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September 19, 2023

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At Hmong Legacy Market, located on Madison’s South Side, you’ll discover a treasure trove of homemade Asian cuisine. From steaming bowls of beef pho to whole roasted tilapia seasoned with herbs and chili, and delightful sesame rice balls filled with mung beans and coconut, this independent Asian grocery store offers a culinary journey.

Ze Yang, one of the owners, can often be found expertly preparing dishes like squash curry. To her, food is more than sustenance; it’s a connector, a storyteller, and a unifying force that brings people together.

As a young child in the 1980s, Ze Yang lived in a refugee camp in Thailand with her family, having fled Laos during the aftermath of the Vietnam War. In 1991, Ze Yang’s family received the opportunity to immigrate to the United States, sponsored by a distant uncle who had settled in California. Their early days in the U.S. were marked by challenges—language barriers, cultural shock, and financial difficulties. However, their farming skills from Laos allowed them to grow crops like green beans, tomatoes, and peppers, which they sold to support their family.

After six years in California, Ze Yang’s family decided to move to Wisconsin, drawn by the promise of better public schools and economic opportunities. Ze Yang’s parents worked tirelessly, holding multiple jobs to make ends meet. This experience inspired Ze Yang to become a teacher, focusing on helping immigrant children adapt to the American education system.

Ze Yang’s family thrived. They bought a house, built a family, the kids went to school, but they also wanted to pursue their entrepreneurial dream. They longed to create a space where people from diverse backgrounds could gather, savor homemade dishes, and access pantry staples from across Asia. This is why they opened Hmong Legacy Market, offering an extensive array of products, from giant spring roll skins to bamboo shoot chili oil, and from mango mochi to traditional Hmong celebratory clothing.

More than just a grocery store, Hmong Legacy Market is committed to the well-being of the community. In 2021, it partnered with Public Health Madison and Dane County to serve as a mobile COVID vaccination clinic. Looking ahead, Ze Yang envisions the store’s legacy continuing to thrive, driven by the spirit of family and the desire to improve and grow.

Featured Image Source: Madison

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Image Source: South China Morning Post

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Bankrupt Chinese Restaurant Owner Bounces Back To Pay $6.4 Million Debt Through Sausage-Selling

“We are born with nothing. Why be scared of starting all over again?” says Chinese Tang Jian after starting up a street food stall in Hangzhou, China following his business bankruptcy which left him with $6.4 million.

At 52, the former millionaire Chinese restaurant proprietor is positive of earning funds to pay his multi-million debt by selling barbecued sausages.

Thus, his optimism put netizens in awe as a person, who despite losing his 16-year-old business venture and everything he had because of the unsuccessful investment in the landscape engineering industry, is still hopeful of being able to recover from the downfall.

Tang was once a successful businessman starting at the age of 36. However, because of the fruitless outlay, he was compelled to sell everything he founded through his business including his restaurants, homes, and cars.

Still unable to pay his debts in full, Tang decided to put up the small-time sausage-selling business.

Tang proudly exclaimed that “Every sausage is genuinely filled with meat, and there is no starch in it. When compared with those sold in amusement parks or markets, ours will make you feel safer,” as quoted in South China Morning Post.

Upon knowing that his story trended in social media, Tang explained that it was because all of us face our own challenges in life, however, we must always have that strong spirit of winning each battle. 

He also said that he is really determined to settle his debts although still uncertain when it would be.

Tang shared that bravery is a key to overcoming hardships and going on in life and that we should always seek strength, especially during hard times.

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Virginia Embraces Diversity and Korean Culture, Celebrates First Kimchi Day

Being home to one of the biggest Korean communities in the nation, Virginia had its first-ever Kimchi Day on November 22, through the Korean American Women’s Association.

Held at the Good Shepherd Evangelical Church in  Springfield, the festivity was materialized especially for this motive: acknowledge kimchi as a nonnative dish in Virginia which is specially imported for the increasing number of Korean American citizens in the country. It also reflects how the state has embraced diversity.

During the celebration, roughly 150 people of different colors converged to make their own kimchi, following the traditional and neat process of kimchi preparation. 

