Proud to Be Asian American

"Look at that chicken!"

"Wow!"

"This fruit is ripe and sweet!"

"Give me two cabbage heads please."

I wake up to the sounds of the street markets in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, an island off the coast of China that is my ancestral home.

Developmental psychologists have always been intrigued by children who grew up with two or more cultures in their family. For instance, what is it like to grow up as an African American or Asian American? Is it similar to or different from growing up in pure white family? Unlike most immigrants, Asians sought to come to the United States for a better life. This meant learning a new language and custom that are much different from communal village life back home. Their hard work paid eventually paid off and notable Asian Americans these days range from skater Michelle Kwan to writer Amy Tan to Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao who was an economics major in South Hadley.

Born in Springfield, I am a first generation Chinese American. My parents came from Taiwan in the early 1980's for an advanced education. After they graduated from graduate school, my father found a stable job at an electric company. My mom stayed at home to take care of my siblings and I. Just as researchers said, when I was young, I didn't feel any different from my peers, except that I had to study the Chinese language, while other children played freely and happily in the neighborhood. In fact, I did not know how to speak any English until I was 4 years old, but I was very fluent in Chinese poems and songs and could even write a little bit of calligraphy. As young children, between ages 2-5, peers are interested in the "different cultures that their friends have and are glad to be invited to join in". The fact that I knew Chinese and could even read some characters made my American friends curious. They enjoyed coming inside my house to see the intricate Chinese painting and painstakingly written calligraphy hanging on the wall. They also like to eat over my house to experience the exotic Chinese cuisine, such as "brown egg" and try using the "very-difficult-to-manage" chopsticks.