In case you're pondering the name of this blog, "Living in Cultural Limbo," let me explain it to you.
Cultural limbo, at least for the sake of this blog, is the term I came up with to describe my current situation. I'm a Chinese girl who was born in Hong Kong, raised in the United States and now, temporarily, resides in mainland China.
On one hand, I'm very American: I call California home; I speak English; I carry an US passport and I celebrate American holidays and traditions such as Thanksgiving and Halloween (yes, yes, I know it's not originally American...).
Yet, I am ethnically Chinese; I speak Cantonese and I celebrate and honor Chinese traditions as well. So what does that make me? A Chinese-American expat who moved back to China?
And on top of all of that, I was born in Hong Kong and half my family still calls Hong Kong home. To many here in mainland China, they view Hong Kong Chinese people as separate from mainland China, although not necessarily in a bad way. Due to over a hundred years of British colonialism, for all intensive purposes, Hong Kong is very different from the rest of China, and as a result Hong Kong-nese people are different from those in the mainland.
So what am I exactly? American? Not totally. Chinese? Not completely. Hong Kong-nese? Nope, not that either. In the end, I'm just stuck in a cultural limbo, not that it's necessarily a bad thing. It's just something for me to ponder during my time here in Beijing.
Good night & sweet dreams from your favorite Hong Kong-born, California-grown, Beijing-living friend.
Have you ever read the book No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe? If not, I would highly recommend as it addresses this double heritage very well and is a subtle and though provoking read.
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