Jenny Zhou, a Chinese Australian who travels frequently between Australia and China for work needs, said she often felt misunderstood.
Ms Chow is a bilingual actress and TELEVISION presenter who is also an "ABC" among many Chinese, australian-born Chinese.
Ms. Zhou
Ms. Zhou was one of only two international students at the Shanghai Theater Academy in 2012. She said her teachers and classmates were confused as to why she "couldn't even speak Mandarin well."
"They can't understand the fact that I was born in Australia," Ms Zhou said, not even Mandarin is her native language because her parents speak Shanghainese.
Now, even though Ms. Zhou is fluent in Mandarin, she occasionally apologizes for her pronunciation problems. "I hope that one day people won't hear that I have an accent."
Second-generation migrants like Ms Zhou may have grown up at the intersection of two worlds: embracing the culture of their parents' ancestral home countries at home, but also familiarizing themselves with mainstream Australian culture.
This experience has made some Australian "second generation Chinese" wonder about their sense of identity.
Ms Zhou said there could often be some social divide between new Arrival Chinese immigrants and Australian-born Chinese immigrants. "They just don't understand the challenges of being an 'ABC'. I consider myself Chinese and Australian. I don't think it's necessary to choose one or the other, so why can't I have both? ”
Is it the "Banana Generation" or the "Cultural Bridge"?
Mei-fen Kuo, a lecturer in Asian studies at Macquarie University, said many "second generations" often feel caught between the expectations of both Australian and Chinese cultures.
Guo Meifen
Dr. Guo said that because of their unique cultural location, this group is informally acting as a "cultural bridge" between the wider society and families. They bring foreign ideas and perspectives home and relay them in a way that their parents or grandparents better understand.
However, the children of the first generation of Asian immigrants in Australia are sometimes dubbed the "banana generation" as a derogatory term.
This label refers to someone who is clearly "yellow" on the outside and "white" on the inside.
Dr. Guo said that given the complex role of the "second generation" in immigrant families, this shows that those who use these words lack insight. "Generally speaking, the 'second generation of Chinese' plays an important role in breaking national stereotypes."
"I just want a ham and cheese sandwich"
Lucy Du was born in China, but immigrated to Australia with her parents when she was 4 years old and has lived in Melbourne for most of the time thereafter.
People who immigrated at a young age and grew up primarily in countries of immigration are sometimes referred to as "1.5 generations" immigrants. Ms Du was a university exchange student in Beijing and later worked for several years at the Australian Consulate in Shanghai.
She said it was then that she suddenly realized that she was also part of the "small circle of Australian expats", which she had never imagined.
She said she used to look down on Chinese students studying in Australia because they were often alone. But in China, she realized she was going through the same thing. "I was shocked when I realized this because I was living in a small circle too, like a Chinese student in Australia. I think it's because I have a lot in common with other Australian students and colleagues. ”
But Ms To also admitted that her own knowledge of Australia's history and culture, particularly with regard to Australian Aboriginal people, was "limited". "I felt embarrassed that I couldn't tell others about the unique history and culture of [Australia] in depth, and I wasn't interested in cricket, and I didn't know how to play it."
A study by Swinburne University scholar Glenda Ballantyne and Monash University researcher Anita Podkalicka found that Australian "second generation" often struggles to choose specific terms to articulate their identity.
"For some people, trying to describe their identity is really confusing and their thinking is constantly changing."
Ms. Du felt that this statement was very appropriate, saying that her cultural identity was very unstable and had been changing over the years. "I used to hate bringing ravioli to school for lunch. I just want to have a ham and cheese sandwich like everyone else. ”
In a country of diverse immigrants, not forgetting one's roots and embracing other cultures is the talisman for a living. Blindly abandoning oneself is actually not the same in the eyes of Westerners, and pandering to imitation is even more despised. The pride of national culture is the cornerstone of success in other places. Only those who are confident in their own cultural origins will be respected by others, and those who have no roots are the most pitiful.