One of Ali’s hallmarks in her show is that she doesn’t apologize. She gets up on stage and says what’s on her mind. She makes fun of Chinese people, white people, black people, Latinos, all while making the audience love her. Hearing her tell stories of her childhood, it’s obvious she gets her characteristics from her dad, including her quirky hairstyle and her in-your-face personality.

She has Chun Li buns; her dad has a comb over.

“It’s pretty funny when he goes swimming and the three hairs just drape on his face like that.”

Her clothing is sponsored by local San Francisco skate outfitter FTC Skate; his clothing, well...

“He’s like Mr. Rogers. He has 20 pairs of everything in the same color, grey New Balances, purple V-neck sweaters. He always wears a hat with huge bill with a tail in back because he’s afraid of skin cancer.”

But, she says, whatever he wears, “He doesn’t let people fuck with him, ever. If people smoke around him he starts yelling, ‘Don’t smoke! Get out!’ If we go to a foreign country, he acts crazy on purpose so that the cab driver won’t take advantage of us or take us to strange places where he’ll shoot us.”

Ali concludes, “He’s very educated but he has this total wacky side,” and then she momentarily gazes off, sated by kiwi fruits and strawberries, her chin in her hands.

Ali Wong: Nerd with Bling

Dear Ali:
You rock. I want to be Ali Wong when I grow up. How can I make my dream come true?
—I Love Ali

Dear Little Ali:
Stay in school. Eat bun bo hue. Disappoint your parents.
Ali

*

What most people do not know is that Ali Wong is a nerd. She is a nerd of the highest caliber. She is a Fulbright Scholar nerd.

After she visited Viet Nam the first time on a study abroad program, she wanted to go back and develop her vocabulary.

“I knew three words in Vietnamese: thank you, fuck you, and pho.”

In the tradition of many Asians, she studied. And then she applied for the Fulbright Scholarship.

According to the Fulbright organization, “The Fulbright Program has provided more than 250,000 participants, chosen for their leadership potential, with the opportunity to observe each others’ political, economic and cultural institutions, exchange ideas, and embark on joint ventures of importance to the general welfare of the world’s inhabitants.” Previous Fulbright Scholars include heads of state, cabinet ministers, ambassadors, Members of Congress, judges, heads of corporations, university presidents... and Ali Wong.

>next

[Recommend this page]