Polish, Chinese

Hi! My name is Thomas and I am a proud Hapa. I am Polish from my mum’s side and Chinese from my dad’s side. I am now a senior in high school. I am born and raised in Austria (not Australia).

Being a Hapa in Austria is not so difficult, or at least I am lucky, because throughout my life there was at least another Hapa nearby. However, I have never encountered someone who shares exactly the same heritage as I do (I have no siblings).

In Austria it is easy for me to be unnoticed, because people mistake me for an Asian tourist. The difficult part of my life is visiting with my family.

I often visit Poland (3-4 times a year) and as there aren’t many tourist there, being there is a bit more complicated. I enjoy our annual Christmas holidays etc, but people in Poland love to stare at people, which is quite annoying. To be fair, I realized that they don’t only stare at me, but also at other people. My Polish family and friends don’t give me the feeling that I am any different, however I am not able to convince myself that I fit in there.

Due to the distance I don’t visit China as often as Poland, however most of my Chinese relatives are in Europe so it is not so difficult to get in touch with them. We celebrate Chinese New Year together. It is still the same feeling as being in Poland.

Being a Hapa is quite difficult, but it gave me the best of both worlds.

I would like to thank the creator of this site for being able to share my experiences and to connect to all you.