ABC, jooksing, banana – whatever you want to call it, the meaning is all the same. I was born and raised in San Francisco by 1.5G immigrant parents, and I now reside in the Midwest.
Growing up, I was mostly surrounded by people of similar cultural and socioeconomic background as me; but as I entered adulthood, I started meeting a lot of people vastly different from me. They provided new perspectives, propelling me to reflect on where my thoughts and behaviors came from. Oftentimes, I would contribute those behaviors to “growing up Chinese or Asian American,” but I soon started noticing the nuances between being Cantonese-American vs Chinese-American vs Asian-American.
I’d like to use this website to capture and organize my observations and musings I have in regards to Cantonese-American experiences and culture, but of course that also encompasses Chinese-American, Asian-American, and just plain "American" cultures. I hope to evoke feelings of joy through understanding and to spark curiosity and introspection.