A Chinese-American expat returns home
My life has changed in a deep, meaningful way. I have been adrift for too long. Now I find myself back in the US after living 40 years abroad.
At the end of June, I wrote a post in Seeing I’s titled “You look so Chinese”, a comment I’d often heard from my mother. The story was later published in #StopAsianHate, a Medium publication. Here’s a link…
Thanks for your response Abigail. Like you, I had so accepted the idea behind the comment that I never questioned it. Now I’m trying to figure out how it’s possible that so many of us could internalize a concept like that, and for so long.
In 2015 a group of Somali refugees were moved into a building designated as refugee housing in my town in Germany. I went to help them settle in and shortly after I arrived seven men came out of their rooms to greet me. Most…
I've lived in Germany for over 35 years and speak fluent, articulate German. I held a management position at a leading German bank where the company language was German. Nevertheless, to this day, whenever I go shopping, I feel like I'm being tested. Will the salesperson be kind enough to forget the American accent - and Asian appearance - and listen…
Thanks!
Race is a difficult term for me.
It throws up walls as soon as it’s spoken, separating and categorizing subgroups of humanity. For my first 25 years, I made it taboo to mention my race…