Exploring Asian Culture Through San Diego

Every large city has its Asian district, and in San Diego it’s located along Convoy Avenue in the Kearny Mesa region of the city. I like to drive through this area and take in the incredible mix of Asian businesses that assault my vision from all sides: foot massage parlors, noodle shops, more Korean BBQ restaurants than you can shake a stick at plus plenty of sushi restaurants run by Koreans, Chinese and, on extremely rare occasions, an actual Japanese person. I’ve even got a favorite frozen yogurt shop run by a Vietnamese lady where they play the latest Cantonese pop hits, which is quite random and enjoyable. It’s funny to observe the way all aspects of Asian culture become blended together, until no one is exactly sure whether the food they’re eating is a Korean take on Japanese cuisine or a Taiwanese variation of “American” Chinese, which is completely different from anything you’ll find in China, of course. While we in the West tend to think of our own national cultures as being unique and distinct from each other — British culture is different from the U.S., Italy is completely unlike Germany — seen from an Asian country, our respective languages and cultures blend together into one unrecognizable mass just like the local Asian culture does in San Diego.

I like exploring Asian culture in San Diego.