Do quarter Asian EAs feel connected...

[erika]

I was wondering whether quarter Asian EAs feel connected to their Asian side?

EDIT: Also do 1/4 Euro EAs feel connected to that side...?

[Sensei]

I don't know any myself, but I'd think they would feel somewhat connected, but probably not connected enough to motivate them to learn their Asian languages, had they not been taught by one of their parents.

[z.]

Wow. Such an interesting question, and I’m glad you asked... .

I’m ¼ euro, ¾ asian and unfortunately do not really identify with my euro side at all. And that’s a shame coz I find Italian culture can be so interesting. The only Italian link I had was my grandpa, and he died when my dad was young, so Italian traditions/values were never passed down onto my dad. Also the fact that my dad grew up in Vietnam and was raised with Vietnamese values instilled in him meant that I was pretty much brought up by two Vietnamese parents. Probably the closest I’ll ever get to ‘connecting’ with my euro side is in eating Italian food (mmmm…. Italian food *drool*), and in my appearance (in which I can look as ea as the next ea )

[sparrow]

I should ask a friend of mine who is a 1/4 asian. Well we had been friends for quite a bit before I even found at that her grandmother is chinese. My friend does not look asian in the slightest, she has blue eyes and blonde hair. She does however study asian languages at uni.

[erika]

^ Yeah you should ask her. ^^

[mupp]

erika said:

I was wondering whether quarter Asian EAs feel connected to their Asian side?

EDIT: Also do 1/4 Euro EAs feel connected to that side...?

That largely depends on the people they are environed by (family, friends, community) and whether or not they`re connected to their Asian (or Euro) side.

[erika]

mupp said:

erika said:

I was wondering whether quarter Asian EAs feel connected to their Asian side?

EDIT: Also do 1/4 Euro EAs feel connected to that side...?

That largely depends on the people they are environed by (family, friends, community) and whether or not they`re connected to their Asian (or Euro) side.

Ohhh thats a point...

[Hogan]

I connect to my Asian side.....tends to happen when u're raised in S'pore. I don't speak any Asian dialect but if I was half descent at learning languages I'd learn them. I eat Asian food predominantly and have Asian values. Mind u I'm not ur typical 1/4 Asian....seeing as I may have more Asian blood which I'm not aware of at the mo. I don't look like ur typical 1/4 Asian too maybe b/c of the above.

[erika]

friendswithoutcash said:

Not really....my euro side is very vague to me. All i can rely on is my mother's recounts and pictures of her half-french, half-viet father (my grandfather) who i hope to see if he is still alive.... but since my full french great grandfather died in the 70's and technology was not as advanced i have not seen him even in photos....so only the words my mother tells me are all i can gather. Oh, she teaches me French from time to time, french she learnt from him and from school. I laughed when she told me he spoke fluent viet being a frenchman but she said it wasnt unusual back then since the french colonised vietnam for quite some time. Im just glad my great grandmother was not a victim of mean french imperialists that raped the vietnamese women and was one who genuinely fell in love with him. Im trying to learn French...so yeah. My mum tells me that shes got contacts with French aunts and uncles who moved back to France but i dont know. How will i communicate with them, i need to master the language first...

btw im 1/8 French (maternal), 1/8 British (paternal)...just incase u got confused....im technically 1/4 euro.

Ohh thats interesting. ^^

[Sensei]

friendswithoutcash said:

I laughed when she told me he spoke fluent viet being a frenchman but she said it wasnt unusual back then since the french colonised vietnam for quite some time. Im just glad my great grandmother was not a victim of mean french imperialists that raped the vietnamese women and was one who genuinely fell in love with him.

I know this is off-topic, but I was wondering if you ever experience any fleeting sense of shame on behalf of French mistreatment of Vietnamese when they held their colony there? I presume you are mostly Viet.?

I'm not saying you have any reason to be ashamed, seeing as you said your great-grandmother was genuinely in love, and not forced into a marriage. Still, myself, I occasionally feel ashamed of my British heritage because of their treatment of China around the time of the Opium Wars.

[Sensei]

friendswithoutcash said:

mostly asian, 3/8 viet, 3/8 chinese...but we all speak viet so yeah mostly viet...

my 3/4 chinese dad has a chip on his shoulder about the brits...about his grandmother and how she was treated...he considers his british grandfather kapoot. someone he never knew and will never..

i guess i feel ambivalent, of course not being alive my father tells me little of his experience as a little boy...
as for my mother, well she to his day doesn't have anything against France or french people but that can be attributed to her French grandfather who "loved her very much" and continued to live in Vietnam long after the whole conflict. If there's anyone she does not like, its the north-vietnamese (shes from the south).

Interesting! I'm in the same situation in that my English grandparents are good people--so I have no personal reason to be angry with that part of my culture... Yet, somewhere deep inside, I still feel vexed that my roots can be traced back to a country that shamelessly pursued imperialism at the expense of China and many other states.

Oh, this is a question somewhat related to the thread--are you more inclined to the idea of being with a Vietnamese/Chinese partner than a Caucasian one, due to your closer connection with your Asian side?

[Altan]

Met a bunch this year, one I met looked Russian Blonde. Other looked Armenian/Turk. Another looked White Cuban Caucasian. These were pretty much all 3/4 Caucasian // 1/4 Japanese mixes. Each had his or her own quirks but other wise no real noticeable Asian features only that they know of their Asian background and family and blood/ancestory to some degree.