Originally, families and acquaintances converge to happily prepare the ingredients, store them in jars, and place them underground for fermentation producing a savory, piquant, and sugary kimchi. This is done every November, a month after harvesting cabbage.

On the other hand, it was officially moved to be celebrated in January through Irene Shin (D), the foremost Korean American servant in the House of Delegates, who acquired two-way support for her proposition.

For Koreans, kimchi is beyond being a cuisine. It narrates Korea’s past, its folks’ tenacity, and its landscape which Koreans are more than proud of. Kimchi is a celebration of family and blessings.

Northern Virginia and Annandale seem to be “Korea Towns” as Korean establishments like diners, worship places, food markets, bakeries, and beauty shops in Hangul inscriptions are all over. The state and Korea have found strong connections with each other that Fairfax County Economic Development Authority can even be found in the latter’s capital.

A Korean American mentioned how Kimchi Day appreciates the essence of exporting not only the product but of Korean culture; a manifestation of how the US whole-heartedly accepted acculturation.

Image Source: Tufts Daily

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Sunil Kumar To Sit As The First Person Color President of Tufts University in 2023

The Board of Trustees commissioned Indian politician Sunil Kumar as the 14th president of Tufts University, Massachusetts in 2023 succeeding President Anthony P. Monaco, after the latter’s 12-year term.

Kumar is currently a provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Johns Hopkins University and was once the dean of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and is a competent operations manager.

The head of the commission on presidential search and BOT, Peter Dolan, proudly exclaimed that Kumar’s never-ending dedication to providing first-rate tertiary education and extraordinary track in leadership, teaching, and interpersonal skills are essential as a presidential successor. 

Furthermore, Kumar’s colleagues at Johns Hopkins mentioned him as a wholesome partner and co-worker who has the distinct qualifications of an outstanding leader.

Looking back at how Kumar started, he is a son of a police officer who attained his master’s in Computer Science Automation at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore two years after he completed his bachelor’s degree at Mangalore University in 1990. While having his master’s, he met a professor from the University of Illinois who enlisted him in the prestigious university for a doctorate program which he finished in 1996.

Kumar had his first teaching experience at Stanford Graduate School of Business where he exclaimed how was amazed to be paid for the work he is passionate about and after more than a decade there, he became the Dean of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, leading him to the provost and senior vice president posts in Johns Hopkins in 2016.

Nonetheless, he said that being a mathematician served him well in his profession.

Prior to being named as the new president, Kumar already has his eyes on Tufts because of its pursuit of serving not just those who are inside the school but the wider community outside its premises.

As the newly-elected leader to sit on July 1, 2023, Kumar’s mission is to reach out to people to a greater degree by giving them an opportunity to know the school by experience and make that experience extraordinary.

Image Source: Nike

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Two Indigenous Women Set Fire As Nike’s Latest N7 Collection Ambassadors

Nike powerhouse unveils two new faces for their latest indigenous collection in the name of 2022 Miss Aloha Hula Piʻikea Lopes and Native American Professional Track, and Field Athlete Janee’ Kassanavoid.

Lopes is the first-ever Native Hawaiian featured in the special edition collection. She gracefully showcased her indigenous origin and award-winning antique sway and fashion in the Times Square advertisement.

At 22, Lopes is an accomplished young maiden: a hula dancing champion and skilled powerlifter defender who graduated from the University of Hawaii-Manoa and is soon to graduate with her master’s in teaching.

 “It’s nice being noticed by a globally known brand wanting to feature Hawaiʻi and acknowledge hula as a sport,” she said.

Meanwhile, Janee’ Kassanavoid from Missouri stands in the same limelight highlighting her glory of being the first indigenous woman to victory in the 2022 World Track and Field Championships, through her passion for the hammer throw.

Geared on shedding light on Native American youth and Indigenous societies in the Northern part of America, Nike conducts multi-million dollars’ worth of extension programs to make their grantees live a wholesome, pleasing, and prosperous life just as what they are doing to Lopes and Kassanavoid.