Hello everyone, my name is Clarissa. I am Indonesian Chinese. I’ve lived in South Korea and Indonesia.
Sometimes people can’t guess what my ethnicity is. They think I’m either Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Singaporean, Filipino, or Taiwanese, especially when I lived in South Korea or traveled outside Indonesia.
Being Hapa is a blessing for me. I’ve learned to be a chameleon, to be open minded, and to respect different points of view.
South Korea feels like my second home. I am getting used to the culture there and loving it. I’ve made close friends from diverse nations and I believe friendship is the language everyone can speak regardless of nationality. I make friends with everyone, and I try to appreciate people for their personality and their heart because I believe that’s the important thing.
I celebrate both Indonesian Independence Day and Chinese New Year. I’ve never seen myself as only Indonesian or only Chinese, because I am part of both, and I am happy to be Hapa.
Being Hapa has given me an appetite for language, travel, and meeting people because it’s so natural for me to absorb and speak multiple languages. I adore the beauty of languages. I can speak Korean, Japanese, Indonesian, English, German, and also a little bit of Chinese.
What I want to say is always believe in yourself, embrace your uniqueness, follow your heart, and learn from everyone, because life is a gift from God to enjoy :)
Hapa Voice 