Second Interview

My second interview was the weekend after the first one. This time, I felt much more comfortable about it, seeing as how the first one had gone so well and it felt much less awkward than I had anticipated.

Mr. and Mrs. Wong own a small gift shop towards the end of Mulberry Street, where Little Italy begins to mix with Chinatown. I chose to interview them because I thought it would be an interesting change from the mostly Italian residents of Little Italy. Even though the Wongs are Chinese, they still live and work in and around Mulberry Street.  They have owned the current store since 1997, and Mr. Wong has lived in the area since coming to New York from Beijing in 1995.

It is common in many cultures for the men to immigrate first. They work here and either make money and send it back to their home country for their family to come over as well, or they stay for a while and then return home. In this case, Mr. Wong’s wife followed him over the year after he arrived himself. They now have two children, Thomas and Annie, who live in the area with them and attend school nearby. They also go to Chinese school on sundays, where they learn to speak Chinese and learn about native customs.

The Wong’s knew from the start that they were moving into a historically Italian neighborhood, but never saw any issue with it or considered moving elsewhere. “The Chinese population here has been exploding,” commented Mr. Wong. “I have many friends who came to this area from back home.” Mrs. Wong liked how safe the neighborhood was, and said that “my children are happy here and have American friends now, so we cannot go back.”

Most of the products that are sold at the Wong’s store are New York themed, rather than specific to Little Italy or Chinatown. According to Mr. Wong, the store does well because they order from a different supplier than most of the generic gift shops that you can see all over the city, so their inventory is more unique. The shop had existed before they bought it, and was previously Italian themed. At that time, Little Italy really extended all the way up past the end of Mulberry and way out to the sides, so the location was clearly in the neighborhood.

Mr. and Mrs. Wong told me that they had no plans to leave anytime soon, and that the presence of so many Chinese in the area really made it a great place for them to live in. As is the case with any immigrant group I suppose, having the company of close friends who share your background and experiences really makes living in America an easier thing to do. For the children, they will likely assimilate over time.