Week 2 Posting

un.
I believe that the experience of simultaneously being an insider as well as an outsider is actually a common experience for many Americans of non-white descent. For myself, being a second-generation Chinese American of Vietnam-born Chinese descent, I often find myself having both an insider/outsider perspective. Growing up in San Francisco, I experienced a great deal of Chinese American, as well as authentic Chinese culture. I felt a gap between my non-Chinese peers and myself when I had to tell them that I was busy on Saturday mornings because I had to attend Chinese school. In the past, I was ashamed of telling them about this because I didn't want to be seen as different, or that the fact that I had a Chinese heritage drew an invisible line between them and me. However, even in the environment of other Chinese people, I could feel either like an outsider or an insider. With overseas-born Chinese, particularly those of an older generation, I often felt like an outsider. Although I had a Chinese face (though unmistakably American-born), I was not at the same level of "Chinese-ness" as they were. I felt the same way when I recently went to Hong Kong for a brief vacation. I speak the Cantonese dialect of Chinese very well for an American-born Chinese, but I am not fluent like a native speaker. Also, there are certain intangibles about myself that would inform a native-born Hong Konger that I am not quite one of them, although I enjoy the same food, listen to the same music, watch the same movies, shop at the same malls, visit the same hotspots. There are definitely certain situations in which I accentuate different parts of my identity. With Americans of all different ethnic heritages, I generally choose to highlight the things we have in common, that are part of a culture that spans ethnic lines. Some examples are popular American music, my religious identity as a Christian, which crosses all ethnic/socio-economic lines, and school affiliation, as a UCLA student. It is interesting to share this insider/outsider duality with other American-born Chinese, who also often have the same perspective. Often, other people with a similar background as I can identify with my feelings of being an outsider and an insider to Chinese culture at the same time. I think that it is with these people that I feel most like an insider. Music, with these people, is a great bond. We can enjoy both American popular music (including Christian music) as well as Chinese music (and we all have approximately the same level of understanding of this kind of music). In addition, listening to Chinese music is a way in which I can identify with overseas-born Chinese, both those in Asia as well as those here in the United States. It gives us something to talk about and something that lets us build a bond despite two vastly different upbringings.

deux.
There are times when music is not the main event, but rather, it is a supporting facet of a bigger event. A Christian church service is a good example of music playing a supporting role in an event. At the church I attend, the service usually begins with the organist playing a prelude. The point of this music is to welcome the attendee into the church service environment, marking a transition between the outside world and the world inside the church on Sunday. The organ music orients the listener toward assuming an attitude of piety and reflection. Afterward, our minister of music directs the choir to sing a song to focus the hearts of the attendees. This is usually followed by the music minister leading the congregation in singing a number of hymns or more contemporary songs of worship. These songs contain meaningful lyrics and tunes that are often easy to learn. The point of all this music is to give praise to God. On occasion, there will also either be an instrumental performance by the church orchestra or a quartet, or a vocal performance by a soloist or a group of singers. Music brings together a number of aspects about the church service - there are meaningful words that often tie in with the sermon's message or with the passage of the Bible that has been read. Also, music is simply enjoyable to the general audience. It's a part of the church service which many people anticipate hearing.