I don’t usually get too personal on this site, but there have been things I’ve asked myself about.  Most readers know I’m a child of immigrants.  Most readers know, or at least, have guessed that I grew up fairly comfortable, economically speaking.  But despite that, and despite being very comfortable about who I am, my cultural/ancestral background and such, I often wonder whether some of the things I LIKE are atypical or typical of a first generation Canadian/someone who is only one generation removed from the plane (or boat for older people).

A video from Town & Country’s YouTube page on education philanthropy.  Since when was philanthropy “ethnic-specific?”  (sorry, I wasn’t able to find a good stock image for the magazine, so sharing this video was the best I could do.  Philanthropy and education is a topic I’m very passionate about – especially if it is arts-related)

Sure, there were plenty of people like me at my school, so having a private school education isn’t something I “question.”  Rather, it’s my other interests.  Take my university majors, for example.  Theatre.  History.  Not exactly something all that stereotypically “Chinese” – at least not for a child of Hong Kong immigrants.  Or religious influence – I attended an Anglican girls’ school here in Toronto and on my mom’s side, my mother went to one of the top girls’ Catholic schools in Hong Kong and my grandmother attended a similar school in Macau.  Some of the girls at these schools were Catholic, others were not.  But either way, they received an excellent education from “foreigners” – people some individuals on the super-PC world would call a “white colonial education” and where teachers (typically white nuns in the case of Catholic schools) are “forcing” their culture onto locals.  Ummmm, not exactly….. It’s not something I fully understand (nor do they understand MY explanation – even when I tell them my mom and grandmother speak very highly of their schooling.  My mom probably wouldn’t be where she was, career-wise (she was in IT in the 80s and early 90s) without such an education.  I don’t really bother anymore because it’s completely USELESS).  On a more frivolous front, I subscribe to Town & Country magazine (digital edition on my iPad) – a publication stereotypically seen as being very “white.”  Actually, not just “white,” but old line WASP (i.e. NOT the people who support Donald Trump).  Of course, it might be an age factor too.  Do people my age (36), regardless of ethnic background REALLY read Town & Country?  Even if it’s “lifestyle,” with articles on home décor, fashion, philanthropy and such (what do these have to do with ethnicity, anyway?)?  Personally, I don’t know.  I’ve never asked.

What I find most interesting are the people who DO question people like me.  Typically, they are descendants of immigrants, though a usually generation older than me and mostly from Eastern Europe (I have also been questioned by non-European descent children of immigrants who are Gen X or Millennial.  Usually people from cultures which are more “traditional” than what is “typically Hong Kong Chinese.”  Children of, say, Italian or Scandinavian immigrants, however, have not questioned me…so far).  It’s as if they find it uncomfortable that I am who I am (the first name question, which I wrote about last year, is just one of such questions).  Why is that, anyway?  Am I SUPPOSED to be (stereotypically) in touch with my culture (note:  I SPEAK Cantonese – probably a bit better than many people born here.  I also focused on Chinese/East Asian history when I was an undergrad, and thus, am more knowledgeable about my heritage’s history than many born here.  I just can’t read or write the language)?  And how in touch with THEIR culture are they?  Also, what does reading such a publication (or having certain interests that is not “typically” associated with one’s ethnicity) have or not have to do with knowing about my heritage?  I don’t really see any kind of conflict (just as I don’t see how being into “traditionally” feminine things (e.g. little girls wanting to be “princesses”) conflicts with being wanting to be a scientist, investment banker or anything that isn’t “typically girly”).  Or is this just a question of jealousy/resentment.  Jealousy/resentment that a first generation Canadian was able to grow up in a more “privileged” environment than they – that people who grew up like me (children of professionals) never really had to face any sort of struggle or see their parents struggle?  Of course, I have met CBCs (Canadian born Chinese) who come from less “privileged” backgrounds, yet they don’t seem to question the same way.  But the question remains – is this really all that “normal,” or am I just “weird?”  Not that being weird is wrong, of course.  And why don’t we talk about people like me?  I’m sure I’m not the only one…and is it wrong to “be yourself” (which is what I’ve been taught most of my life) when it’s not the so-called “right” kind of “yourself?”  Especially if you’re non-Anglo?  And why do people CARE that I do this?  I sure don’t.  I like being who I am and I won’t change anything to “fit” your standards.  And if you have a problem with that, you might want to reevaluate your views – even if you think they’re “politically correct” and that you are being “sensitive” to people from different cultures.  If you think it’s “odd,” you can always ask – politely.  If you think it’s wrong, keep it to yourself/your friends.  Don’t get angry at the individual.