Preface//
I believe that every international student has just set foot
When this land of Australia,
All feel the impact of cultural differences to a greater or lesser extent.
But it's not just international students,
There is also a category of people who were born and lived in Australia,
Also facing the problem of cultural differences...
#01：
Banana people or cultural bridges?
In 1818, Mai Shiying, a native of Guangzhou, arrived in Sydney and became the first Chinese in Australia. In the following 200 years, Chinese people have set foot on the Australian continent to settle and start families here.
And many Chinese born in Australia have also become the "second generation of Chinese" in everyone's mouth.
However, for the "second generation of Chinese", they are often troubled by the differences between different cultures.
Jenny Zhou, who often commutes between Australia and China, says she often feels misunderstood.
Ms Zhou is a bilingual actress and TV presenter, and many in the Chinese community refer to her as "ABC", the Australian-born Chinese.
In 2012, she became one of only two international students at the Shanghai Theater Academy. But when she was in school, teachers and students asked her why she "didn't speak standard Mandarin."
“
They didn't know I was born in Australia and Mandarin wasn't even my native language because my parents spoke Shanghainese, a type of Chinese dialect.
”
Although she is now fluent in Mandarin after a long period of study, she occasionally apologizes for not speaking well.
"I hope that one day people won't find out I have an accent."
Second-generation immigrants like Zhou, who grew up at the intersection of two worlds, have also made some "second-generation Chinese" begin to question their sense of identity.
Zhou said there may be a frequent social disconnect between newly arrived Chinese migrants and those born in Australia.
They just don't understand the challenges of being an 'ABC'. I think I'm both Chinese and Australian, and I don't have to choose, so why can't I have both?
Mei-fen Kuo, a lecturer in Asian studies at Macquarie University, noted that many second-generation Australians often feel the contradiction between the two cultures.
Because of their unique cultural status, this group informally acts as a "cultural bridge" between society and the family, bringing foreign ideas and perspectives home and translating them in a way that their parents or grandparents could better understand.
But among Australia's first Asian immigrants, their children were sometimes derogatorily referred to as "banana people".
The label refers to a person who is clearly "yellow-skinned" on the surface, but who is actually accepted in the heart of "Western culture.".
Dr Kuo said the terms show a lack of insight into the people who use them, given the complex roles played by second-generation children in immigrant families.
That is to say, the description of "Banana Man" for "Hua Second Generation" is not accurate.
Overall, the second generation of Chinese immigrants played an important role in breaking racial stereotypes.
#02：
Cultural identity is unstable
Lucy Du was born in China but lived in Melbourne for most of her life after moving to Australia with her parents when she was four.
People like Lucy, who immigrated with their parents at a young age and experienced most of their upbringing in a country different from their country of birth, are sometimes referred to as "generation 1.5."
Lucy was a university exchange student in Beijing and later worked for several years at the Australian Consulate in Shanghai.
Only then, she said, did she realize she had become part of China's "Australian diaspora circle", something she had never imagined.
In the past, she often looked down on international students staying in Australia to study because they often had "small groups" that did not interact with students from other countries. But in China, she realized she was doing the same thing.
I was shocked by this, just like chinese overseas students in Australia, I also live in a 'circle'. I think it's because I have a lot in common with other Australian students and colleagues.
But at the same time, she acknowledged that she had a "limited" understanding of Australian history and culture, "particularly with regard to Australian Aboriginal".
It's embarrassing that I can't tell other people in time about what's going on with their unique history and culture. I also have zero interest in cricket and have no idea how to play!
Research by Swinburne University scholar Glenda Ballantyne and Monash University researcher Anita Podkalicka found that second-generation Australians often have difficulty choosing specific terms to express their identity.
For some people, trying to describe their identity is really confusing, and their thinking changes every day. For others, it is difficult to express their identity because ordinary life, daily life feels very tacit.
Lucy agrees. Her cultural identity, she said, is very volatile and has changed over the years.
I used to hate bringing ravioli to school for lunch. I just want ham and cheese sandwiches like everyone else!
At last
To a certain extent, the environment will have a subtle impact on people, even if international students come to Australia, they will be more or less affected by Australian culture, not to mention the second generation of immigrants born and raised in Australia, who have always received Western education.
But for the second generation of Chinese, living under the border of the two cultures may sometimes cause trouble, but it can also be an advantage.
Becoming a bridge between the two cultures will not only help the Australian people better understand the Chinese community, but also help the Chinese to better integrate into the Australian community. It is believed that through hard work, the second generation of Hua can also take off the label of "banana people" and become a unique group with its own characteristics.