Sitting at the front of her parent’s store, Girl Fashion, Melanie Chao looks at a video playing on her iPhone to pass the time.
Every week, Chao spends her Saturday and Sundays at Siagon Plaza Market located in the heart of Chinatown. Normally, high school girls her age would be with their friends on a Saturday, but Chao is here to help her parents sell clothes.
“It can get annoying at times,” Chao says with a sheepish grin, “but it’s a family business and I would feel bad if I didn’t help out.”
Chao is one of many second generation immigrants in the market who help their parents with the task of owning a store. Often times, the children are bilingual, having grown up with their parents native language at home and learning English in school. This comes in handy while working in their parents’ store as it can help with the language barrier that occurs between customer and owner.
“My mom knows enough English but sometimes people don’t really understand her,” explained Chao. “When I’m here, I kind of act as a translator and help things go smoother.”
Soon after Chao says this, her mother comes up and whispers Chinese in her ear. Responding in half English and half Chinese, Chao explains to her mom that she’ll unload boxes soon and waves her off so that she go back to talking.
“See what I mean, I basically run this place,” Chao says with a laugh but is obviously joking.
Having spent many weekends in the market, Chao knows the place well. She is friends with the women who own stores next to her parents’ store and will chat with them from time to time.
“You could say we have a community here,” said Chao. “We all work long hours and end up spending a lot of time around each other. There’s no way you can’t come to know each other.”
Chao’s parents are no strangers to long hours. Chao says her parents work every single day - taking no days off.
“I honestly don’t know how they do it,” Chao says with a look of admiration. “Sometimes it can be tough on our family because a least one of them is gone every day, but there’s nothing we can really do about it.”
That’s the reality of the Siagon Plaza Market and the immigrants who work there. They represent a small minority that has to work long hours and every single day. This is obviously not by choice, but something that has to be done in order to stay afloat. It’s a reality that immigrants and their children are accustomed to because that’s all they’ve ever known once they’ve come to the United States.
To make matters worse, their jobs don’t have a steady income. The amount of product each owner sells fluctuates depending on the weekday and the season.
“It really depends on the day,” said Chao. “Weekends are obviously busier because people have more time off. The season also makes a difference. Like right now we’re between summer and the colder months so we don’t have as much new clothes to sell. The hotter or colder it is the more clothes we sell.”
Despite the difficulties that Chao and her family face while working in the market, she still enjoys being there.
“I have this strange connection to this place,” said Chao. “I know I said that it can be annoying at times, but I think it would be weird if I didn’t come here anymore.”
That’s the wonder of the Siagon Plaza Market - it seems to leave a lasting impression. It allures you with colorful umbrellas and toys from the outside and has the ability to pull you into it’s intricate maze of clothes and stores that can keep you occupied for hours.
“It’s an interesting place for sure,” Chao says while nodding. “Where else can you say the price for what you want? I wish I could do that everywhere!”