Dear BPRLive, Have you been Asian American in Asia?
Hey BPRLive readers, listeners and contributors, what are your experiences of being Asian American/API* in Asian countries?
For the most part, my visits to Japan largely have a feeling of quiet anonymity flecked with spurts of Asian American identity assertion; I feel like I usually blend in among the masses, my lack of bleached brown hair and en vogue threads probably dismissed as callous disregard for social conformity (or laziness). But there are times when I’ll be talking with someone who all too soon asks about my nationality or where I’m from, only to be unsatisfied when I say American/America/Boston and then draw out the discussion by asking about my ancestry. But irritatingly, my obviously “American” friends never get this kind of treatment. This has occasionally led me to the mildly disquieting feeling that some of these people have skewed notions of what it means to be American; I get the impression they think we’re Asians that simply grew up and live in the US but are (or should be) most strongly connected to and identify with the Asian nation(s) and culture(s) of our family history — or that we have an explicitly quasi-American biculturality, that we’re not really American. They probably just haven’t met enough Asian Americans to overcome these misconceptions, and personal encounters seem to be one of the only ways these misunderstandings can be dismantled since Asian Americans don’t seem to be especially visible in Japanese media (the only prominent example I can think of is the asadora Sakura which follows the experiences of a Japanese American from Hawaii working as a teacher in Japan). But maybe, just maybe, there’s a chance that they are interested in the greater complexities of the Asian diaspora, and that isn’t readily conveyed in the questions they ask; perhaps their ill-phrased inquiries of my ethnic composition and cultural orientation are an attempt to gain insight into the intricacies of immigration and multiculturalism…
Undoubtedly, there must be a lot of variation in how Asian Americans are perceived by people in Asian countries. In Taiwan, it feels like everyone and their cousin has a friend or family member who moved to or grew up in the US, so their conceptions of Taiwanese/Asian Americans are perhaps accurate in some ways. But again, Taiwanese media doesn’t seem to have much regarding Asian Americans. Or am I naively wrong? And are there Asian countries with greater awareness of Asian Americans? Do a lot of Koreans know who John Cho is? What about that K-drama Love Story in Harvard — did that provide some insight on Asian American experiences or mostly foster the consideration of Asians in America?
What have your experiences visiting Asian countries or talking with people from Asian about being Asian American/API* been like? Please tell us in the comments section!
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My experience is as a young college aged kid visiting Taiwan through the Overseas Chinese Youth Language Training and Study Tour a.k.a. the Love Boat. Read more about it at Wikipedia.
I found that the people living in Taiwan could quickly and easily identify me as non-native. Generally speaking, they avoided me because well, I wasn’t one of them—like I was a traitor.
I actually think they avoided us because we were often treated a little too well, like we were V.I.P.
My cousin in China thought I would be white before I visited. Weird, as both my parents are Chinese, so…what?
I never identify with the term “American” in this country. It means way more than I want it to. But in the same way, I tend to always identify as “American” when in Asia because it conveys kind of what I need to convey – that I am clueless. The thing that is kind of wack about that was that people automatically think you are dumb when they know you’re American. Then again, I feel dumb in other countries – specifically because I am. So, I guess it is what it is.
Then again, in Asia, I’ve only ever been to China (Tokyo airport don’t count) so I think people assume I’m Chinese American and are right. I dunno if I’d have a different experience other places.