San Francisco State University student Ivane Lund-Soyombo talks about her Mac Book Pro, which she considers as her most prized possession.

Produced by Julian Lim

Song: Vor Dem Schlafen In Grosskönigsdorf by FJGI

Ivane and her Mac Book Pro

Student Alex Gutierrez reflects on how deportation in the U.S. has affect his and his family's life. 

Song is Op. 37, H. 142 - XII Arabesca by Danza Espanola.

Student reflects on deportation and family

Justin Alan is a 27 year old comedian working in San Francisco. In this piece, Justin talks about his late-father and how he inspires him to be confident on stage.

Finding the Funny in Tragedy

The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. The 250-acre garden draws over hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. Reporter Julian Lim took a tour of the grounds with a volunteer docent.

Volunteer Docent of the New York Botanical Garden

Chinese Hispanic Grocery - Rafael Perez

When he was 10, Vibol Sangkriem attempted to buy and replace a tire on his bike from a local shop in the Bronx. 

“I don’t know how to explain to get a new one,” he said. Sangkriem, having just arrived in the US with his family a year prior in 1983 as Cambodian refugees, spoke very little English to begin with. “So I just point and said whatever I could. Instead of understanding where I’m coming from, the guy just laughed at me.”

Sangkriem is 42 now, but that day has stayed with him since. At the time, he thought to himself, ‘why would the bike shopkeeper laugh at me? This isn’t my language?’ 

“And the funniest thing about the person who’s laughing is that they’re not even white themselves,” Sangkriem said. “They just happen to speak better than me. But they just laugh at you. For what reason?”

Just as the scene unfolded in the bike shop, Sangkriem remembered the old white man who stood up for him. The man scolded the attendant and said, “Why are you laughing at him? At least he’s trying.”

And he was trying.

TheJulianLim