Fall in Love with CHinatown

People often describe San Francisco as a melting pot with different nationalities and cultures. I see Chinatown as a very big part of this melting pot. The first impression of Chinatown to most people may be over crowded, unsanitary and very noisy.  This is only part of what Chinatown is. As being a immigrant child who lived in Chinatown for almost three years, I can tell, Chinatown is a very great neighborhood with its unique characteristic and history. 

Unlike other neighborhoods, Chinatown has many alleyways and most Single Room Occupancies are located nearby them. SROs are residential hotels, a special kind of one-room apartment. Residents have to share kitchen, bathroom and even mailbox with others. There were many historical events happened in SROs too. For example, the I-hotel Eviction in 1977 and the Jasper Eviction in 2008 were all very well known events in Chinatown. When talking about evictions, the first word I can think of is organize. It is very important for leaders to organize residents to hold on together to fight for their homes. Also, it is very important for Chinatown to organize its people to build and beautify the neighborhood.  

My friend, you’ll fall in love with Chinatown if you come to know it. 

------Sandy Jiang