Introducing Yuki. I am half French, a quarter Canadian, a quarter Japanese. (Lived in France, Austria, Japan, Belgium) | TCKID 2.0

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Introducing Yuki. I am half French, a quarter Canadian, a quarter Japanese. (Lived in France, Austria, Japan, Belgium)

Hello everybody,

I was really happy when I discovered what a TCK is, because I think this is what I am mostly. I am half French, a quarter Canadian; a quarter Japanese. I was born in France, but I spent the first “real first years” of my life in Austria, from the age of 8 to 13. Returning to France after that was actually my first culture shock. I ended up adjusting back, but it was tough and that’s when I started to believe that I would never fully belong to one country/culture only. Also, I have a Japanese last name, but I don’t look Asian at all, so this always brought up many questions, and for sure, made me (unconsciously) doubt about my identity! Flying for the first time in Japan a few years ago made me connect at last with my Asian origins, and now, I know myself better (also, growing up helps). I have even started learning Japanese. I don’t think I am ready to settle in any country yet, I am currently in Belgium but I could see myself living elsewhere within the next few years. There are so many cultures to discover around the world yet!

I will be happy to read all your stories and experiences, because I think I will be able to learn from it. However, I think we should be careful not to stay in an “international bubble” that doesn’t reflect reality, and that we have to be pro-active in order to fit in the country we already live in. By remaing humble, curious and very open-minded, I think anyone could fit in any country.

Cheers,

Yuki

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Posted by Yuki at 12:47 am on November 30th, 2008. Comments
Categories: Introduction.

  • Allan
    Hey Yuki,
    did you happen to meet 2 Australian guys at Roppongi station in tokyo on friday night before 3 july/satursday morning 4 july just before the train started, right in front of the ticket machines?
  • Youko
    Hello, I am half Japanese, half Belgian and have been living in Japan during childhood, then in Belgium and then more than 2 years in Japan. If you wanna chat...
  • Ayako
    Miyon: They were 100% biologically related. It's just a trick of genetics. Sometimes the European side comes out stronger than the Asian side and vice versa. As for their family name their parents were divorced and hence one of them had their mother's last name and the other had their father's last name. Japan doesn't allow dual citizenship so one ended up with a Japanese passport and the other ended up with a French passport.
  • Yuki: I have heard of the expressions Banana and not actually eggs but I've thought about them before because many Asian immigrants in the States referred to Asian Americans as bananas or twinkies so I wondered what would be the reciprocal of that. :)

    And I learned that twinkies are these sweets that are yellow on the outside and has white cream in the inside.
    <img src="http://www.uncovertheinternet.com/wp-content/uploads/twinkie.png" width="300">

    Ayako: That seems like a really great example. By the way, are the sisters 100% biologically related? How do they have different last names?</img>
  • Yuki
    Thank's a lot for your kind messages! Miyon --> Yuki is not my name, but I like snow a lot!
    I have studied for a year in Vancouver, and I met many Asian students there. They told me about the "Banana & Egg" story, have you ever heard about it? If you're looking Asian, but have always lived abroad and feel more like a Westerner (for eg. a Chinese kid who was born in Canada from 2 Chinese parents, but who feels more Canadian than anything) then you're a Banana, yellow outside, white inside. And if you're a Westerner with Asian origins, but not looking Asian at all, then you're an Egg, white outside, yellow inside (me!) This concept is not rude or anything, it's just meant to help describing this culture mix. I thought it was a cute story that really helped me visualizing how I felt!
    Cheers,
    Yuki
  • Ayako
    Welcome to our forums Yuki.

    It can be quite interesting when you have a Japanese name and you don't look the part can't it?

    Friends of mine who were half-French/half-Japanese got stopped at immigrations in the Philippines under the suspicion of 'trafficking'.

    Anne Uemura was in her mid-twenties at the time and she had a Japanese passport and looked French.

    Her younger sister who was still in her mid-teen's name was Nathalie Van Hecke and she had a French passport and looked Japanese.

    Immigrations were confused, decided that something was amiss and decided it was 'trafficking' and refused to believe that they were sisters by the same father and mother. :p
  • Yuki,
    I like your name a lot. Snow... is this what you are named after if you don't mind me asking?

    I am a Korean but I've lived in other countries so I feel that there's no home confined to a "place." I think just about anywhere is home.
  • Brice
    Welcome to tckid Yuki! Looks like we have a lot in common. I was born in France, I'm mixed race, I live in Canada and speak some Japanese. lol

    Welcome home, and I'm glad you discovered you're a TCK. :)

    Where do you plan on going next?

    Here's your lolcat welcome picture:

    <img src="http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/funny-pictures-helpful-cat-suggests-you-neuter-your-human.jpg"></img>
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