Tag Archives: Austrian

Austrian, Filipino

hapa290Servus! My name is Joanna. My mother is Filipino and my dad is Austrian. I was born and raised in Austria (Vienna) and I’m proud to be Hapa.

When people ask me “Where are you from?” I first let them play the “guess my race” game. I think it’s funny because some say I am Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Turkish, etc. In the Philippines people see me more as European and in Austria they identify me as an Asian girl.

Growing up Hapa in Austria was great and I have wonderful childhood memories. But when I was younger I did experience an identity crisis. For some people it was hard to accept that I am mixed and they treated me as a foreigner because I look different. That was quite hard for me because Austria is my home country and it hurt me to be called a foreigner. But as I got older, I learned to embrace my ethnic background and be proud of who I am.

Continue reading →

Chinese, Filipino, Spanish, Austrian

Hi! My name is Therese Grace Margaret Alonso-Jance Uy. I’m 20 years old and I currently live in the Philippines.

My father is Chinese-Filipino and my mother is Spanish-Austrian. But I am 100% Filipina at heart. It’s fascinating to see other Hapas like me. In my opinion, Hapas are exotic and beautiful people.

When I was a kid, many, including my friends referred to calling me as the “curly haired german girl.” It’s pretty cool that I can also be mistaken as deutsche.

Growing up, I’ve not had any difficulty being multiracial. I took it as an advantage. Continue reading →

Japanese, Austrian, Filipino, American, Mexican, Taiwanese, Dutch

You’ll see on the left a group of good-looking individuals.

These are some of the proud Hapas that I’ve met over the years as an international student living in Asia. The fine collection includes mixes of Japanese, Austrian, Filipino, American, Taiwanese, Dutch and Mexican heritage.

Like me, they have been told, “You have to choose; you can’t be both” and have been asked countless times, “What are you?” I just want to thank them and everyone on this site for sharing the joys and hardships they’ve faced as being multiracial, and for voicing their stories. Continue reading →

Filipino, Austrian, American

Hi my name is Daniel Alter and I am proud to be the son of an American father and a Filipina mother.

When asked of any unique traits or customs, I immediately think of dinner time at the Alter household.

Since I was born, it has been customary for my family to pray before eating meals. Unlike most typical families, two prayers are rehearsed. We begin the typical ritual with a Jewish prayer delivered in Hebrew, this in respect to my Father’s heritage. A Roman Catholic prayer immediately follows, this honoring my mother’s own religious background.

Whenever guests show surprise or wonder from the oddity at the dinning table, I am once again reminded of the uniqueness of my heritage.

I have lived in South East Asia my whole life, this including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing, and Shanghai. Continue reading →

Filipino, Swedish, Austrian, Hungarian

I am a 31-year-old whose mother is a Filipina through-and-through, and whose father is of European-American descent (Swedish, Austrian, Hungarian).

I don’t want to share too many personal instances from my childhood but after my first 18 years of life, I identified myself as being more Filipino. However, it wasn’t until I started college, having been involved in multicultural student organizations, that I really gained awareness of my cultural identity. When I met peers and made friends who grew up with the same cultural background as mine, I slowly but surely began to embrace my biculturalism.

Because of this, I now never feel awkward when people ask what my ethnic origins are. I would rather have people straightforwardly ask me than just look at me and assume.

In any case, I am proud of being biracial, and proud of having been raised bilingually and biculturally because it all has added a dimension to my life which I can continually explore, and from which I can always learn something new.

Chinese, Austrian

My mother was born in Taiwan and immigrated to the United States when she was 20 years old. My father, who is half Austrian, was born in the United States. From the beginning, there was a constant struggle between my parents about which way to raise me.

My mother insisted that I keep in touch with my Chinese roots, but my father said that since we live in America, I should be totally “Americanized.” There was always a constant pressure to pick one or the other, and growing up I tried to maintain that I was neutral towards my ethnicity and that I didn’t care. Continue reading →