Subtle differences
Claudia Chia ’20 shares her experiences of culture, trips, and stereotypes that come with growing up Taiwanese in America.
Claudia Chia ’20 stands in Hengchun Township in Taiwan summer 2017.
She walks the halls of West a startling 5¨2 with a pink puff ball on her backpack. In her backpack she carries three class periods worth of supplies at a time as she rushes to Orchestra. Claudia Chia ‘20 is no stranger to a busy schedule, which comes hand in hand with being a high school student. Angie German ‘20 described Chia as, “[Claudia is]a very organized person and she’s very focused on school work,” German said.
Inside and outside of school, one thing that has made an impact on Chia’s life is her ethnicity. Both of Chia’s parents were born in Taiwan, though she was born in America. Even so, she can still draw parallels and differences between the two cultures.
¨I was Definitely raised differently than American families- because just the culture, like I speak Chinese at home,¨ Chia said.
Chia focuses a large majority of her time around school. While schools in Taiwan are not that unlike West High, the differences are still there, such as standing when the teacher enters the room or simply more homework. Differences or not Chia would rather stay put.
¨A couple years ago my mom asked me ‘what if we moved to Taiwan?’and I was like ‘uhhhhh I don’t want to,’¨ Chia said.
Chia gets the chance to visit Taiwan almost every year with her mom and dad, it is a chance for her to visit with family she does not get to see very often. She looks back with regret on the opportunities to visit Taiwan that she passed up.
¨If I go to Taiwan it’s like, oh yay, we see each other, but it’s still kind of like awkward,¨ Chia said. Although visiting Taiwan is not a walk in the park, sometimes being at home is not either. Chia faces many stereotypes about being Asian, and while some are funny, others are just hurtful.
¨You always get those people who say ‘oh you eat dogs and cats,’ and I’m like, I own three dogs and I love them,¨ Chia said.
One holiday that Chia celebrates every year is The Chinese New Year, which takes place on Feb. 18 this year. It is a time to honor household or heavenly gods and ancestors.
¨It’s great because adults have to give kids red envelopes filled with money,¨ Chia said.
¨I would love to take someone to Taiwan just so they could experience the culture,” Chia said.