Hi! My name is Mimmi and I currently live in Sweden, where I was born and raised together with my three younger siblings. My father is Vietnamese/Chinese, born in Saigon, and my mother is Swedish.
We have almost no Asian relatives in Sweden and since my father came here in his early teens with his mother he has adopted the Swedish culture quite well – which is why I have always identified myself as more Swedish than Vietnamese/Chinese. People are usually curious about the origin of my last name and my ethnicity, but I have never been adversely treated or considered my multiracial background as a problem. Most people find it very interesting, exciting and beautiful.
A few years ago we were contacted by my Vietnamese grandfather, who lives in Australia with his family and relatives (we did not even know they existed!) and we decided to visit them. This was the first time my father met his father. The journey became very significant to all of us, because my siblings and I had not had such a strong connection to our Vietnamese roots until now. For the first time we felt that we could connect with our origins.
Recently I have started to become even more interested about my ethnicity and about Asian cultures, but I had never heard about the term “Hapa” until my boyfriend found this website a few days ago. I think the idea is wonderful and it is very interesting to read about other mixed people and their stories. Mixed ethnicity is a very beautiful thing to me. I feel honored to represent different cultures and I am proud of being Hapa!
Hapa Voice 