Chop Suey

I read an essay about a Thai-American boy who realizes that his mother was not a stereotypical wife and who simply cooked well and kept the house organized. The boy’s mother was a champion bowler in Thailand.  I felt the writer’s pride when he referred to his mother. The writer enthusiastically described his mother scoring a strike with the bowling ball viciously colliding with the pins.  Unexpectedly, the writer interjects a turning point in a story when he describes a weird conversation that a man engaged in with his mother.  The man said “We would like to thank you for making a good chop suey, you people make good food.” The writer expected his mother to react aggressively to the man because of the stereotypical comment. However, his mother just said, “ you are welcome” After I finished reading the essay, I realized that the topic was not about bowling nor chop suey but acculturation.