Yesterday I accompanied my dad’s intern and his girlfriend down to Chicago, and they were both super friendly people (not to mention a very cute couple!), and I really enjoyed being with them.

Something interesting about Chinese kids is that they tend to think that Chinese American kids are super “Westernized.” Like I don’t know how many ask me things like, “What do you like to eat? Hamburgers?” and they’re not even kidding.

When my dad’s intern asked what kind of food I preferred for lunch, and I said that I will eat anything, he said, “In this aspect you are Westernized.” :P

I told him that I would always have a special place in my heart for Chinese food, and I think it’s usually what you grow up with that you will like no matter what. But he was still convinced that I was eating “American” food all the time and that that was bad for me lol. <3

What he doesn’t know is that my dad is not that into rice and prefers European breads and things like naan and he’s always cooking beans like from our Mexican cookbook ;)

(My parents are American in their own way. They’re not afraid to be critical and appreciative of both their homeland’s culture and their new homeland’s culture, and that is one reason why they are mah role modelz~)

Dad’s intern also said that I was “not fully Westernized” because I do not find white guys to be more attractive than Asian guys.

And I was like, Yoooo, there are lots of girls in Asia who find white guys to be more attractive—does this mean they are “Westernized”? ;)

(Truth: If you are a young person from modern China, you have totes been Westernized your whole life whether you realize it or not ;) )

I told him that I just get mad and have a lot of feelings when people expect Asian people to have the same features as white people in order to be beautiful, and this goes for all ethnicities—each has its own unique features, right!!

Whether we’re white or Asian or black, it’s super natural for all of us to initially find foreign things beautiful because they are so different and refreshing. After that, though, I think we can reach a point where we see them as beautiful in themselves and not because they are different from what we’ve always been familiar with.

Because we gotta break open the categories, right?

Love,

Bananena