Part 2
一． 为什么美国被称为文化的大熔炉？你觉得这个表达确切吗？为什么？
美国是一个移民国家，美国人来自于世界各国。他们都带有本国的文化而来, 所以美国称为文化的大熔炉是非常确切的表达。
二． 美国是一个移民的国家，但是移民现象在中国和台湾却还是比较少见。你觉得“移民现象”对于一个国家大文化有着什么样的定位和冲击？
移民现象对一个国家来说是文化多元化。而带来的冲击就是竞争激烈。
三． 随着时间的推移，中国和台湾在这方面可能会有哪些变化？
我相信不会有很大的变化因为中国和台湾都是固有文化的古国，而且人口众多。
四． 如果你是一个汉族的话，你的移民经历将你变成了一个少数民族，这种改变对于你自身有什么意义或者冲击？
作为少数民族的我， 我有机会接受多元文化，但是在某些时候， 某些场所， 我会感觉到被歧视。
涉江採芙蓉，蘭澤多芳草。
採之欲遺誰？所思在遠道。
還顧望舊鄉，長路漫浩浩。
同心而離居，憂傷以終老！
In the first story in the Asian American X, the author Jenny Cheng was struggle with the problem weather she is consider as a Taiwanese or an American. She is upset because she doesn’t know where she should belong. Her brother, who also is in the same difficult position discuss a problem about different categories of Asian Americans in the States. They came out with three different categories at last; FOB’s, Twinkies and the Floaters. She considered herself as the Floaters if she really has to be put into the three of them, but she didn’t like to be labeled in either of them. Living in these two different countries with different races and ethnicity culture, she as an Asian American get lose very easily. She has no clue of what direction she is going and often felt like a person living on a no man land. Throughout her own cultural experience, it reminds her of the bat story. This bat wants to be the best of both the bird world and the mammal world; obviously, it can’t and it is unfair for him to do that. I really feel (感受很深) deeply when she talks about the bat story. But I also disagree with her a little bit with the three categories part, if you think of it in another way or view this problem differently, there could be more categories of these Asian Americans and also not all things are as bad as she described and mentioned. After she talked about the problem of weather she should be, she also changed her view of all these things. I, agree with her conclusion saying that no matter where she is from or how she looks; Jenny Chen is Jenny Chen. This is the truth that will never change.
In the second story, the author is the “Twinkie” type of people that Jenny had mentioned in her article. She start to hate everything about Chinese when she grew up in America. She avoid it so that it will be easier to get along with the Caucasians. She thinks she had such bad luck to be a Chinese. But everything changed after she start to learn Chinese dancing, she saw those people who are also the same as her for being a Chinese American. But what they are different from her is that they are confident with themselves, they are not sad for being a minority besides a Caucasian or by how they look. A really big change of her happened by the time she visit in China, she start to love speaking Chinese and everything about china and Asian culture. At last she mentioned that to be a happy person, you have to have two things; that is, to have confidence of yourself and that you ca be an American with out giving up being a Chinese. I strongly agree when she says about the confident in one’s self.
Both of the articles really expressed what I think of myself also of how we always have the problem of living in two different countries.
Interview with 江浩川.
Part I
一． 您什么时候来到了美国？是什么原因驱使您来美呢？
我１９９５年来到美国， 为了让我的孩子有一个好的未来。
二． 到目前为止，您在美国已经生活了有多久？
我在美国已经生活了十五年。
三． 在您安顿到威州之前，您都居住过哪些地方？
我曾经在纽约的Alfred住过三年。
四． 您最初抵美后，在文化上您都经历了哪些挑战？您觉得这些文化上的挑战哪些容易克服？哪些难以克服呢？为什么？
我觉得的文化上最大的挑战是要学会如显示自己的价值。 美国人大部分都很直接并且不保留，但中国人比较谦虚。语言表达上的不同比较容易克服， 但思维方式上的差异就比较难以适应。
五． 您愿意跟我们分享一些您生活中的一些有趣的经历吗？
第一次去吃自助餐的时候， 我觉得特别有意思。 你可以随便吃， 吃多少都没人管。 中国那时没有自助餐， 所以我们觉得很新鲜。
六． 现在您怎样看待您和中国及中国文化之间的关系？
我始终认为自己是一个中国人， 中国文化在我身上的影响不会消失。
七． 在文化上，请问您是怎样给自己定位呢？
我认为自己是中国文化的继承者， 但我也不断接受美国的文化。
Part II
一． 为什么美国被称为文化的大熔炉？你觉得这个表达确切吗？为什么？
我觉得美国可以称为大熔炉， 这个表达比较确切， 因为美国是一个移民国家， 汇集了世界上很多种的文化。
二． 美国是一个移民的国家，但是移民现象在中国和台湾却还是比较少见。你觉得“移民现象”对于一个国家大文化有着什么样的定位和冲击？
中国没有很多移民， 但是有很多少数民族， 所以中国的文化也是一个多元的文化。 我个人觉得中国的文化主体不会改变， 但也会吸收西方的一些特点。
三． 随着时间的推移，中国和台湾在这方面可能会有哪些变化？
中国和台湾基本的文化不回改变， 但是回吸收西方文化的一些元素。
四． 如果你是一个汉族的话，你的移民经历将你变成了一个少数民族，这种改变对于你自身有什么意义或者冲击？
我自己没有感觉到太多的冲击， 因为在美国有很多象我们这样的移民， 大家背景相似， 所以很容易适应这里环境。
1. No because I was born here and I feel like this is where I belong.
2. The author used the term “kitchen Chinese” because that was the only time she ever heard or said mandarin, in the kitchen. Language plays a big role because this is Isabelle’s main problem throughout the story. She couldn’t speak mandarin when needed to.
3. I think that the younger has to live up to the perfection of the elder because that is how my household feels like. My younger sister is trying to be better than what I had been. I feel that Chinese American parents do have different expectations than American parents because my parents are immigrants from China. They were raised in different environments than the American parents; therefore they would have different expectations of their children.
4. Isabelle’s discovery of Chinese affects her perception of China by showing her new things she had never seen before. I believe that visiting the foreign place is the way to learn or understand the foreign place. When visiting foreign place, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
5. I have felt like a fish out of water whenever I join a new club, organization, or team. I adapt by making friends.
6. Yes I believe that “all Americans have yellow hair and big noses” is a widespread stereotype. When I visited my cousins in China, they asked if Americans were fat and had big noses. Other people in other countries form their opinions on America based on the media in their home country. I form my opinions on other people based on how they treat other people and me.
