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C onn ect i ng C u ltu r es T hrough F am i ly and F ood

settled abroad in nearby countries in Southeast Asia. But the lure of an easy fortune helped spur amigration that eventually established Chinese communities in more far-flung regions of the world. Many historians do not refer to these early travelers as emigrants because they intended to return home after working for several years. A better word for them is sojourners . However, most sojourners never actually found work in gold mines. And many never made their way back home. They became immigrants , or people who permanently settle in a new country. Seeking a Fortune Far fromHome S ome people, called brokers, made a business out of recruiting male Chinese workers and transporting them abroad. One recruitment

notice from the 19th cen- tury translates to, “Ameri- cans are very rich people. They want the Chinaman tocomeandmakehimvery welcome. There you will have great pay, large hous- es, andfoodandclothingof thefinestdescription.”Un- fortunately, this was a lie. Life for Chinese sojourn- ers could be extremely difficult. The unluckiest oneswound up trapped as

The hard life and pressure to find work led some men to fall victim to opium abuse.