Unique Experiences and Perspectives Which Contribute to the Program

I am the product of a military upbringing, which allowed me to live in different parts of the world. This allowed me and my family to explore what other cultures are like as well as realize that Americans and our way of life is not the only culture that exists on the entire planet. I realized that the negative perceptions that other Americans had of people of German and Asian descent was directly related to lack of exposure and an unwillingness to educate ourselves about other cultures.

According to Maya Angelou, Amy tan, Chia-Fang (Sandy) Hsu, Janell Hobson, Yong Chen, Felicia F. Thomas, and Fuchs Lawrence, culture is what brings a community together as one. In “Champions of the World,” “Fish Cheeks,” “Acculturation and communication Traits: A Study of Cross-cultural Adaptation among Chinese in America,” “Between History and Fantasy: Harriet Tubman in the Artistic and Popular Imaginary,” “Recreating the Chinese American Home through Cookbook Writing,” “African American and Socialization,” and “Immigration, Multiculturalism, and American history”. All the authors mention and talk about how important is to know once culture. For generation culture has been what makes America so unique among

My name is Richard Hu: I am 30 years old and I am Asian American. This means that I am both Asian, and American. According to Park (2005), the latest census proclaimed that Asian Americans cover more than 4.1% of the population. In its totality that is 11.3 million people. Much like Park (2005) states, “we are not a new phenomenon: Asians have been apart of the U.S landscape from as early as the 17th century … the irony is that we remain “strangers from a distant shore””(p. My parents were born in Korea but relocated in order to give our family more opportunity to excel. I, like many others in my heritage consider myself to be a 1st generation immigrant. However, growing up in the suburbs of Hillsborough California I began to lose my sense of self. It wasn’t until I was much older that I began to identify with my Asian Culture. I whole heartedly feel that Park (2005) said it best when she argued that “Our perceived “foreign-ness” accentuates our “two–worldness”... not Asian enough to repatriate, not “American” enough to integrate” (p. 4). Although it still isn’t an easy concept for people to grasp, over the years I have learned to be more understanding of my Asian American upbringing (Question 1).

Whilst if I was in China, I would be focused on education, and preparing for my future job, and then focusing on how I am going to live the rest of my life. In relation, when I was younger, I was taken to a private preschool and Kindergarten, in hopes that I am able to build a stronger foundation for when I enter the first grade. As I grew older, and first grade came near, my family moved from one city to another to enroll me in a better elementary school. From this, part of my educational background grew. Throughout the years, we would fly to China to visit family and I was then exposed to the different cultures and was able to compare the living standards and cultural aspects between the United States and China. Consequently, my mom’s side is Tai-Shan and my dad’s side is Shanghainese. On my mom’s side, I have ancestors from Guangzhou, Tai-Shan, Beijing, and Hong Kong. On my dad’s side, I have ancestors from Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong as well. I know that these cities are all within China and have rigorous living conditions, intense education systems, and a place where money is everything. From this, I can say that this does influence my identity, as I am exposed to these cultures and ideas quite often. Being Chinese, and the first generation to be here in the United States, my parents are still quite traditional. Through that, the idea of who I am is influenced and altered, because there are ideas that I

I was born in Taiwan, when I was eleven years old, my family have immigrated to a small town in Eastern Kentucky. Moving from a mostly homogeneous society to a heterogeneous society was quite a change for our family, it has also open my eyes to culture conflicts. Growing up, I’ve define my race as Asian, and my ethnicity as Taiwanese-American, at home my parents speak mainly Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese, and we ate mostly Taiwanese food at home, however I have been socialized and adapted into the American culture in school, and with my peers. Consequently, as I grow older, I’ve identify myself with both culture and heritages. I have made an effort to not forget my native languages and my native culture values, instead, I’ve try my best to make the best out of both cultures.

I was born to a teenaged Chinese-American mother in 1997. At the time, my parents lived in Concord, California, but I was raised mostly by my mother’s parents in Sacramento. My mother wanted to continue her education at UC Berkeley, the university she had gotten into, and did not want having a child to limit her education. Unfortunately, as my grandmother’s mental health deteriorated and my grandfather’s career shifted, they eventually had to move away to Utah because my grandfather, who worked in the air force, was placed at a military base there. The sole responsibility of raising a child then fell on my mother, who was focused on getting her degree. Due to financial issues, she eventually dropped out and moved to Sacramento with my father.

