I spent a while trying to embed soundslides on here, but ultimately failed. Anyways, here is my lighting photo story, Livingston 'Don' Prens, hibachi chef in training at Shogun.
Livingston 'Don' Prens, 23, practices his Hibachi moves in an empty Shogun after the lunch rush. Prens has been in training for about 8 months, and hopes to become a full chef in the next year.
Prens gripes about doing the rookie job as he cleans a grill after the restaurant closes. When he becomes a full chef he will no longer have to do the rookie jobs, and more importantly he will get a significant pay increase. Nearly all of his paycheck now goes to support his unemployed fiance, as well as his 3 year-old son being raised by his parents in Pohnpei. "It was hard," said Prens about leaving his son and home, "but I had to get a better life rather than struggle."
J.R. Yasou Yamada oversees Prens' cooking and critiques his performance. Yamada and Prens are distant cousins, both immigrated from Pohnpei, Micronesia, as did most of the employees in the restaurant. Yamada gives instruction in their native dialect of Phonapeyek, like "Hey, smile a bit!". Showmanship is the hardest part for a rookie chef to learn according to Yamada.
Prens laughs in the kitchen with other Micronesians. "Us Micros work hard, we didn't come from much back home." Most of the conversation in the restaurant is in Phonapeyek, a Micronesian dialect. They all came to the US to make more money to send home, and chose Bowling Green because the cost of living is cheap.
Prens drinks Kava with his fiancé, Jusihda Edward, and a friend from work, Dixon Welson. Kava is a traditional intoxicating drink, which Micronesians drink to relax after work. Prens and his friends drink about once a week then look at images of Pohnpei and reminisce.
Jusihda shows Prens a hospital bill that just came in the mail. Prens doesn't want to bring their son into the US until he is more financially stable. "There's health bills, saving for a car," Prens lists things he needs to take care of, "I want to make sure everything's tight with me before I bring him here."
Because he doesn't have a car, Prens relies on rides from coworkers and cabs. Often he cannot get a ride or afford the $7 cab fare and has to walk 15 minutes to work.
Photos of Livingston, Jusihda, and their son are pasted on the wall of their apartment. Livingston talks to him about twice a month on the phone, and sees pictures of him on Facebook.
Prens shows off a tattoo he designed. He got it as a connection to where he came from. "If you see a tattoo like this you know I'm a pacific islander."
Livingston 'Don' Prens, 23, practices his Hibachi moves in an empty Shogun after the lunch rush. Prens has been in training for about 8 months, and hopes to become a full chef in the next year.
Prens gripes about doing the rookie job as he cleans a grill after the restaurant closes. When he becomes a full chef he will no longer have to do the rookie jobs, and more importantly he will get a significant pay increase. Nearly all of his paycheck now goes to support his unemployed fiance, as well as his 3 year-old son being raised by his parents in Pohnpei. "It was hard," said Prens about leaving his son and home, "but I had to get a better life rather than struggle."
J.R. Yasou Yamada oversees Prens' cooking and critiques his performance. Yamada and Prens are distant cousins, both immigrated from Pohnpei, Micronesia, as did most of the employees in the restaurant. Yamada gives instruction in their native dialect of Phonapeyek, like "Hey, smile a bit!". Showmanship is the hardest part for a rookie chef to learn according to Yamada.
Prens laughs in the kitchen with other Micronesians. "Us Micros work hard, we didn't come from much back home." Most of the conversation in the restaurant is in Phonapeyek, a Micronesian dialect. They all came to the US to make more money to send home, and chose Bowling Green because the cost of living is cheap.
Prens drinks Kava with his fiancé, Jusihda Edward, and a friend from work, Dixon Welson. Kava is a traditional intoxicating drink, which Micronesians drink to relax after work. Prens and his friends drink about once a week then look at images of Pohnpei and reminisce.
Jusihda shows Prens a hospital bill that just came in the mail. Prens doesn't want to bring their son into the US until he is more financially stable. "There's health bills, saving for a car," Prens lists things he needs to take care of, "I want to make sure everything's tight with me before I bring him here."
Because he doesn't have a car, Prens relies on rides from coworkers and cabs. Often he cannot get a ride or afford the $7 cab fare and has to walk 15 minutes to work.
Photos of Livingston, Jusihda, and their son are pasted on the wall of their apartment. Livingston talks to him about twice a month on the phone, and sees pictures of him on Facebook.
Prens shows off a tattoo he designed. He got it as a connection to where he came from. "If you see a tattoo like this you know I'm a pacific islander."
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