Chinatown Nostalgia (los angeles)

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Chinatowns around the world were started in the 1800's. In the US, these neighborhoods were started by immigrants who were brought over to build railroads.

Whenever I hear the word "Chinatown", I always get wonderful feelings of nostalgia. After all, I was born and raised in Chinatown (LA). I was born in 1982 in the old French hospital (Pacific Alliance Medical Center is the current name), across the street from Castelar Elementary School, which I attended from pre-school until the 6th grade. My family immigrated to Taiwan during the Cultural Revolution in 1949. My mom's side of the family is from Shandong, China. When my mom arrived in to the US, she got a job at the Golden Palace, which was a couple blocks away from Castelar. It was a mega multi leveled restaurant, and if memory serves me right, was the size of a couple football fields. It was here where I recieved my first introduction to restaurants and its cooking. I can go on and on talking about food, so it's best that I save it for another time.

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Growing up, I fell in love with the sounds, sights and aromas of this neighborhood. It was all I knew, but I felt a deep connection to the land. It was a feeling of connection that strung all the way to the homeland and to my ancestors. It has kept me close to my roots, while growing up in a major American city.

I remember the markets and the streets of Broadway, College, and Alpine and playing ball at the recreation center. I still remember running around the cobble stoned streets of Chung King Road with my friends. There was the wishing well at Central Plaza where everyone threw pennies into. I remember the Chinese school, the talented lion dancers practicing for the upcoming New Year's Celebration, and trying to get through the weekends at a family friend's gambling parlor. I remember the smells of fresh baked and steamed breads each morning while walking to school. I also remember the liquor shop where I used to buy baseball cards and then hung around with the shop owner for hours at a time, hoping to finally meet his daughter. (She was a Lakers Girl, I was a fanatic for the team.) To me, this neighborhood was the size of the world, yet small enough where people walking into shops knew each other by name.

I loved the chaos and its energy. It was being close to the familiar and always felt like "home". Things have changed. This Chinatown barely exists today. Or am I the one who's changed?![chinatownla.jpg]

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