Growing Up in New Jersey with Parents from Different Parts of China

Son and mother smiling outdoors daytime in autumn weather

Marianne Ho Barnum (right) and Kevin Chang Barnum (left) when they were younger.

Summary:

Marianne Ho Barnum talks with Kevin Chang Barnum about growing up in New Jersey, going to Kam Kuo Supermarket in Manhattan’s Chinatown, and having a family with roots in different regions of China.
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Interviewed: 06/16/2022

Narrator: Marianne Ho Barnum

Interviewer: Kevin Chang Barnum

Interview length: 1h 05m

Interview Log

01:09 MHB talks about her childhood in New Jersey. MHB remembers being outside a lot, and her sister finding a monkey.

08:20 MHB examines her mother’s relationship with family cooking.

19:56 MHB discusses going to school in New Jersey and her parents’ jobs.

28:43 MHB talks about going into New York City as a child and particularly remembers the grocery store they would go to, called Kam Kuo.

35:40 MHB remembers what she would do in the grocery store as a child, which also leads to a brief discussion of birthday celebrations.

45:15 MHB recounts why she knows some words in Shanghainese, but other words in Cantonese.

51:30 MHB reflects on how going to Chinatown as a child has impacted who she is today.

56:20 MHB discusses her parents’ journey to the U.S. and how them being from different parts of China has influenced her outlook.

places, themes, people, time period, eventsJames Boomonkey, cooking, school, Shanghainese, Cantonese, dialects, New Jersey, Manhattan, Chinatown, New York City, Kam Kuo Supermarket, Shanghai, Southern China, Florence Lin