Home Away From Home

Angelina

This snapshot was captured five years ago during the Chinese Lunar New Year. It was our first year in the United States, and we held a party with some Chinese family friends in our neighborhood in Tennessee to celebrate. Even though our family eventually moved to California, we still remain in contact with many of the people in this picture. That day, we enjoyed many traditional Chinese foods such as hotpot and dumplings, and we played games after eating.

When we moved to the US from China, we reached out to our neighbors and formed a community with other Chinese people in our neighborhood. We couldn’t speak English very well at first, and we weren’t familiar with the place we just moved to. However, our community helped us in every way they could. I felt very welcomed connecting with everyone, especially when we gathered for every holiday, brought homemade food, and wore traditional Chinese clothing to celebrate.

We moved to the US in 2017 since my mom found a better job opportunity here, and she decided that America would allow her to pursue her ambitions and provide me with a better education. We mainly reached out to Chinese people in our local community because we weren’t comfortable speaking English at the time, and we felt closer to the people who shared similar cultural practices, language, and historical backgrounds as us. A lot of stereotypes and misinformation regarding Americans in the Chinese media have also influenced us. Often, Americans are portrayed in a negative light by the Chinese media. These narratives, rooted in historical and geopolitical tensions, represent the complex relationship between China and the US. Because of this, my family was hesitant to connect with non-Chinese Americans even though we now have friends from various backgrounds. By reflecting on these experiences, it’s become evident that historical contexts and media portrayals shape our perceptions and reinforce cultural divides.

Based on my experiences, I believe that different Asian subcultures sometimes isolate themselves from others because of many things that have happened in history as well as the stereotypes and misinformation spread by the media. A lot of these factors can influence how people think about other cultures and may make some feel inclined to stay inside their comfort zone by spending time with people who share the same backgrounds.

We should be willing to learn about people from other cultures instead of believing our assumptions because what we see in the media may not always be true. We should celebrate our differences and be proud of who we are.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse