Hi Folks,
I am happy to have found this site. Here is a little introductory about me. I am new to this community, joined up since August 2010. As half Taiwanese and spent majority of my elementary years in Kaohsiung Taiwan. I had a keen interest in ancient Chinese history and profound love for its culture.
I originated from Norway, born in a small town outside of Hordaland, Norway and lived there until I was 3. My dad, who at the time worked for The American Institute in Taiwan immigrated my family to Taipei for the duration of his services with AIT. When my father decided to change professions and obtained a job in southern part of Taiwan, he then migrated us 4 hours south to a major city called Kaohsiung. We spent a good number of years there before he was transferred to United States and I have remained here ever since.
When I lived in Taiwan, I continue to obtain a Norwegian citizenship even though I had became more Chinese than Norwegian. My family never applied for citizenship for a number of reason, perhaps one of them was we were not sure how long we would stay here. It wasn’t until we moved to United States I realized how different I was to my fellow Taiwanese. Because I had fair skin and blondish hair, I always stood out no matter where I went and after moving here to The United States, I felt I didn’t stick out like a sore thumb! Upon spent a good amount of years here that I decided to become a citizen of the United States as it has many advantages of having a U.S. Citizenship; especially when you travel outside of the U.S.!
Even though Taiwan was the first culture that I learned and grew up with, it was still a slight challenge. I was always viewed as a Westerner and had many nicknames. I did not really felt a sense of belonging while I was living in Taiwan even though it was the only culture that I knew. Perhaps it was largely due to the Norwegian half of me; fair skin complexion, and platinum white hair that made the Han Chinese to classify me as a foreigner. The question of what makes one “Chinese.” Or in my sense; “what made one Taiwanese” had little to do with my ability to speak, read, and write. To me, it had everything to do with your physical appearance. If you looked foreign even though you do not sound foreign, you were foreign. Considering I also grew up in part of Taiwan where Foreigners were a rarity and even though my friends and classmates that knew I was half and half, I was still a non-Taiwanese because of my Norwegian heritage. It was during my elementary years that I began to realize you had to be 100% Taiwanese in order for you to be Taiwanese.
Having spent a better part of my youth in Taiwan, a sudden move to United States was a cultural shock. Though my physical apperance had blended in more with the Western World, I was entirely clueless to the new environment that I had not previously encountered. Thankfully I was young enough to have been able to get accustomed to and learned the new culture. While I felt the need to fit in with peers, but this may go against my culture, therefore creating a conflict with my families. It wasn’t until after a few years of living in United States that I began to feel a sense of belonging. When I first moved to New York, I was treated as a foreigner (which I was), and took a few additional years before I felt I belong.
Do we have any Eurasians in here? I am curious to seek your experience as a Eurasian living in both Eastern and Western Culture. Do you ever felt a sense of belonging, where do you fit in most, and how tough was it for you to live in (Asia, Europe, North America) and most importantly, did you ever feel lost?