The APA Parenting Meme
Mombloggers and dadbloggers who happen to be Asian Pacific American (APA) have been sharing their unique experiences at the intersection of race, culture, family and parenting with the blogosphere for a while now. We [we being eliaday of Kimchi Mamas and daddy in a strange land of the the Rice Daddies] thought an APA Parenting Meme would be a fun way to open up dialogue and get ideas flowing (for those of us afflicted with writer's block or blog fatigue). We're not experts, and in no way are we trying to be definitive or essentialist - we just hope that these questions will get us started talking about experiences we have in common as APA parents, things we don't talk about and share enough. We're posting our answers to this meme on both our solo and group blogs and tagging 3 of our blogging brothas and sistas to represent and then tag some more. The questions are short, but, like everything, are open to interpretation, as is this meme, so hapas, transracial adoptees, non-Asians who married in, immigrants to 6th-generation, parents of teens or folks still planning their first, you're all game.
I'm tagging weigook saram, Nina, and CityMama.
1. I am:
third generation Chinese American
2. My kids are:
Chinese-Korean American
3. I first realized I was APA when:
I discovered that my nursery school teacher with black hair was NOT APA.
4. People think my name is:
Delta Horn - my last name in print looks kind of like Horn, but it just goes to show, people tend to expect more "white" names like Horn versus my Chinese last name.
5. The family tradition I most want to pass on is:
Having family dinners together.
6. The family tradition I least want to pass on is:
Crazy superstitions about the auspicious dates for holding certain events.
7. My child's first word in English was:
CAT!!
8. My child's first non-English word was:
Nai-nai (milk in Chinese
9. The non-English word/phrase most used in my home is:
POP!! (rice in Korean, followed closely by KIM!! - seaweed)
10. One thing I love about being an APA parent is:
The tight community amongst other APA parents.
11. One thing I hate about being an APA parent is:
Constantly being told that my daughter looks like a little doll. She's no china doll!!
12. The best thing about being part of an APA family is:
Being encouraged and supported throughout my many years of education.
13. The worst thing about being part of an APA family is:
Not hugging very often.
14. To me, being Asian Pacific American means:
Walking a tightrope - It's a little scary sometimes without something to hold on to, but ultimately, enthralling as long as you don't look down.
~ eliaday
