Who here grew up in an 'ethnic' home?

[Cuban_Liberal]

By ethnic, I mean a home where your parent(s)/primary caregiver(s)--- one, or both--- were not born here in the US. What was your experience like, vis a vis, home life vs. 'public' life? Mine was a fairly good amalgam of both: on the one hand, my folks spoke quite a bit of Spanish at home and made me culturally-aware of my own heritage, but at the same time they absolutely insisted that I prepare myself to live in a largely-Anglo world by learning to speak and write English well and learning American history and customs.

How about you?

:)

[GOPisEvil]

1. My mom's Japanese.

She exposed me to some of her culture, but mostly, we were All-American.

The good news for her is that there are always large numbers of Japanese women in military communities so she could maintain her language. Also there are usually Oriental grocery stores so she could cook traditional food.

[Cuban_Liberal]

2. Very cool.

Have you ever noticed how many bodega-type stores there are near military bases now?

:)

[GOPisEvil]

4. Definitely.

That's a positive effect of having a military presence around the world. Not sure it always offsets the negative, but still, its not ALL bad.

[Cuban_Liberal]

6. Yeah.

It's also how you go from 'poor' to 'middle-class (eligible)', in a single generation.

:)

[Nay]

3. My mom was French-Canadian and dad was U.S. citizen,

but unfortunately they had the idea back then that teaching kids both languages would confuse them. So we never learned French. I regret it to this day. My mom spoke mostly English to us. We did learn a lot of Canadian attitudes -- we never were brought up to be racist, even though we grew up in the South. It just never "took" with us.

[Cuban_Liberal]

5. Same here, re:racism.

My mami's Cuban, and I also grew up in the South, mostly. 'Racism' is basically a term she never 'got', because Cuba is so racially-diverse/mixed.

[bigwillq]

12. It's never too late to learn French

Check around your area to see if anyone is offering classes. You should put doing that on the top of your to-do lists for 2005!:hi:

[Nay]

27. Oh, I have. I just bought tapes and am looking at joining the local

Alliance Francaise. I have an "OK" accent, don't have to struggle with that too much because I took French in high school and practiced with my mom then -- but I have forgotten lots and lots of words and couldn't conjugate a verb to save my life right now.

But learning French is at the top of my list for this year.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

7. English was very important in my house.

I was taught that if you had even the slightest hint of an accent people would treat you differently. Spanish was still spoken in our house, but always English first and always with focus on the pronunciation. I was made aware of our heritage, but it was very early on not to celebrate it openly. I know it sounds bad, but the way my family was treated would make anyone understand why.

[Cuban_Liberal]

9. It was at our house, too.

My papi speaks decent English, but my mami's is so-so, to be honest. Nonetheless, we were expected to be 'A' students in English, because they both believed that if you couldn't speak and write well, you wouldn't 'get ahead', no matter how intelligent you might be underneath it all.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

13. It's true though...

Even if your grammar is good if your accent is too heavy, you will still get treated differently. It would be funny to watch someone with less adequate grammar talk down to someone with great grammar and a heavy accent if it weren't so disgusting.

[Cuban_Liberal]

14. It's bizarre.

I've been told by teachers and professors that I understand the nuances of English better than most non-Hispanic speakers, but if I just once let my natural accent creep in, I'd be dismissed as 'that dumb sp*ck' by at least 50% of Americans. Sad, innit?

:shrug:

[bigwillq]

17. But Tony, accents are so sexy!

My b/f is Puerto Rican and I love his accent. His English is decent but his accent is very thick.

Nothing wrong with that and it doesn't mean you're a "dumb sp*ick"

My baby has a college degree and a very successful job.:hi:

[Cuban_Liberal]

20. Thanks, Will!

:hug:

[Nay]

28. Aren't they, though?? Wonderfully sexy. That is another Canadian

attitude I must have picked up from my Mom -- if you have an accent, it's cute/sexy/nice/a part of you. It doesn't mean you are stupid.

[candy]

16. No one fooled around with Henry Kissinger and his accent!

[RagingInMiami]

19. So where are your parents from?

[48pan]

8. Is WASP Ethnic? NT

[MuseRider]

10. I often wished I had been.

We were so average, lower middle class, white bread boring that I often wished I had something truly unique but to be unique in my family was not considered anything good. I made myself unique finally but still, I often wish I had grown up in a somehow blended family. I did seek out friends who were different, it caused a lot of trouble in my family but it was always so interesting to me to learn different things from people who were from a different background. Sorry to jack your thread. :hi:

[Cuban_Liberal]

11. No problem.

Your insights are interesting.

:hi:

[Lavender Brown]

15. My parents both immigrated here in their teens/early twenties

They're Italian, and spoke Italian at home. Unfortunately, by the time I was born (youngest child) they stopped speaking it all the time (I guess so we wouldn't have trouble with English in school), so I didn't grow up really bilingual. I would like to speak Italian better. I'm proud of how they made me aware of the culture they came from, and brought here. :hi:

[RagingInMiami]

18. My mom was born in Colombia

My dad in Virginia. I was born and raised in Miami, learning to speak both languages at an early age. I still have plenty of family in Colombia, which I will visit over the holidays.

[Cuban_Liberal]

21. I'm jealous!

I would love to go to Cuba, and see my abuela! Felix Ano Nuevo, amigo!

:hi:

[RagingInMiami]

22. Feliz ano

Colombia is beautiful. I've been going there for years. But having grown up in Miami, I have a special fondness for the Cuban culture. My goal is to go there as a photojournalist once Castro dies.

[Cuban_Liberal]

24. May he go to Heaven soon!

:toast:

[sundog]

23. Native American would probably be considered ethnic

:shrug: Oh, the irony...

My Uncle raised me for a large portion of my youth. He is a traditional Native American elder. I spent a good part of my youth on different reservations throughout the country (from New Mexico to California). I have been to many traditional Native meetings.

As a mentor, he always stressed the importance of walking in a good way. He also taught me the tools for survival in the dominant culture: the culture of greed.

In other words, he is not one of the Native people who assimilated to Christianity. He retained the traditions through much adversity.

So, yes I was raised on an ethnic home - by those who have always been here. :)

At my core are certain key ideals that have been passed on to help me survive, stay true to myself, and live in a magnanimous way.

[Cuban_Liberal]

25. Awesome!

:hug:

[The empressof all]

26. Does Jersey City Count?

I think during the 50's and 60's it was it's own little world.--Couldn't grow up more ethnic than that.

[HEyHEY]

29. By that first criteria - I was

My parents weren't born in the US.