But Where Are You REALLY From? Asian American Abroad

“Where are you from?” – A simple question that always makes me pause and take a deep breath because I know my answer will only lead to confused looks and more questions. So here are my experiences and stories of traveling abroad as an Asian American.

So where am I really from?

I was born in China and immigrated to the U.S at age 9. I’ve spent the last 18 years of my life in the States, and majority of that in Los Angeles. My ethnicity is Chinese and my nationality is American.

Shanghai, China

Venice, California 

 

I took the diverse bubble of Los Angeles for granted. When I got on the road I saw just how unaware and under-exposed people around the world are to non-white Americans.

The new film Crazy Rich Asians brought a lot of attention to itself. Why? Because it is the FIRST film by a major Hollywood studio to feature an all asian cast since…1993! Perhaps this explains why I get all the weird looks when I tell people I’m from LA. (The place I consider home)

We are most definitely an underrepresented population in the American entertainment industry. I remember being an insecure teenager wishing I could be as ‘beautiful’ as the girls with blonde hair and blue eyes, because obviously they are in all the magazines and get all the cute boys.

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What is it like traveling abroad?

Let me preface by saying not EVERYONE I meet reacts the same way when I tell them I’m from America. However, it is often that my initial answer will not be satisfying enough.

Queue to a typical scene of me walking on the island of Gili Air, Indonesia.

*A merchant shouts random Asian greetings at me*

Me: *Waves because I’m generally friendly* “Hi!”

Him: “Where are you from?”

Me: *Pause, takes a deep breath* – “America”

Him: “But you’re Asian no?”

Me:  “Yes…ok, I’m Chinese”

Him: “But you don’t sound Chinese?”

(In the span of a few hours, this exact scenario happened more than 5 times)

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Luckily, this conversation is usually resolved when I say I live in California. Thank god that California is well known in popular culture across the globe. This usually gets an enthusiastic response such as “Oh! Like Hotel California!”

I do not blame the friendly islanders of Indonesia for not being exposed to images of Americans with different ethnic backgrounds. After all, I once thought that everyone in America was white.

 

 

My experiences around the world:

• In New Zealand, A drunk Belgian guy kept shouting obviously incorrect Japanese at me after repeatedly telling him I’m Chinese.
• In France, I was told that people may not be nice to me because I’m Chinese, and they have a bad rep for being lousy tourists.
• In Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia, I was often questioned about my “American-ness” or “Chinese-ness”.
• In China, people didn’t understand why someone who looked like me had such limited ability to communicate. After explaining I moved away at a young age, people were usually understanding and asked me questions about life abroad.
• In Taiwan, my half white half asian friends often heard “Oh that’s so cute!” when they spoke Taiwanese. On one occasion I did not have the vocabulary for a specific thing. The clerk gave me a stank eye and said “Why can’t you speak Taiwanese?”

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I also noticed that when I’m traveling and meeting a group of new people, it’s much easier for caucasians to connect and ask each other where they’re from. I have to explicitly state I’m from the U.S for someone to try and engage further.

This is not a post for me to be bitter or blame some of the people I’ve encountered for their lack of exposure or ignorance. This is simply the reality of my experiences traveling as an Asian American.

READ: Useful Tips for Solo Female Traveler | What I Learned

On the other hand, there are some advantages for looking the way that I do. When I’m in Asia, I blend in easily and sometimes I think the locals are more willing to help me out because I look like them. Perhaps there is a sense of comfort in seeing familiarity.

 

Some final thoughts

I know I am not alone in my experiences of having to “prove” my American or Asian-ness while on the road. I hope you enjoyed my tales of traveling abroad as an Asian American. Although I identify more with being American as I’ve spent the majority of my life there, my Chinese roots are always a part of me and I’ll always pick 面条 over pasta… On second thought, I’ll take both. 😜

 

 

What are some of your travel woes and tales?

 

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