Crouching Tiger, Hidden Banana
"It's not easy being Chinese in New Zealand, People assume you're (a) rich; (b) a bad driver; (c) poor in English; (d) out to take over the country" He said to the reporter.
A conference is running this weekend in Auckland to address some issues/debates about being Chinese in New Zealand society (detail). Immigrating to another country is a hard journey. For the new immigrates they have the immediate challenges such as finding a house, adapting into another culture, getting involved with the community, finding new friends, the guilt of abandoning their home, families, parents, friends and so on. But after they finally settle down here, they start having different challenge. Who am I? Where is home? What is my identities?
There are ppl who has been here for generations and see themselves as kiwis until the new wave of immigration. For them, it's not fair to apply those new perceptions/stereotypes of new immigrates. They grown up here and some of them don't even speak Chinese anymore but they are now taken as Chinese and asked where they are from. There are also the mixed ethnicities that their parents are from different cultures and it's more confusing about who they really are? And of course there are also ppl like me- the 1.5 generation who were born oversea and then grew up here in New Zealand. The challenge for us is that we have strong links with both countries, but at the same time weak. I am confused, very.
For me, New Zealand used to be home and Taiwan is my motherland. But now, my parents have moved back to Taiwan and again I am looking for my identity. Where is my home? I feel the obligations to be nationalistic for both countries, but I can't. My English is never gonna be as fluent as kiwis and I'll always have my Chinese ascent. I'll always like eating rice and looks like a 2nd citizen in New Zealand. On the other hand, I am losing my Chinese in writing and I forget so many Chinese literature. There are so many brilliant old Chinese traditions/stories/wisdom that I haven't taken on and I feel I am letting my ancients down. I am too conservative for kiwis, but too westernlised for Taiwanese. I can't fit in either societies, and going out with a kiwi boyfriend sometimes doesn't help. There are a lot of conflicts and confusions for me, the 1.5 generation, and I believe there are at the same time different problems for different Chinese immigration groups, or just any human being. I think we all live in a confusing era, Chinese or non-Chinese.
Maybe, I should start my own 1.5 generation country :)
A conference is running this weekend in Auckland to address some issues/debates about being Chinese in New Zealand society (detail). Immigrating to another country is a hard journey. For the new immigrates they have the immediate challenges such as finding a house, adapting into another culture, getting involved with the community, finding new friends, the guilt of abandoning their home, families, parents, friends and so on. But after they finally settle down here, they start having different challenge. Who am I? Where is home? What is my identities?
There are ppl who has been here for generations and see themselves as kiwis until the new wave of immigration. For them, it's not fair to apply those new perceptions/stereotypes of new immigrates. They grown up here and some of them don't even speak Chinese anymore but they are now taken as Chinese and asked where they are from. There are also the mixed ethnicities that their parents are from different cultures and it's more confusing about who they really are? And of course there are also ppl like me- the 1.5 generation who were born oversea and then grew up here in New Zealand. The challenge for us is that we have strong links with both countries, but at the same time weak. I am confused, very.
For me, New Zealand used to be home and Taiwan is my motherland. But now, my parents have moved back to Taiwan and again I am looking for my identity. Where is my home? I feel the obligations to be nationalistic for both countries, but I can't. My English is never gonna be as fluent as kiwis and I'll always have my Chinese ascent. I'll always like eating rice and looks like a 2nd citizen in New Zealand. On the other hand, I am losing my Chinese in writing and I forget so many Chinese literature. There are so many brilliant old Chinese traditions/stories/wisdom that I haven't taken on and I feel I am letting my ancients down. I am too conservative for kiwis, but too westernlised for Taiwanese. I can't fit in either societies, and going out with a kiwi boyfriend sometimes doesn't help. There are a lot of conflicts and confusions for me, the 1.5 generation, and I believe there are at the same time different problems for different Chinese immigration groups, or just any human being. I think we all live in a confusing era, Chinese or non-Chinese.
Maybe, I should start my own 1.5 generation country :)
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