Hey Everyone! My name is Laura, I’m from Toronto, Canada.
I have a younger brother named Jordan. Our mother is Filipino, from Lucena City, and our father is British/German born and raised in Toronto.
I found this site by random browsing but I’m so glad I did — I love reading about other Hapas around the world.
Toronto is a very diverse city, so I never really had issues feeling alienated as a child due to my mixed race. I grew up with many Hapa classmates and a lot of my friends are blasian.
To those who are mixed, melded, and molded by a variety of races and cultures,
My name is HanLing Petredean, a name that inspires a paradoxical sense of isolation and increased connectivity. Presently a student at Harvard University, I’ve had the chance to break from my Californian roots and experience what it is to be Hapa on both coastlines. Raised by racially divergent yet emotionally compatible parents, I grew up in the sun and surf of California’s central coast.
My mother is Chinese, a native of the Jiangsu province, and was persuaded to move to the US after my American father met and eventually wooed her during his time in China. The two of them have inspired a respect for my Asian heritage quite unique to my predominantly Caucasian hometown.
Identity I believe, is enmeshed in personal identification, not necessarily confined to race nor heritage. In my eyes, the best aspect of being Hapa is the buffet-esque quality of our backgrounds. Think about it. We can essentially pick and choose the choicest qualities of our respective cultures. From China I have been gifted with the sport of Wushu, a form Chinese martial arts. From my “American” side, a love for individualistic expression and an appreciation for the diversity found rampant American society.
I’m half Japanese and the rest is a mix of Irish, French, and British of which I’m unsure.
Growing up, I never heard the word “Hapa” in the Northeast where there was a small Asian population, but I always identified as being mixed. I regret that I couldn’t really be exposed to much Japanese culture there, despite my mom’s efforts to immerse me as much as she could.
I guess my experience is even more different since I also grew up with an autistic brother. My family decided it would be best to use only English at home, so I lost my Japanese fluency by the time I entered first grade. It was always annoying to have to justify why I didn’t speak fluent Japanese. Right now I’m re-learning Japanese and I’m determined speak with enough fluency to visit by myself in a couple years.
My mum is British and my dad is half Korean and half Vietnamese. He was born in Korea but moved to England in ’94 where he met my mum. Soon they were engaged and I was on the way, and they decided to move to Korea to get married and raise our family there.
But my dad’s parents did not take to my mum, and when I was just 3 months old my mum left me in Korea with my dad and went back to England, thinking that she would give me a better life.
When I was 1 my dad married a full Korean woman who also had a daughter my age. Being so young I didn’t notice any differences between me and my stepsister until I started school and kids would ask me why I was so white and where I came from.
My name is Sara. I am British, Irish, German, and Japanese. My mum is British and my dad is Japanese, German, and Irish. One of the most important people in my life is my grandmother, who I get my Asian side from.
Hideko Yoshino was a nurse in Japan during World War II, she was born and raised in Osaka and was also stationed there during the war. Because she was near Hiroshima she also helped nurse some of the victims back to health. She has told me some of her stories about how she was able to handle the depressing situation with composure and was able to save 12 lives.
The thing I admire most about her is her bravery and calmness she had during the war. During the American occupation of Japan my grandmother was able to get on a plane to America, and at the time the only English words she knew were “hello,” “Coca-Cola,” and “atomic bomb.” In America she met my grandfather and 8 years after they married and had my father. Continue reading
My mom is fully and entirely Korean. She was born in Korea and raised in Korea. My dad on the other hand is Russian, Romanian, and British. He was born in New York.
While I was growing up almost everyone identified me as Asian. No one ever had any doubts. I had the eyes, the face, and the straight hair. Growing older the lines blurred though.
My hair became more curly and my face became more of the structure of a white person. If people ask I’ll tell them all the things I am, but usually I mostly go by Korean since it’s the most obvious in my features.
I was born and raised in Asia my whole life and have never lived in a European country.
I am extremely proud of being part Asian! Because I am really proud I hate it when people say “Stop trying to be Chinese, you’re white.” I don’t try to be Chinese, I am Chinese.
I admit, I don’t really look Eurasian; I look more European than Asian but deep down my looks don’t tell the whole story. Continue reading
I am Hapa although I don’t look very Asian.
I believe that it doesn’t really matter what race you are. Being Hapa, you don’t usually look like your mom or dad or anyone in your family…you don’t always fit into your cultures.
You’re kind of half way there, you’re accepted as more than an outsider, but not as if you were “pure” whatever. Continue reading
Hey, I’m Claire :)
I can speak both English and Thai. My dad is English and my mum is Thai.
Born and raised in Thailand but soon going to the U.K. for university.
Just found out about ‘Hapa’. Didn’t even know the word a few days ago. There are loads of mixed-raced here in Thailand and I have grown up with loads of people similar to me. Everyone is used to ‘Hapas’ here in Thailand.
Thai people called us ‘half-child’ (if translated). Dunno what it’s gonna be like going to the U.K. though. I went to an international school (private) and that’s how I’m fluent in English although I’m losing my Thai a bit because I don’t use it a lot. Continue reading
