To start things off, I don't have a specific culture. I was born in America. I am a Vietnamese, Chinese, and Khmer mixture. Genetically, I am a blend of all three, but most fluent in Vietnamese. Growing up, I was ashamed of my heritage. Since I went to school with mostly American kids, I labeled myself as an alien. Everything about my appearance was different: my jet black hair, my nose, the shape of my eyes, and my height. No, I never admitted that I was ashamed nor were the kids ever mean to me. They'd point out that I looked different, but they never teased me for that reason. I wanted to look like them. But I also wanted to have the uber cool parents that allowed me to hang out with my friends whenever I wanted to, eat whatever, wear whatever, and to not require me to make all A's.
But eventually as I matured, I realized how important my culture really is and how significant it is in my life. Even though others complain about having strict Asian parents, they don't understand how difficult it was to live during the Vietnam War or the genocide in Cambodia. Although they went to school and were educated, they spent the majority of their time worrying about their families being safe or working in the rice fields. The reason why they're so strict is because they never had a chance to be successful in school to achieve their dream jobs. They want their children to have a successful life and having nothing to stand in the way of that, to grasp the opportunities that they never had. My culture defines who I am. I think and act the way I do because of my culture. I am so different from the rest of everyone else, but I'm proud of myself for that.
Being a mixture of three ethnicities, it's interesting to see the differences of each in my daily life. There are different customs, food, languages, and religions. I'm Catholic, as well as my father, but my mother and everyone on her side are Buddhists. I go to church most of the time with my father, but I'm also obligated to go to temple with my mom ocassionally. People ask me if I ever get confused with the languages I speak, but I don't. Since Vietnamese was my first language, my parents told me it was a bit hard for me to transition to English. Now I distinguish them all very well, so it's not confusing for me. I appreciate the different food, too. Some days I'll eat Vietnamese for dinner, other days I'll have kuy teav (a cambodian dish), etc.
The reason why I feel like this topic needs to be defended is because of what I observe. Too many people are losing their cultures, especially people coming from an Asian heritage. I know many people who aren't able to understand/speak/write their native language, who never eat their native food, and forget the morals and customs that consist of their culture. One of the customs that we have is we use chopsticks to eat. There are some people I know who don't know how to. Another one is that we always leave our shoes outside. I've been to a few Asian homes where they wear their shoes inside. It's a bit disappointing to see your friends not being able to communicate with their families because they can't understand them, or not knowing their own traditions.
Losing your culture might not seem critical to you, but let's say if your children ask you about the heritage they are from, and you're not capable of telling them. And as more and more families become Americanized, what will become of that culture present in America? Lost languages, lost food, lost traditions... what will become of those generations? Genetically, yes, they will be Asian and look Asian, but will they truly know what it means to be Asian?
But eventually as I matured, I realized how important my culture really is and how significant it is in my life. Even though others complain about having strict Asian parents, they don't understand how difficult it was to live during the Vietnam War or the genocide in Cambodia. Although they went to school and were educated, they spent the majority of their time worrying about their families being safe or working in the rice fields. The reason why they're so strict is because they never had a chance to be successful in school to achieve their dream jobs. They want their children to have a successful life and having nothing to stand in the way of that, to grasp the opportunities that they never had. My culture defines who I am. I think and act the way I do because of my culture. I am so different from the rest of everyone else, but I'm proud of myself for that.
Being a mixture of three ethnicities, it's interesting to see the differences of each in my daily life. There are different customs, food, languages, and religions. I'm Catholic, as well as my father, but my mother and everyone on her side are Buddhists. I go to church most of the time with my father, but I'm also obligated to go to temple with my mom ocassionally. People ask me if I ever get confused with the languages I speak, but I don't. Since Vietnamese was my first language, my parents told me it was a bit hard for me to transition to English. Now I distinguish them all very well, so it's not confusing for me. I appreciate the different food, too. Some days I'll eat Vietnamese for dinner, other days I'll have kuy teav (a cambodian dish), etc.
The reason why I feel like this topic needs to be defended is because of what I observe. Too many people are losing their cultures, especially people coming from an Asian heritage. I know many people who aren't able to understand/speak/write their native language, who never eat their native food, and forget the morals and customs that consist of their culture. One of the customs that we have is we use chopsticks to eat. There are some people I know who don't know how to. Another one is that we always leave our shoes outside. I've been to a few Asian homes where they wear their shoes inside. It's a bit disappointing to see your friends not being able to communicate with their families because they can't understand them, or not knowing their own traditions.
Losing your culture might not seem critical to you, but let's say if your children ask you about the heritage they are from, and you're not capable of telling them. And as more and more families become Americanized, what will become of that culture present in America? Lost languages, lost food, lost traditions... what will become of those generations? Genetically, yes, they will be Asian and look Asian, but will they truly know what it means to be Asian?
Christine, a very deep blog post! I always thought you were just Vietnamese, not Chinese and Khmer too! I also agree with you that it would be sad if you couldn't tell your children about their culture and if we keep letting go of our traditions, they won't even be able to experience their own culture outside of their home.
ReplyDeleteWonderful post. You blend reasoning and argument with your own history and experiences in such a lovely way, and you complicate what it means to carry on a culture as you argue for its importance.
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