Tuesday, June 27, 2006

I'm Poppa Large, Big Dad on the West Coast

1. I am:

Chinese American, second gen.



2. My kid is:

To invoke Marlon Brando from Sayanora: "Half-yeller and half-yeller" (more specifically, 3rd gen Chinese American on my side and fifth gen Japanese American on her mom's).



3. I first realized I was APA when:

I learned the term my first year at UC Berkeley (where the campus community probably coined it...or at least, acted like it did).



4. I am often confused for:

Being Japanese...I think because of my facial hair. That and my Mandarin sucks.



5. The family tradition I most want to pass on is:

Big feasts around holidays.



6. The family tradition I least want to pass on is:

Dysfunctional relations.



7. My child's first word in English was:

Da-dum (we think that means "daddy").



8. My child's first non-English word was:

Ma! (as in "mas" as in "more").



9. The non-English word/phrase most used in my home is:

Currently, it's "awah" (aqua).



10. One thing I love about being an APA parent is:

Waiting to see if my daugther's generation feels more comfortable in their skin than when I was growing up.



11. One thing I hate about being an APA parent is:

Worrying about whether she's only going to date white guys.



12. The best thing about being part of an APA family is:

You never have to worry about buying an American car.



13. The worst thing about being part of an APA family is:

See #6.



14. To me, being Asian Pacific American means:

A lifetime of feeling self-conscious. Unless you're in Hawaii. Or certain parts of California.


I'm tagging Soccer Dad and Daddy Zen.

--Poppa Large

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Actually, I think coining Asian American is more connected with UCLA's Center for Asian American Studies and Yuji Ichoka.

Number 6 cracks me up.

dennis said...

Love the tiny Korean musician link!!