New York City is renowned for its diverse cultural makeup, exemplified by the various ethnic neighborhoods scattered within its interior. As a result, it has consistently been deemed America’s immigrant capital. Similarly, I grew up in a country with over 50 different ethnicities, each with a unique culture and set of customs. I attended a Muslim elementary school and a majority Christian high school, all while growing up in a Hindu neighborhood. Between friends and family I celebrated Christmas, Eid and Diwali. I took my experiences from navigating different Arab, Indian and African cultures and used them to further broaden my horizons while living in the U.S. By traveling and living various parts of the world, I have developed life skills

When I was young, my dad’s job was transferred. My whole family moved from a small town in central New York to the giant city of Hong Kong. My childhood was extremely multicultural since Hong Kong is the melting pot of asia. My favorite foods quickly became Indian, Thai, and Chinese. I didn’t have mac and cheese until I was seven. I had friends from England, Malaysia, Thailand and China. I went to a preschool that was taught half in Mandarin and half in English. Needless to say my childhood was anything but ordinary, but I am better for it.

The presentation in class by Ricky Thao has thought me a lot about Chinese Americans. Chinese Americans, who are one of the largest minorities in the Asian community, have a long history, culture and have faced discrimination in America like many other minorities. The Chinese Americans history began during the colonial era when many minorities started moving to the U.S. seeking job opportunities and a better life. Throughout the history they have influenced the country in many ways and their culture has become a part of the American culture. Also like other minorities, they have gone through a lot of struggles to make a name for themselves. And through the presentation and the information I gathered I was able to learn about the Chinese.

I will never have my father’s smile or my mother’s eyes. My skin tone will also never match their pale skin even though I am their daughter. Although my siblings and I are all adopted from China, growing up in this unique family dynamic played an integral role in my development. I have grown to realize my ethnicity and upbringing are not labels used by my peers to define me. My background has helped me push through social barriers to build friendships. It challenged me to impel beyond the world’s “black and white” boundaries to see a society that thrives on diversity. My multicultural background equipped me with experiences that gave me a new perspective on privilege and responsibility, preparing me to overcome obstacles in the global industry

It took me years before I was able to fit in to this society completely; however, unlike other young first generation immigrants, I still held on to my Chinese background. I spoke Chinese at home and stayed in contact with families and friends from China. I was like any other Chinese teenagers. I listened to Chinese music, read Chinese books, and watched Chinese movies. I also enjoyed eating home cooked Chinese dishes. I was also like any other American teenagers. I listened to western music, read English books, and watched American movies. At school, I ate hamburgers and fries and at restaurants, I ordered pastas and

With my dad being Caucasian, and my mom Chinese, I was fortunate enough to experience two completely different cultures at a young age. Even though I reside in California, where diversity is a natural occurrence, I still believed that some people sought to place counterfeit stereotypes on ethnic groups. Many of the stereotypes placed on Chinese people has to do with the fact that we are strict, especially parents. In spite of that impression, I wasn’t raised with strict parents. They both wanted me to choose my own path in life, and explore my different interests. However, a lot of my classmates, who are of asian descent, were not given the same kind of opportunities that I had. For an English presentation that we had to do about the meaning

I grew up in a multicultural household, my father came from Peru and my mother came from Colombia. Both of my parents are proud of their respective countries and heritage. They both embrace each other’s cultures by celebrating traditions and preparing food native to both countries. Having open-minded parents has taught me to experiment with new foods, music, and hobbies without judgment. I have been surrounded by so many

When I traveled to Italy with my school, I was paired with two other Asian roommates. We spent late nights in strange hotel rooms talking about growing up as first generation Asian Americans, our different cultures, and even our weird Asian traditions. We had conversations about our families, and laughed together about our favorite Asian supermarket together. I was thrilled, finally to speak to others like me about our shared heritage. Throughout the year I looked back and pondered the conversations we had. I realized that I was no longer

I lived in Hong Kong for three years, was a US ambassador in Cyprus this past summer, and have traveled to eight different countries. These experiences have allowed me to appreciate and work well with people from a wide variety of backgrounds. In Cyprus I lived with two different families that had two different cultures, Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot. This experience allowed me to truly see the beauty of cultural differences, and the benefit of learning multicultural viewpoints. I was learning about environmental issues, but I learned about it from two different perspectives. Being able to learn from other viewpoints and perspectives were extremely beneficial to me. In addition, I can share my experiences to benefit those around me. I’ve presented to several classes about the importance of cultural diversity and the need to have cross cultural collaboration to solve global issues. Many of the global issues that can be solved start with local changes. I have started programs to help local orphanages, battered women’s shelters, and nursing homes. Although I started all of the programs, they would not have been possible without the collaboration done by friends, neighbors, teachers, and community members. If I were in the Forty Acres Scholars Program I’d use my experiences of multiculturalism and service to work with other scholars