Happy New Year! We hope everyone was able to recharge over the holidays and start your new year off well. So far, 2021 has already been a wild roller coaster ride. Many of us are still processing the upsetting (and infuriating!) events of January 6th at the Capitol. Please get in touch with your representatives in Congress and let them know how you feel. Information on how to contact Congress and a sample script can be found here. But starting January 20th, we’ll be looking forward with hope and excitement to the plans and leadership that are already being displayed by the Biden-Harris administration.
“Moving from being the marginalised to the margin of victory”: last month we co-hosted an online discussion that featured on the ground AAPI activists in Georgia and Tom Perez, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. It was clear how important the AAPI vote was in the Georgia November election, and this did not go ignored by the Ossoff and Warnock campaigns. If you were not able to attend the event, you can check out our short event recap. We are so thankful for the Georgia voters that showed up and for the work of the activists we heard from to get Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock elected to the US Senate.
As we begin our first full year as a caucus, we will be focusing on growing our membership and continuing to advocate for AAPI concerns within Democrats Abroad. If you are interested in volunteering with the caucus, please reach out! You can find descriptions of various volunteer opportunities here: http://www.democratsabroad.org/aapi_volunteer
Our first event this year will be Teatime Networking on Thursday, January 28th. We’ll be speed networking to give everyone a chance to meet each other, and talking about our experiences as Asian and Pacific Islander Americans living overseas. This will be the inaugural teatime event and will continue as an event series throughout the year.
We look forward to what 2021 has in store and to making even more of a difference in DA and at home!
With gratitude,
Cory J. Lemke and Emily Lines
2021 National Day of Service
Monday, January 18, 2021
Join us for the National Day of Service - find a volunteer position or a team that needs you. Click here to find out more.
Teatime: AAPI Networking
Thursday January 28, 2021 at 19:00 Berlin time
We’re holding our first ever networking event for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders living overseas. Come get acquainted, swap stories, and find your community!
RSVP to get the Zoom link, and bring your snacks, your beverage of choice, and of course, your microphone!
Book Club: The Dancing Girl and the Turtle
We are thrilled to be hosting author Karen Kao for a book club discussion on Sunday February 28th, 2021! We will be discussing her debut novel The Dancing Girl and the Turtle. Described as an “an ambitious, striking addition to the novels showing the sleazy side of 1930s Shanghai” by bookish.asia, it is the first in a quartet of interlocking novels about Shanghai. Read more about the quartet and Karen Kao on her website https://inkstonepress.com/ Hope to see you there!
Events of Interest
Recipes from Home
Lina’s Red Beans and Rice
Since moving to Glasgow to go to university I find myself missing lots about New Orleans. I miss the warm weather, the people, my friends, family, the annual church Christmas tree sale, and most of all the food. Most New Orleanian dishes are meat heavy, spicy, and with specific ingredients hard to find anywhere else, so a lot of improvisation is needed when trying to cook for a group of friends with two vegans, a vegetarian, someone with a gluten intolerance, and make sure its not too spicy. Sadly this makes it impossible to make my favorite dish (chicken and sausage gumbo), but I've found that my red beans and rice recipe is always a hit! Red beans and rice are traditionally a Monday (laundry day) night dinner, as it's a low effort dish that can simmer all day while doing you're laundry. I've adjusted a couple recipes I've found online to my taste and schedule so feel free to improvise!