40ish some years ago, many of our parents immigrated from Asia to the United States for a shot at a better life and greater opportunities for themselves and their kids. I think about my mom and dad and how scary it must have been to pack up what little belongings they had and move away from everything they loved and found familiar to the other side of the Earth. The language was totally different as was the food, the streets, the people, the sights, and the sounds. Talk about a scarier than hell life change. They had very little to no money but they ended up making it work. I wonder if I possess the guts and/or the balls to do something similar today…
I think about my life now and how scary and challenging it can be sometimes without having to totally uproot myself and start over in a foreign land where I would have to completely relearn my place in unfamiliar surroundings. What would that “ballsy move” be for me today, the equivalent to what my parents did many decades ago? I don’t think it would be Asia. I speak Chinese, visited on many occasions, and have friends in various big cities out there. That wouldn’t be an apples to apples comparison and nowhere near the “leap of faith into the unknown” that my parents so courageously took. No, I think the equivalent would be me immigrating to some place in the Middle East like Turkmenistan or Armenia or Iran. Or perhaps somewhere in Africa like Zimbabwe or Niger or Chad. What would I do? How could I, as quickly as possible, learn the language, find work, and create my place in these parts of the world? I would literally be starting from scratch. Just thinking about relocating to these unknown regions of the world and having to make a new life, let alone a successful one, scares the shit out of me. So how our parents did it is beyond my comprehension. Big props mom and pop. Solid.
Hope. That’s why they did it. Where they were had very little opportunity. Where they could go had the potential of so much more. There were no guarantees and yet it was the magnet of opportunity and a better life that convinced them to depart from everything they knew and understood. Moving from Los Angeles to Chicago doesn’t really compare. Not even close.
But everything changes. What was once the place to flee is now the place of greatest opportunity. Over the past 8 or so years, quite a few of my Asian American (and non Asian American) friends have relocated to Asia to start anew. Why? For the exact same reason many of our parents came to the United States from Asia so many years ago – Hope. These friends of mine are smart, ambitious, and looking to create the best possible opportunities for themselves and their families. And most of them realize that for what they’re looking for, Asia represents the potential for greatest career and life success. None of them think it will be easy, but to them, staying and building a life in the United States, when compared to Asia, just doesn’t make sense anymore. Personally, I don’t totally disagree (though I don’t think it’s for everyone). Try to start a coffee shop in the United States and you’ll have the likes of Starbucks and Coffee Bean to contend with just down the street. Try and start a coffee shop in various parts of Asia and you’ll have a shot of becoming that part of the world’s version of Starbucks and/or Coffee Bean. Well, maybe at least 8 years ago when it comes to coffee. But you get the picture.
What started as a trickle a few years back is becoming a much more popular thing to do. In a few more years, the option to move to Asia may become a regular life discussion mulled over the dinner tables of not only Asian Americans but Americans in general. I know for some folks reading this, the whole concept sounds crazy if not totally foreign and impossible. And I don’t blame you. But when I reflect upon how our whole world is evolving, I find it rather ironic that so many children of parents who left Asia for America many years ago for a better life are going back to Asia only to settle down and start anew, sometimes just a few miles from where their parents were born and grew up. The Asia I knew as a child is not the Asia I see today. As a child I remember dirt roads and animals freely roaming the streets. I recall a country-ish feel in even some of the bigger cities at that time. But flash forward to today, many of Asia’s cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, Seoul, Chung Ching, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Saigon, etc. are far more advanced and post modern than the “big” cities of New York, Paris, or London. If you’ve been to any of the major Asian cities as of late, you’ll know what I mean. Getting off a plane and going to one of the major Asian cities is like stepping into the year 2050. And it’s just the beginning.
Shanghai Today (not in the year 2050)
So here we are in the middle of 2010 with 2011 just around the corner and I wonder what the next few decades will be like. Personally, just to fill a life square, I would like to live a few years in Asia as well as in Europe. That would be very cool. I would just have to make it happen but it certainly wouldn’t be like the crazy jump my parents took. I imagine I would be more of a long-term visitor who will eventually return back to his home in Los Angeles. We’ll see. But back to my main thought – what will Asia look like down the road in a decade or two? What will their cities look like, the population? I wonder if the average American (white, black, hispanic, etc) will pack up what little belongings they have and take a leap a faith and relocate to Asia because Asia represents greater personal or economic opportunity for them than what the USA has to offer. I wonder if in a few decades you’ll see white children in Wuhan who cannot speak English but are fluent in Chinese. I wonder if terms like Chinese of American descent or Korean of American descent will become common terms in their respective cultures. I wonder if universities in Asia will have American studies classes born from the need of so many disenfranchised or curious Americans who feel a bit isolated or lost in a culture and people so different and foreign to them and their histories. I wonder. Only time will tell…
Linh Bui’s film, Green Dragon, was an extraordinary story of Vietnamese immigrants.
Soon after seeing this film I went to all my Vietnamese friends to find out their POV. Not surprisingly, their stories were all similar with personal heartbreaking details.
I found many of the older Vietnamese folks are ready to talk about it.
Our parents were brave. seriously brave. The thought of changing from a mocha to a latte sends me into a panic, let alone contemplating moving half way across the globe. I mean, what brass balls to think you could even get a job under those circumstances! Go and high five your parents, Roger.
