Dawn Xiana Moon: Intelligent folk pop with influences from jazz and traditional Chinese music. From Chicago.

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Wednesday, July 17, 2002

Culture Clash. Sort of.

I'm in an interesting place... I don't entirely fit into Singapore and I don't entirely fit into America. Of course, this bears some explanation. As an American (and I have to fight with myself to keep my accent--theirs is really easy to pick up but I don't like how it sounds) I don't entirely fit the culture here--not to mention that most people can speak some form of Chinese, a feat that I have yet to accomplish--and in all honesty, I don't really want to. Singapore is not my home, though sometimes I think I'd do well here (ask me about that sometime). On the other hand, as an Asian I'm in a small minority in America, a minority I don't even fit into properly. I'm a bit of an anomaly as an American--for example, I hate peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, etc. In some ways, I'm more Asian than people usually realize. However, my Asian friends consider me practically white--I don't speak Chinese, I don't specifically seek out Chinese friends or join Asian American groups, I don't listen to the kind of music most of them do, I don't always dress like most of them, etc. And I sometimes wonder what the culture at large thinks of me. When a white person talks to me, are they ever surprised that I don't have an accent (or maybe I do and have never noticed--heh)? Are they surprised that I know little about Chinese culture or language even though I was born in Singapore? Why is it that Kirsten Dunst can wear a cheongsam (the Chinese dresses with mandarin collars--she wore one in Spiderman during the scene where she was at a party and the Green Goblin tried to blow everything up) but if I wore one I'd look like I was trying to be traditional (even though hardly anyone, as in I have yet to see someone wearing one, wears them in Singapore) or hadn't assimilated well? I'm a product of three cultures: Chinese, Singaporean, and American. Even though the population of Singapore is 80% ethnically Chinese, the country is different from China--local influences have played a huge part, as have western (mostly British, thanks to colonization, and some American, since many of those in power went to the US for their college education) and the rest of Asia. This country is perhaps more of a melting pot than America.

So where does that leave me? I'm not sure. Not all-American, but truly American, perhaps?

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