  I was waiting in the drive thru at Burger King this morning when I spotted an Asian American woman driving a gigantic black truck in front of me. Immediately, my mind fills with observations such as "how interesting that there are two Asian Americans in the same drive thru..." Now, this, obviously, would not be as interesting if we were in Asia or even an Asian American enclave such as Chinatown, the Sunset or the Richmond. But, this was the 'burbs where white is still big. I grew up around here and I remember being able to count the number of Asian Americans in my high school on two hands. Considering we make up about 1/3 of the world population, that's a small percentage. It's sad that I get so excited when I see other Asian Americans in the 'burbs. I wonder... where do they live? Are they twinkies (yellow on the outside, white on the inside)? Do they have Asian American friends? Do they speak with an accent? Do they known an Asian language?
Have they lived here for generations? How many generations have they lived here? Do they observe many of the traditions that somebody of their ethnicity would observe? The list goes on and on... It's like I have to catalog other Asian Americans in the suburbs...like we're rare butterflies. I HATE the fact that I have such a visceral reaction everytime I see another Asian American because, to me, it only points out that we are grossly underrepresented wherever I go.
I have a similar reaction to seeing an Asian American in the media. I'm so excited to see Asian Americans on television and I can't help but wonder how they got on the program. I've seen television shows with lots of white people, African Americans and Latinos. The shows are heralded as diverse ! The only thought going through my mind, though, is "where's are my peeps? " Asian Americans have often been seen as the bastard step child of the "people of color movement.
" We're too dark for white people but too "model minority" for people of color. So, it's not difficult to understand that we're often overlooked in the grand scheme of things. The whole thing makes me think of Sandra Tsing Loh's novel Aliens in America where she recollects her mother's observation that "we are all foreigners in a foreign land. " Now, I'd rather get stabbed in the eye than have somebody refer to me as a foreigner, especially when people do that to me indirectly all the time. What country are you from? What does this say? (pointing to a menu in Chinese) Oh, you're Filipino?
I simply LOVE lumpia! You know, those innocent statements and questions people make that seem to sting the most... Anyway, I'm not saying that I am a foreigner...but, I do sometimes feel like I am a foreigner in a foreign land. I'm but one stranger in a sea of sameness. 
