TRANSCULTURAL & MULTICULTURAL NEWS
China's 'Sea Turtles' Return Home
Source: Maureen Fan, Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Huang He, 36, is a "sea turtle," one of the thousands of students who return to China each year after spending time abroad. For many of them, a visit to their family villages during the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, is near mandatory. But such visits also force them to confront changes in modern China -- changes that may prompt them to swim away again.
But the China those students return to is not always the China they left. The phenomenal economic growth here has led not only to the development of villages and towns, but to a shift in Chinese values and priorities. Meanwhile, the sea turtles have experienced changes of their own.
After a decade studying communications, broadcasting and cinematic arts at Shenandoah University in Northern Virginia and Central Michigan University, Huang is a faithful mimic of President Bush, a regular viewer of "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," a fan of the Green Bay Packers and a lover of steak. But he is also a citizen of China who misses his hometown dishes and his aging parents.
Fluent in two cultures, he is not quite at home in either.
"After living in the U.S. for so long, all sea turtles have to relearn their own culture," said Huang, who has been working in Beijing for a company that makes historical television dramas. "China is not the same China I remember. People's values have changed."
Continue reading...
The New Transculturals in China
Chinese or American? The new transculturals or "haiguis" struggle to define their identity. Watch as the Hard Hat Show looks at three Chinese twenty-somethings who were born in Mainland China but went abroad at a young age. They have since returned and now live in Beijing where they were interviewed about how it feels to be back home.
Written and directed by Luke Mines of Danwei TV
"Guatemexicoestadounidenses or Guatemexiamericans"
Source: AZCentral.com
December 12, 2007
Growing numbers of Guatemalan and Mexican immigrants are marrying and having U.S.-born children, creating mixed Latino families with ties to three countries at once.
The mixture has become so common in Phoenix, some community members have even coined a name "Guatemexicoestadounidenses," or Guatemexiamericans, to describe the families.
The trend is being driven by an influx of immigrants from Central America, mainly Guatemala, who are settling in communities long dominated by Mexican immigrants, experts say. Although no specific data exists about the number of mixed Latino marriages, the trend is undeniable. As more Central Americans arrive, the more they meet and marry Mexicans.
"There is a great mixing taking place," said Nestor Rodriguez, a sociologist at the University of Houston who studies immigration trends. Latinos, he said, are becoming like other Americans with European ancestry, with ties not to a single nationality but many, continue reading...
Saying ‘Adios’ To Spanglish
Source: Newsweek.com
December 17, 2007
Leticia Salais writes " Growing up, I wanted nothing to do with my heritage. My kids made me see how wrong that was. Growing up in the poorest neighborhoods of El Paso, Texas, I did everything I could to escape the poverty and the color of my skin. I ran around with kids from the west side of town who came from more-affluent families and usually didn't speak a word of Spanish. I spoke Spanish well enough, but I pretended not to understand it and would not speak a word of it. In school, I refused to speak Spanish even with my Hispanic friends. I wanted nothing to do with it. While they joined Chicano clubs, all I wanted to do was be in the English literacy club. Even at home, the only person to whom I spoke Spanish was my mom, and that's only because she wouldn't have understood me otherwise." Continue reading...
Spanglish: Mi Vida Remixed takes an in-depth look at Spanglish.
Source: mun2.com
April 21, 2007
New generations of Latino youth are using Spanish and English to create their own unique form of language, culture, style and influence. From the spoken word scene in the Bronx, to school and sport in Miami, to bordertown life for teens in Texas, mun2 explores how Spanglish has emerged and continues to shape young Latinos and pop culture. The special features interviews with teens and celebrities who collectively speak to the way language defines them across generations, regions and cultures.