Awesome piece Roger! It’s true, our parents were brave! To think that they left their home country perhaps with skill sets that earn them good money or not, but leaving their place of origin to give their children a better education, and to come here and become seamstress, cooks, construction workers, etc… whatever work that requires minimal English proficiencies and allows them to earn enough to cloth and feed us. We really should spend more time with our parents instead of acting annoyed and short tempered when they nag us!
PS: i’m also contemplating a move to asia, and you’re right, it’s not easy, and i’m still working up the courage to make that move alone, without friends and family! Real props to our parents! Thanks for letting me see that!
You are one deep dude. I never thought of a white guy who can speak Chinese but not his mother tongue. A girl that can do the same? Hotness.
I don’t know if anything can compare to what our parents did. The world is much smaller nowadays. There are hundreds of direct flights to almost anywhere in the world daily, and it takes 2 seconds to google a photo or a video or a good coffee shop for any locale of your choosing. Let’s face it, we’re wusses.
When you think about the cajones it took for our parents to journey to a brand new land, is it any wonder that they’ve got to be Hard-Ass Asian Parents?
I’ve never thought about going back to Asia until now. Unfortunately, my part of Asia is still 3rd World… It looks more South America than it does 2050 Shanghai. But I do wonder about China and its growth. It does seem very Wild West out there now… full of gold in dem der hills…
I’ve thought about it before too.
Yes, our immigrant parents were BADASS.
I’ve also contemplated where would be best for me and my family. I am one of those that feels out-of-place wherever I go. I “stick out”. Here in the USA, I’m immediately recognizable as someone “different”. Back in Asia, I am recognized as someone from overseas.
I’ve known some ex-pats and there are benefits and many challenges to the lifestyle/life-choice. It is not for everyone.
Ironically, my mom has been here in the USA so long that she feels like she is a stranger in a strange land when she goes back to Asia. I don’t think she would be able to move back there again. As she gets older and less mobile, it will be a challenge as the language/cultural barrier (even though she speaks English) becomes more intense…..and this is even with nearby access to Asian enclaves in SoCal. I also see this as a problem for other older relatives and friends. We are like animals in a zoo….nice home, food, shelter, etc, but we feel strangely out-of-place and not in our own environment. I dunno….perhaps many of the born in the USA Asian-Americans don’t feel that way, but I think many that immigrated here (even when very young) will always have that odd-feeling.
Nice blog. Thought-provoking things to ponder and consider.
Very insightful blog Roger! Thanks! Considering there are some of us Asian Americans who’ll never feel completely at home in the USA, it’s good to know that if we wanted to start over, China might be the place to do it at.
It is nice to take a step back and think about what our parents went through. I’ve been writing down their stories after listening to them for years.
I’m also one of those American Asians that you talk about. I’ve been blogging about my experiences as an American Asian in Chiang Mai Thailand (just miles, as you put it, away from where my mother was born and raised) and currently in Cuenca, Ecuador.
My Spanish is not good enough to ask the Chinese/Taiwanese immigrants why they have decided to live here so far from home but I imagine they are similar stories. There are not many Asians down here so it is the stares and ignorant remarks.
With these two expat experiences I have gotten a small taste of what my parents have been through and I am deeply appreciative for their tenacity and strength.
My family’s story is intertwined with my teaching experience here: http://lanivcox.blogspot.com/
And my experience as an ABC overseas is here: http://tellthaiheart.blogspot.com/
Good post. I particularly picked up on your Chinese of American descent observation/remark. And there is also the 3rd culture kids to think about as well.
My parents moved country TWICE. That must have been very difficult decision to uproot and give up everything and move to a new country, and then do it again.
@ bond
I can totally understand what ur saying. Feels like a bogus American here in my own country and feels like a rejected foreigner when I visit my birth country of Korea.
@ roger
I was hoping this piece would b funny as your other blogs but still very impressed by the quality. As an actor with certain credentials in US, I hope if you do relocate to China your acting career may get the boost you were looking for. I thought you were good in better luck tomorrow.
@ everyone
As an American I doubt our experience will ever mimic that of past immigrants to US. Where ever we relocate to simply being an American citizen will aid us in so many ways in starting new economically. No country had such impact on rest of the world as US has at present times. Even Rome in the height of their power had the power that US has today. And as a citizen of such nation there r many advantages.
@Vince…
Though I’m proud to be a US-American, and I would gladly defend my country (and had briefly considered military service….ironically, part of the reason for leaving Asia as a baby was to avoid compulsory military service in a hopeless war against a mega-giant….aka China vs Taiwan), try to do my civic duty as a juror (although I am highly displeased at the consistent inequities in the juror selection process….YMMV), and as a voter (though I am highly dis-satisfied at the moronic mostly 2-party/exclusive ballot systems/choices), there are also certain DIS-advantages to being one….or possessing a US passport at times in certain parts of the world.
Sometimes, it may be better to be a Canadian, for example. Nobody ever seems to get mad at them, and they move about freely without raising suspicions even here in the USA. And they look just like US-Americans too. Just sayin’…. LOL.
Your future imaginings are not so far-fetched. My uncle was the ultimate Pennsylvania WASP – until business took him to China for increasing periods of time. Now he has remarried, to a woman from northern China, and they and their new son spend six months a year in their “real” home in the south of China. He speaks the language well, if not fluently, and his son will most definitely be fluent. Meanwhile, I have made multiple friends from China through graduate school, and they fully expect my arrival in the coming months. With the job market as bad as it is here in the U.S., I sometimes wonder if I should start studying Mandarin. The world dynamic is most definitely changing.