"Fresh Off the Boat" encourages Family Talk

We've been watching Fresh off The Boat, a show on ABC about a Taiwanese family living in the 90s trying to assimilate into the American way of life. Today my son, EJ, asked me, "Mom, Eddie said he wants to be a "G"? What's a "G"? Without hesitation I said with automation, "A gangster." EJ said, "What's a gangster?" Oh boy, I found myself explaining what rap music is, that Eddie's just trying to be a cool kid, trying to fit in. EJ starts talking about the lunches Eddie brings, noodles and his mom's stinky tofu, and asks how come his mom doesn't know about lunchables. I explained that she was probably raised in Taiwan, and  they don't eat lunchables there. EJ asks if they have money, I said yes they do but his mom wants him to eat what she cooks. He asks what the phrase "Fresh off the Boat" means, I said historically it's how a lot of Asian people have come to America, traveling by boat. I was about to go into the Four Waves of Filipino American History, but remembered that my kid's only 8.  We talked for at least ten minutes! For my son, that's a pretty extensive conversation! I could see it in his face registering all this information. Hey if this show can pique his interest like this, I'm all for it!  Check it out.

http://abc.go.com/…/150311-eddie-huang-top-3-reasons-for-at…