Grace Yi Tang has spent much of her life in transit, whether on her flight from Malaysia to the United States when she was 19, on the Coney Island subway with the conductor that would eventually become her life partner, or from English classes in Queens to waitressing jobs in Brooklyn to her job as a receptionist at KEISY in the East Village.
No matter what time I get up, it takes me five minutes to get out of the house. I run to the bathroom, brush my teeth, and put on some clothes. I like my coffee light and sweet. My mornings are rushed, but when I get home in the evening, I take my time. I sit down for a while. Then I take a shower — I like Pantene products.
After that, I go to bed. I was born in Malaysia and was seven years old when I first thought I wanted to run away. They were strict, especially my father. You cannot date anybody until you finish school.
We had no cell phones then, so when the phone rang, my father picked it up. What are you calling her for? No one called ever again. I just went to school, and then after school, I would stay and do some work or go to the library and then go home. My father was a teacher; he taught music, the Malaysian language, and some Chinese as well. My mom stayed home and took care of the house.
As Chinese people, we were treated badly and unfairly in Malaysia. In school, Malaysians had to get 50 points to pass, whereas Chinese people needed 60 points to pass. And if you wanted to borrow money to buy a house, you were treated differently as a Chinese person. We ended up in Malaysia because my grandpa came here from China to work and ended up staying. He sold chicken at the market. My mom would go see her family for a few days at a time, and it was a long drive — at that time, there were no highways, and to get anywhere, you had to drive up and down a mountain.
