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Post by cinnamoroll on Oct 18, 2006 8:13:23 GMT -5
I noticed this new EA girl at my school. She must be around 9-10 years old. She doesn't realise that she is Eurasian (neither did I at that age, I was just a human being), or that it is something to be thought about. She doesn't take particular notice when I walk in the room to help out ESL students (she only speaks French) that I'm 'like her'. I'm just another person!
She doesn't spend time thinking about her 'heritage' or what this means to her life on a daily level. She doesn't get pissed off when people make stereotypes about either race.
For her and her friends they're all the same; girls, 10 years old... If some kid asks her where she is from she can say "France" without being asked "Yes but - where are you really from?" Her Mum doesn't look ASIAN to her, and her Dad doesn't look WHITE. They just look like Mum and Dad. Nothing different about it.
God, I wish I still was like that.
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Post by telliecoin on Oct 18, 2006 8:15:29 GMT -5
mm i have a friend who doesn't know she's eurasian.. and she's already 19.. she's never even heard of the term she's half malay-half italian.. but she said knowing that she is doesn't make a big difference to her she's still the same person somehow i like how she thinks
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Post by jericho on Oct 18, 2006 9:05:27 GMT -5
So the point of this thread is...what exactly? Are you asking for input? 'Cause there's no question or direction.
If it's other people's $0.02 you're after, then I guess I was the same at her age, was pretty oblivious to that sort of thing. It's not something kids really think about at that age, but as they get older, the rest of the world's shortcomings soon catch up with them and they discover they're different. Happened to all of us, I'm sure, some sooner than others.
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Post by helles on Oct 18, 2006 9:13:53 GMT -5
my bf has a girl in one of his teaching classes (kindergarten, so about 3-4 years old) who is EA. at first he thought she was full white, maybe adopted by chinese parents, but then he took a picture and showed me and i said i thought she was ha;f chinese. so he asked the headmistress if she was half asian and she is.
it seems like the girl is having a but of an identity crisis already. she doesnt like speaking english or chinese and is very withdrawn in class. i think its quite harsh to send her to a local school full of chinese when she so obviously sticks out.
so, i dont know if ignorance is bliss as even at a young age, kids can notice their ea-ness, or rather that they dont quite fit in and are different.
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Post by ╗ on Oct 18, 2006 9:55:35 GMT -5
I wish I still was like that. There was a time when I wasn't aware of race or ethnicity; when I didn't know that people are separated because of their ancestry. I also wish I was still like that. Thinking about race can bother me sometimes.
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Post by cinnamoroll on Oct 18, 2006 11:11:39 GMT -5
Cinna: how do you know she's ignorant? Because she is happy.
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Post by ╗ on Oct 18, 2006 12:30:50 GMT -5
^That means no one on EAN is happy.
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Post by Miyuki on Oct 18, 2006 14:54:54 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing this Cinnamoroll. It reminds me of when I was a little girl who looked like a boy because of my bowl cut. It all came crashing down when a boy called me a chink. Up until then I had no idea I was any different, aside from being funnier and cooler than most other kids. ;D I wonder if it's better to tell your kids about being EA, or just have them think they're just like everyone else. I think I'd go with the latter.
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Post by mukashi on Oct 18, 2006 15:21:42 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing this Cinnamoroll. It reminds me of when I was a little girl who looked like a boy because of my bowl cut. It all came crashing down when a boy called me a chink. Up until then I had no idea I was any different, aside from being funnier and cooler than most other kids. ;D I wonder if it's better to tell your kids about being EA, or just have them think they're just like everyone else. I think I'd go with the latter. eh I dunno about that (children). should my children turn out looking different from the other children around them (I'm keeping it general cos I don't know where I will live ) I think I'm gonna tell them about it a bit so they won't be caught "off-guard" when that name calling happens (and it will happen). If they blend in w/ the others I don't think it's as necessary yet I would like them to be a bit conscious about their mixed background (cultural), just not in a way that they'd be full of themselves about it. cinna: in an optimal case she'd be aware AND happy ^ Sensible.
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Post by Miyuki on Oct 18, 2006 15:53:31 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing this Cinnamoroll. It reminds me of when I was a little girl who looked like a boy because of my bowl cut. It all came crashing down when a boy called me a chink. Up until then I had no idea I was any different, aside from being funnier and cooler than most other kids. ;D I wonder if it's better to tell your kids about being EA, or just have them think they're just like everyone else. I think I'd go with the latter. eh I dunno about that (children). should my children turn out looking different from the other children around them (I'm keeping it general cos I don't know where I will live ) I think I'm gonna tell them about it a bit so they won't be caught "off-guard" when that name calling happens (and it will happen). If they blend in w/ the others I don't think it's as necessary yet I would like them to be a bit conscious about their mixed background (cultural), just not in a way that they'd be full of themselves about it. cinna: in an optimal case she'd be aware AND happy Good points. I guess it all depends on the delivery. It's an excellent idea to instill in your child a sense of pride in their unique background, but at the same time, I don't want that to be a big deal for them. It's a delicate balance I guess.
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Post by faithless on Oct 18, 2006 18:54:27 GMT -5
I'm in the library now, and there is this girl who is stacking books. Apparently, she doesn't realize that she's a librarian or that it is something to be talked about. She doesn't take particular notice when I walk up the stairs to the second level that I'm actually just going to use the bathroom. I'm just another bookworm!
She doen't spend time thinking about her 'job' or what it means to her career. She doesn't get pissed off when people make stereotypes about people who like to use the library and who wear unfashionable spectacles.
For her and her colleagues, they are all the same; girls, one gay guy, late 20s...
God I wish I had better things to do.
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Post by Miyuki on Oct 19, 2006 0:00:40 GMT -5
I'm in the library now, and there is this girl who is stacking books. Apparently, she doesn't realize that she's a librarian or that it is something to be talked about. She doesn't take particular notice when I walk up the stairs to the second level that I'm actually just going to use the bathroom. I'm just another bookworm! She doen't spend time thinking about her 'job' or what it means to her career. She doesn't get pissed off when people make stereotypes about people who like to use the library and who wear unfashionable spectacles. For her and her colleagues, they are all the same; girls, one gay guy, late 20s... God I wish I had better things to do. And what's even weirder is that she has no clue she's a librarian, even though she applied for the job, AND went to school for it. How odd.
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Post by cinnamoroll on Oct 19, 2006 1:21:07 GMT -5
I'm in the library now, and there is this girl who is stacking books. Apparently, she doesn't realize that she's a librarian or that it is something to be talked about. She doesn't take particular notice when I walk up the stairs to the second level that I'm actually just going to use the bathroom. I'm just another bookworm! She doen't spend time thinking about her 'job' or what it means to her career. She doesn't get pissed off when people make stereotypes about people who like to use the library and who wear unfashionable spectacles. For her and her colleagues, they are all the same; girls, one gay guy, late 20s... God I wish I had better things to do. hardy har har.
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Post by cheeseprata on Oct 19, 2006 1:47:50 GMT -5
I wonder if child Vulcans and Klingons would co-exist peacefully before adults "educate" them with all that intergalactic war crap...
...*sigh* then maybe they could sit on the starboard bow together...
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