Most people in Taiwan are Chinese descendants. The latest influx of people into Taiwan was in 1949 when the Nationalists fled to the island after losing the Chinese Revolution. My grandparents were some of these people, so my mom was born and raised in Taiwan but calls herself Chinese. Now in Taiwan, the distinction concerning heritage is important but differences are not so obvious. People just refer to themselves as Taiwanese even if their parents were born in China. There are very few native Taiwanese and even fewer aborigines. This is a common fact.
Here is a real life example of what I just explained. A couple of days ago, my students and I were discussing a reading passage about endangered species. A girl asked me to list a couple of animals that were endangered. I did and then opened up the question to the class. One boy grinned and raised his hand. He points to the guy next to him and says, "Jack is endangered." The whole class erupts into laughter, and I have no idea why. I must have looked really confused because another student explains that Jack is native Taiwanese!
Another time, a boy walks into class and everyone starts taunting "Chinese, Chinese." What? Aren't all the students basically Chinese? Well, his nickname is "Chinese" because he is from mainland China.
Me, then? Everyone just sees me as an American.
Hey Josephine! Wow what an adventure! How long will you be teaching?
ReplyDeleteI'll be teaching for four months. I'm excited! Thanks for taking an interest in what I'm doing!
ReplyDeleteWow, Josephine; that's quite the blog. It's the most interesting I've read yet. What a good way to preserve the little piquant things that make life interesting. Thanks for sharing!
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