SAN FRANCISCO — Once a safe haven for Chinese immigrants who faced discrimination, San Francisco’s Chinatown YMCA is now a vibrant hub that welcomes young people from all backgrounds with cultural activities such as cooking classes.
Every day, Titikor Paisansiri walks through a large, Far Eastern-style entrance to the YMCA in San Francisco’s Chinatown, where he teaches culinary classes to teenagers. Once a mentee, now a mentor, he gives back by serving children in the community.
“Teenagers can come here and not have to worry so much about things like money or which high school you go to. They all come from anywhere in the city to this one place, Chinatown YMCA, and they have a great time,” he says. said.
That’s exactly the kind of safe haven Pastor Chan hoped for in 1911 when the Chinatown YMCA was founded.
From services for new immigrants to access to high-quality recreational experiences, the thriving cultural center has served members of all backgrounds for more than a century.
Paisansiri says teaching teenagers about special Asian dishes as a tribute to the neighborhood means a lot to him because of some cultural misunderstandings he faced as a teenager of Thai descent. He remembers some of the dishes his mother packed for him at school.
“It looks like fried beef jerky, almost in a very Thai way. And they become like little brown pieces of beef jerky because they’re basically dried, and I remember one time I dropped it on the floor and a kid said . looked like a turd, so I remember that day being super sad or disappointed But when you’re a kid, you look at things in such a one-dimensional view… Now that I think about it, I am. even sadder because now that I think about it, I dropped the food instead of him saying anything because the food tastes great, so I’ll never be ashamed of that again,” he explained.
Now his confidence as a teacher has grown. He loves empowering his students at the center. From understanding kitchen etiquette to learning new recipes, students like Margaret Chan say all new knowledge is inspiring.
“What I like most about this program is the trial and error. But how we ultimately manage to overcome all those failures and come out with something successful makes me very happy,” says Chan. said.
And according to Paisansiri, learning how to properly sear duck isn’t the only benefit of the culinary program. This experience allows teens to expand their community and learn more about their own interests.
“I want them to know that the Y and I and all the other adults will do our best to encourage them to pursue what they love, whether it’s cooking or things they can get out of cooking, like be organized, clean and ready. I want them to take all those things and get involved in what they love to do and discover what they love to do.”
