48 (PDT)
Kiet

I hope that you'll grow up to learn that your arrogance is just going to bite you in the a**.

What do you think your parents once were? Does that mean that are they the lowest forms of Asians?

Do you even know what they went through, trying to escape to find a better life.

I do agree w/the part where some of them stick together & don't take a chance to improve themselves & head into a life of gang banging. However, that's another issue.

It still does not give you the rights to sneer down upon them as if they are lower forms of human beings.
I hope that your IGNORANCE will change!    Monday, August 12, 2002 at 18:09:33 (PDT)
MLK,
OMG, you are not chinese? well that explains why you cannot read chinese. And btw, do you have a website for these traveling suggestions?
1/2LostSoul    Monday, August 12, 2002 at 14:43:39 (PDT)
aagirl

I'm Vietnamese, among other nationalities too varied to get into at this time.

A ticket is roughly 1K with only another 1K for expenses if you are willing to stay at less expensive lodging (between 10 to 15 US dollars per night) and are not going to be booking into 4 to 6 star hotels (anywhere between 50 to 100 US clams) during your stay.

Tours are cheap. I booked one that was targeted for Europeans and Americans, which took me up and down Vietnam in over 2 weeks, for less than $200 US dollars, and that included food and lodging. China has the same kinds of tours, for roughly the same costs if you stay in smaller cities. The costs rise when you hit the large cities, but are still manageable, esp. when compared to vacationing in Anytown, USA. If you're still in school, go during your semester or quarter breaks. If you're working, take an extended vacation (which you have to take anyway or lose the accumulated vacation time).

Take along a friend (or boyfriend) and share the costs, you will find that it's not as much as you think it is, and the experience is worth all the money in the world. When you leave the US, your mind widens along with your horizons. When you return, you begin to see your fellow Asian Americans in such a different light.
MLK    Sunday, August 11, 2002 at 13:50:02 (PDT)
FOBs are like the lowest forms of Asians in America. The ones that try to adapt to the new environment and learn Eniglish are excusable, but the ones that never care to change but only stick with their other FOB friends are hopeless.
Kiet    Thursday, August 08, 2002 at 16:57:30 (PDT)
MLK

Thanks for the suggestion. I would speak vietnamese, mostly slang, not real good though.
Okie, I'm gonna do my best to translate what you said:
Nguoi Viet can phai biet noi va biet doc tieng Viet. Khong co gi quan trong hon su hieu biet ve lich su va tieng noi cua dan toc minh.

Vietnamese people need to know how to speak and write vietnamese. There's nothing more important than to understand our history and our language.


Am I right? I could read some, but not one of those fancy novels, it's extremely hard, especially the one novels that uses older language. Oh, my b/f is also vietnamese too, he's real good at vietnamese, and also at English too, about 1/4 or less of the time, I speak to him in vietnamese. I want to go to visit Vietnam though, but I dont' have the time or the money at hand, so that's quite impossible for me.
Are you viet also?
aagirl    Friday, August 02, 2002 at 18:31:54 (PDT)
aagirl

"...I do want to learn Vietnamese also, just that I haven't find the time, and I put other things before that because it's more important."

It's important to learn English--very important. It's also important to learn your native language--also very important. The ONLY way you can maintain a bilingual & biracial identity and mentality is if you maintain a high fluency level in BOTH languages. It's great that you are English literate, but if you don't know your own native language (Vietnamese), you are still considered illiterate according to all Asian views.

But you can change this. Start by picking one day out of a week and surround yourself with Vietnamese people who are unable to speak the English language very fluently. By being forced to speak the language with native speakers, you eventually become quite fluent, in spite of yourself. I would also suggest you take a trip back to Vietnam. There's nothing that will reestablish your Asian roots as going back to the mother country.

Nguoi Viet can phai biet noi va biet doc tieng Viet. Khong co gi quan trong hon su hieu biet ve lich su va tieng noi cua dan toc minh.

I hope you understand this, even without all the accent marks.
MLK    Thursday, August 01, 2002 at 00:22:01 (PDT)

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