Why The Question "Where are you from?" Can Cause An Identity Crisis.

25 February, 2014

¥5.60      Breakfast (Choc Chip Bread & Soy Milk)
¥10.00    Lunch (Uni Restaurant)
¥15.00    Dinner (五香牛肉面 - Five spiced beef noodle soup)

Total: ¥30.60 ($5.80)

Weekly Total: ¥4002.00

Total Spend: ¥4002.00 ($762.30 AUD)
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Today was my first real encounter with other students. All the international students starting classes this semester at Zheda were allocated rooms to wait in while we did our oral speaking test. Afterwards, a few of us started chatting, and like that - suddenly my group of four became nine. There is a girl from Korea, a boy from Thailand, a boy from Germany and another one from Spain, and finally a fellow Australian from Adelaide. 

When I meet someone new, I always ask for their name, and their nationality. Both of the boys from Germany and Spain were born in their respective countries and they were also the children of Chinese migrants (like us ABC's - Australian Born Chinese). 

When I asked the boy from Spain his nationality, he told me he was Chinese.

When I asked the boy from Germany, he told me he was Chinese, but born in Germany. 

Answers like these make me question myself, because my very first instinct is to say I am Australian. I'm Australian, but my parents are from Hong Kong, or I'm Chinese-Australian.

I know this hyphenated identity gets talked about a lot, but it never really is an issue for me until I go abroad. I remember in Finland I would say I was Australian, and I distinctly remember an encounter with a friend of a friend who had heard about me, and when he met me he said "Oh, you're the 'Australian.'" 

I wonder if it's anything to do with how welcome migrants are into new countries, or whether it's about the culture. I feel that it's quite common for ABC's to say they are just Australian.

Both the European boys were born and raised in their countries, and yet they didn't mention it at all when I asked for their nationality. 

Perhaps it is because Australia doesn't have a very distinct 'culture' compared to European countries, so it feels like we've easily adopted whatever this culture is as our own. 


But that can't be true, because if you live and breathe in a country for so long it becomes ingrained. 

Anyway, national identity may be an infinite source of confusion, but I am definitely sure of one thing.

 I am a citizen of the world. 


And nationalism scares me.