“Anywhere but China”- Famous Last Words
Nine years, two kids, and a lifetime of experience later, here’s what I learnt
“So, Sarah keeps telling me she’s Chinese.”
I can see the look of confusion and slight worry on my daughter’s teacher’s face. Not only is my child strawberry blond, but she is pale as a ghost, even after months of summer sun.
I laughed and said not quite. But she was not far wrong; she and her younger brother Jack were both born in Beijing.
Relief swept across the teacher’s face, mainly, I think, because Sarah wasn’t making up wildly odd stories.
This happens a lot, and I completely understand why.
Both of my kids were born in Beijing. Neither my husband nor I are Chinese. I’m a pasty white Perth-born girl, and he’s an equally pale New Zealand-turned-Aussie guy. But both kids are very proud of their birthplace and love to talk about it.
They love telling people where they are from. However, as they get older, I think they also love the slightly shocked look they get in response. There is a slight pause as whoever they are talking to tries to figure out what kind of genetic lottery happened or if they are just trying to make a joke.
