- Yeah!

Happy Neighbor Day, happy Neighbor Day!

- [Alan] You ready for today?

- Elmo's very ready!

- All right. - Oh, hi!

Welcome to Sesame Street!

Today is Neighbor Day!

- Hey everybody! - Hey!

- Happy Neighbor Day! - Happy Neighbor Day.

- And we were having a big party to celebrate all the people

in our neighborhood.

- Hey everybody!

- Hey, Ji-Young!

- Hi, Mr. Alan.

Hi Elmo.

Are we ready to rock?

- It sounds like you are.

- I can't hear you!

- I said, it sounds like you are!

- Oh yes, yes I am.

Check this out.

One, two, three four!

(guitar music)

I can't wait to play my guitar for everybody today.

I've been practicing and practicing with my halmoni.

- Halmoni?

- Oh, yeah.

Halmoni means grandma in Korean.

She sings along while I practice.

- Well Ji-Young's halmoni sounds really cool.

- Oh, she is.

- Wow!

- What's everybody else doing for Neighbor Day?

- Oh, well Elmo and I are sharing food

from the community garden.

- Dig it.

- And I'm teaching a Japanese dance called the Tanko Bushi.

I've been doing that dance ever since I was little Alan.

It's a dance we do to honor the hard work people did

to build our community.

- [Ji-Young And Elmo] Aw!

- [Mr. Alan] Good, right?

- If Alan was a little Alan, that must've been a long long

long long long long - Yes, it was a

- [Mr. Alan And Elmo] Long long long time ago.

- Let me show you the dance, all right?

(Alan vocalizing)

Pretty good, right?

Hey, Anna. - Hi everyone!

- Hi, Anna!

- I am so excited.

It's so great to be all together on Neighbor Day.

Everybody ready for the celebration?

- Yeah! - Yeah we're ready!

- Ji-Young, have you decided what song you're gonna play?

- I was thinking of playing "Arirang".

It's an old Korean song my grandma taught me.

Ah, I broke a string!

You know what, not a problem.

I've got another one at home.

I'll be right back, okay.

Bye!

- Bye!

- Hey, if you have a second,

maybe you can help me figure out where to set up the band.

- Oh sure! - That's a great idea.

- I was thinking over here by the garden.

(upbeat music)

- Perfect spot.

- Well, we are all set.

- Yeah, now all we need is Ji-Young.

- Oh, and here she comes now.

- Hey Ji-Young.

- Oh, hi everyone.

- Is everything okay?

- Yeah, yeah.

No, no.

- What's wrong?

- Well, when I was coming back here,

a kid yelled out at me to go back home.

It really, really, really hurt my feelings.

- Of course it did.

- It made me feel sad and scared.

- Elmo doesn't understand.

Wasn't Ji-Young at her home?

- Well, what they meant was

that she should leave Sesame Street and this country.

- Huh?

- Ji-Young is Korean.

Her family's from a place called Korea.

- And there are some people who don't believe

that Asian people like me and Anna and Ji-Young

belong in this country.

- Oh no.

- That was wrong and unfair.

I'm Chinese and Irish.

And if someone told me to go back home, I would be so sad.

- And home is where you live with the people

who love you, with your family and your friends.

- Yeah, Sesame Street is Ji-Young's home.

- Exactly.

Telling someone to go back home is not a nice thing to say

because we're all neighbors.

- Yeah but if people don't think I belong here,

maybe I shouldn't sing for Neighbor Day at all.

- No.

What that kid said to you was wrong.

We belong here and we should all be very proud of who we are

and where we're from.

- Alan's right!

And we really want you to play a song

for Neighbor Day, Ji-Young.

- Yeah.

You're our neighbor.

- And our friend.

- And we have lots of neighbors who are Asian

and Pacific Islander.

And they are so proud of where they're from

and who they are.

They're the people that you meet at school.

- Or at the park.

- Or when we run errands with our mommies and our daddies.

- And they make our neighborhood great.

♪ Oh, who are the friends in your neighborhood ♪

♪ In your neighborhood, in your neighborhood ♪

♪ Say, who are the friends in your neighborhood ♪

♪ The people that you see each day ♪

- Who is that?

- [Alan] That's my friend, Anton.

He's a bus driver and Filipino.

He has family that lives here and in the Philippines.

That's in Southeast Asia.

♪ The bus driver drives fast or slow ♪

♪ Takes you where you want to go ♪

♪ When I get through with my route ♪

♪ I like to go and shoot some hoops ♪

- Yeah.

