Photos and thoughts about 
DIASPORA 
from our  
collaborative exhibit with MoAD
Who Am I? 
More Than Meets the Eye.

That's me, Leah K-R, on the left. 

Leah Kelly-Reingold

I was adopted from China when I was only a few months old. My parents were raised very religiously, my mom Catholic and my dad Jewish. When I was the three, a baby sister was welcomed into our family from Cambodia. Our family created a very eclectic culture and tradition. My family is not very religious but we still celebrate the holidays from both religions as well as eat the food. My sister and I attended Sunday school, Hebrew school and some Jewish summer camps. I learned Mandarin and Cantonese, traveled to China twice, and keep in touch with the eight other Chinese girls I was adopted with. I hope to maintain cultural practices that I view as family traditions and ancestral information. I hope to keep my knowledge of the Chinese language, and learn Hebrew. I hope to travel around the world, as I’ve already been to China and Israel, next on my list would probably be Ireland and Cambodia. The most important parts of culture are the celebrations we have as a family over food, our annual Christmas Eve dinners, our small Passover Seders and our occasional Chinese New Years banquets. The most important part of culture to me is celebrating and experiencing all it has to offer.

That's me, Eliza, on the right.

Eliza Kingsley-Ma

When I think about Diaspora, I imagine a large web; different strands of thin silky string meticulously branching off from each other yet delicately connected. Diaspora is a fragile thing in my mind, because it is the dispersal or separation of a large group of people. It is sometimes brought on by human force but it can also be created solely by time. As time moves along, each culture experiences its own everlasting Diaspora.  A new generation brings out a different branch of culture, expanding the web. I am a product of many different Diasporas conjoining, but I am also a creator and contributor to Diaspora.

Florencia Hasson

I feel connected to different people in different ways. I feel connected with my family across space. The majority of my family lives in Uruguay and even though there is a lot of physical space between us I still feel one of the strongest connections and pulls to that country and to the culture and values practiced there. I feel connected to friends through the time I’ve spent getting to know them and through our similar cultural backgrounds. Since I go to the Jewish Community High School of the Bay the majority of my friends are Jewish. Therefore, I share many of the similar traditions and beliefs with them.  All in all I am able to distinguish different and unique relationships that I have with the people in my life through different connections and cultural beliefs and similarities that we share.

This is me, Carmelisa.

Carmelisa Morales

Diaspora is not something I usually think about. In a way, I feel like diaspora is a form of identity; you are facing your roots to discover who you are. I can say I am part of the diaspora of the Filipinos and that can tie into how we are connected to Spain and the US because of their ties to colonizing us, but I’d rather not. Culturally, the connections I make with my diaspora are through religion, traditions and the way in which we do some things. I don’t feel like it defines me. I chose to do these things, but I also chose to do other things. As an individual, I’m making my own culture. I believe people look at their culture as a foundation or background and the intricate details they put into effect make it a different, more unique culture all on its own. The most important thing for me is to live life, no matter which diaspora I come from because in the end, that is what will surprise you.