<p>argh, I think my parents want to take me to visit grandparents in Taiwan next year...</p>
<p>I want to read and study in the interim instead. Argh, there's so much to learn, and I'm not as far as I'd like to be academically.</p>
<p>I barely even know Chinese - I'm a Chinese school dropout. :p And of course, there's then the concern of food labeling - I'm vegetarian too.. oh well..</p>
<p>I guess it offers an interesting change in perspective... Granted, I've lost 2 straight weeks on computer games before - this is more productive than losing 2 weeks to computer games or something. But the main issue - NO INTERNET!! I can't imagine living without the Internet for a few days now, let alone a few weeks. </p>
<p>Anyhow, I have to bring in some of my textbooks. I remember bringing in my CTY Geometry textbook with me in 9th grade, and I ended up writing pages in my notebook instead. :p I'll have absolutely no one to socialize with other than my brother and parents though - language differences again. And then a lot of Asians don't have that much of an imagination due to the way their school systems are structured. (same goes to Americans, but Asians perhaps more so)</p>
<p>And then it might be over the summer this time...oh gosh...it might be hot as hell and humid as hell... I've never had to deal with the combo of heat and humidity. It would totally kill my work ethics - and I don't even think my grandparents have air conditioning. I am sooooo screwed. =/</p>
<p>How many of you 2nd gen asians have to visit grandparents like every few years or so?</p>
<p>This summer'll be my first time back to mainland China in 10 years.</p>
<p>I'm actually looking forward to it. Haha, I'm also a Chinese school dropout, though only because they kept adding on grades! My Chinese verbal skills consist of 1st grade-level with an additional bit of Chinglish and fervent hand gesturing. I can speak well enough to get by, I guess, and better than a normal Asian-American, but just not enough to engage in any political debates or whatnot.</p>
<p>Which is too bad. I'm spending 2 months there with no one to argue with.</p>
<p>Another Chinese school dropout here. I learn more Chinese in the month or two I spend in China over the summer anyway. It was a waste of money.</p>
<p>I love going back to China. I was born there, and my grandparents helped raise me while my parents were here. So I'm very attached to my extended family (well, one side of it, anyway). </p>
<p>Oh yes, and I always go during the summer, so I always have to endure the heat and humidity. I can live without a/c here, but over there, that would be impossible...</p>
<p>omg, Taiwan. People stare at you strangely if you're a kid in the street in the afternoon. It's always because they wonder why you aren't in school, and there are NEVER any kids outside.</p>
<p>Once I got chased away by this old lady when I was at the playground in Taiwan, she kept telling me children didn't belong there. Maybe she was right, because the only people that were ever there were these senior citizens practicing Tai Chi. </p>
<p>
[quote]
But the main issue - NO INTERNET!!
[/quote]
</p>
<p>In Taiwan they have a lot of Internet cafes with reasonable rates.</p>
<p>yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
im Korean and havent been there for 5 yrs! i miss it so much
im also a Korean school dropout</p>
<p>Well I love my grandparents very much. However, going back to India to visit is simply..well, tiresome. Mainly because I go there and there's nothing to do anymore. My cousins used to live there, but they've all immigrated to USA, the UK, Ireland, and other countries that aren't below the poverty line. Additionally, my grandparents don't really like to go out much. So it gets a bit...boring sometimes. Again, I love them very much. But going to India, especially at a time when I could be doing much more productive things i.e.summer courses, summer programs, jobs, internships, etc. just isn't the best option.</p>
<p>Yeah, I'm a pretty disgraceful family member. -_-</p>
<p>ooh I'm Asian! that is ... Indian not Chinese or Taiwanese... hmm... i love going to INdia.. havent been for about 2 years now... but going soon! yay</p>
<p>I think it's a very tough thing to be part of the 2nd generation experience, because as a parent, you have to watch your kids grow up in a culture that is different from yours, and as a kid, you often find yourself having more authority and confidence in your home than your parents. I feel that a lot of the struggles comes from the culture shock between parents and children, such as parents wanting to continually take their kids back to the homeland while the kids would rather stay home. Of course, "home" is also a fiercely debatable term, as parents and children will not see eye-to-eye as to where their true respective homes are. </p>
<p>I think that most 2nd-gen kids like going back to visit their grandparents and such, but I also think there's a lot of resentment when they feel that their parents are trying to force upon them a home that is wholly foreign to them. To a Taiwanese kid whose parents have successfully assimilated to North America, a trip back to Taiwan is nothing more than a vacation. But to a Taiwanese kid whose parents have not successfully assimilated, each trip back becomes an annoying attempt by the parents to convert him into something he's not.</p>
<p>The culture shock thing is true, as I can imagine. My dad went to college in America for a few years before my mom came over with him, and they lived here and worked here for about 10 years before I was born. So they are pretty assimiliated to the American way of life while still being deeply tied to their original cultures.</p>
<p>I think one conflict that many 2nd generation American kids experience is that feeling of never really belonging to a country. Being born and raised in America, you're supposed to be an American, but other kids know you as "Indian" or "Chinese" or "Korean" or whatever other place you come from. However, going back to India makes you feel like an alien because you are from "Ah-merri-kaah" (America). You're kindof in the middle.</p>