![]() ![]() Even though there was a period where my Dad opened up a Taiwanese language school in our neighborhood. My parents spoke Taiwanese to each other, but I didn’t speak it too well throughout my childhood. I do have a memory of having a little bit of an accent and kids laughing at me when I couldn’t pronounce certain letters. However, once I started going to school I refused to engage in any language outside of English. The first language I learned was Taiwanese and I spoke it as a child exclusively until four or five. Was your family close to their cultural background? Did you learn Taiwanese at all? There’s a social interaction there’s some layer underneath where it’s like, “Oh, I don’t totally fit in here.” Even if no one’s saying anything, there’s an awareness of being different. In terms of how I think about things, in the book it’s like playing a role. ![]() And it was a little jarring, making me think was I just walking around naive? Thinking that everyone is colorblind or what? Just not something you’re expecting to happen. And one of the guys we passed muttered under his breath, “Smells like Chinese food in here.” It kind of just blew my mind. I was out with a group of friends, all Asians, part of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, and we were walking out of a restaurant when another group was walking in. It was in New York while I was still in law school around 1999-2000. There was a particular event I do recall. And people would have questions about where I was from or where my parents were from. But as I started out into the world, especially the working world, there would be sudden instances where I wouldn’t feel like I was any different from other Americans, but interactions with others would lead me to sometimes forget what my face looks like. And it was a weird thing considering I had plenty of Asian Americans around me. And it wasn’t until I got a bit older that I grew conscious a bit about feeling a bit like an outsider. It was a very happy, comfortable stable childhood. Can you expand more on that Asian American experience growing up? Did you experience much prejudice? The child of immigrants who was born and raised here. My experience was a very second generation Asian American experience. My high school was about 30 - 40 percent Asian students, and Berkeley was also very similar. The closest location to me would have been the downtown LA Chinatown, but there wasn’t too much there except the place we’d go for dim sum, which is now closed. Growing up I had a lot of Asian friends, but did not spend much time in Chinatown. I practiced law for many years while simultaneously writing. I was an LA native until attending college at UC Berkeley and then law school in New York at Columbia University. My parents immigrated from Taiwan in the 60’s. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, in 1976. ![]() Tell me a little about yourself growing up. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |