Tag Archives: Danish

American, Irish, Danish, Japanese

Hi everyone, my name is Barbara.

I am Irish and Danish through Dad, and pure Japanese through Mom. My parents met in Japan when my Dad was stationed there in the 50’s. My parents came to the US in the 60’s and my Mom became a part of that big American melting pot.

I was born in California but we moved on over to Hawaii when I was around 2, after Dad was transferred to Pearl Harbor. That’s where I grew up and lived the first half of my life. I was so lucky to end up there as Hawaii is Hapa paradise! Hawaii is the best place in the world to grow up.

Being raised in Hawaii gave me values from a young age. That is why my experience there was rarely negative. I never had people who made fun of or left me out because of my origins.

I was in my 20’s when I left the islands and moved to Europe. I’ve made a new life here and have been living in France for a long time.

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Japanese, Danish, English, Irish

Hello everyone! I’m Brian, and I have Japanese, Danish, Irish and English roots.

As with the stories of others, my relationship with race has brought confusion, frustration and pride.

My white father married my now-deceased, full-Japanese mother (she died of lung cancer when I was six years old), and later remarried to my Japanese step-mom. She has little attachment to community or culture.

Growing up in the suburban Chicagoland area brought enough exposure to Asian-Americans, but my high school had mostly white students where race had yet to be discussed seriously.
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Korean, Danish

One of my earliest memories is of an inner cultural conflict.

Sitting down with my family to eat a Korean-American meal of rice, gim, kimchi, sausage, and pasta I suddenly felt I needed to make a choice to be either Korean or American.

I felt overwhelmed. I couldn’t have the confusion of being both in my life. As children we are always attempting to dichotomize the things in our lives and ourselves.

Knowing myself, and who I am has always been very important in my life… for a long time I wasn’t accepting of being Korean. Continue reading →

Japanese, Danish

My name is Daniel Bruce Karikomi, and I am proud to be the son of a Japanese father and Danish mother. The house I was raised in didn’t contain any Japanese decor, it was a fairly Americanized home. However, some of my best memories are the family sushi dinners where everyone would make their favorite roll.

Growing up in the Midwest, there were very few Hapas around. Aside from my three older brothers, most of my best friends were Caucasian or African American. Consequently, while I was in lower school I associated myself as more “white” than anything. I was also closer with my mom’s side of the family, spending the majority of family get-togethers with them. Part of this was due to my grandmother and grandfather’s (dad’s side) poor health. They both suffered from Alzheimers and passed away when I was young. Continue reading →