And basketball is really popular in the Philippines.

- Who are some other neighbors?

- This is my friend, Luana.

She's a hula dancer and Hawaiian,

which means she's from Hawaii.

♪ Oh I dance the hula each day ♪

♪ I tell a special story this way ♪

♪ I'm Hawaiian and I do the hula ♪

♪ Come on over and I'll teach it to ya ♪

- Hula dancers really tell a story by dancing?

- That's right.

- Fascinating.

- Oh, and you've got to meet my friends, Menons.

They're teachers and they're from India.

They also share their traditions with their children.

♪ Where the Menon family ♪

♪ I'm a teacher and so is she ♪

♪ I wear an Indian sari on a special day ♪

♪ Though we wear jerseys when it's time to play ♪

- Cool!

I wear a Korean hanbok sometimes on special days too.

- And I wear a happi coat when I dance to Tanko Bushi.

- And I wear a cheongsam on Chinese New Year.

♪ We're the friends in your community ♪

♪ I hope that you all can see ♪

♪ It's our traditions that make us great ♪

♪ Join us on Neighbor Day and celebrate ♪

- Elmo sees another friend in the neighborhood.

- Oh, where?

I don't see anyone.

- It's you, Alan!

- Me? - Yeah!

- Oh no, I couldn't.

Okay.

♪ I work and run Hooper Store ♪

♪ I'm a community leader and more ♪

♪ Japanese, a son, and baker, too ♪

♪ Grab the paper and I'll teach you Sudoku ♪

- What' Sudoku?

- It's a really fun Japanese number game.

All right, Elmo.

It's your turn.

- But, Elmo's not Asian, Alan.

- But you are a friend in our neighborhood.

So sing it.

- Okay!

♪ Elmo's lucky to have neighbors like you ♪

♪ Elmo loves who you are and all you do ♪

♪ Our differences make us great ♪

♪ Come on, let's sing and celebrate ♪

♪ Oh, these are all people in your neighborhood ♪

♪ In your neighborhood, in your neighborhood ♪

♪ Say, these are the people in your neighborhood ♪

♪ They're the people that you meet ♪

♪ When you're walking down the street ♪

♪ They're the people that you see each day ♪

- And see, these are all people

that are a part of our neighborhood and we all belong.

- That's song totally rocks, but Mr. Alan?

I still kind of maybe feel like I don't belong.

- Oh, but you do belong.

You know what?

I think we have another neighbor we can talk to

and I think they can help.

- Yeah, come on let's go!

- You got this Ji-Young.

I just need to stay here and get some more stuff ready

for Neighbor Day.

But I'll see you when you get back.

- Oh, okay Anna.

I'll see you later!

- Bye!

- Come on, Ji-Young! - Coming!

- What do you say, these look great, right?

- Hi!

- Hi, friends!

Jim and I are making decorations for Neighbor Day.

- Everybody, I want to introduce you to my friend, Jim Lee.

- Hi, Jim!

- Hi everyone.

- And Jim is Korean, just like you.

- Oh, (speaking Korean).

- My family moved here from Korea when I was little.

- And Jim is also an artist.

- Really?

- I love making art.

I know a lot of incredible Asian

and Pacific Islander artists working today.

Some paint pictures, some design buildings

and some draw comic books like me.

- Wow.

- You draw comics?

Tell us everything.

- Well, when I was little, I would read comics.

In fact, I learned English by reading comic books

about superheroes.

I love them because the superheroes were so different

from other people.

I could relate,

because sometimes I felt like I didn't belong.

- You felt that way too?

- Definitely.

- Oh, so what did you do when you felt that way?

- Well, I started drawing my own superheroes.

I created stories where my heroes worked with their friends

to make the world better.

- Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!

- Sometimes what makes you different from others

is your superpower.

- Wow! - Whoa!

- My art is a great way for me to express

how I'm feeling and share who I am.

- Well, that's what I want to do with my music today.

I could, (gasps) I could write my own song!

- Yeah. - Great idea!

- Yes.

You belong here.

So it's important people hear you.

Your voice matters.

- Well, what kind of song do I write?

- You know what?

I have another neighbor we can talk to.

I bet she can help us think of something.

- Well, let's do it, let's go.

Right now!

- Let's go! - Thank you!

- Talk to you later!

- See you later!

What do I look like?

- Great stuff, here.

- Thanks for introducing me to Jim, Mr. Alan.

It really helped me to talk with him.

- You know, sometimes these conversations can be hard,