Published in Matador Network (October 2014).
1. You visit your parents’ home country for the first time and realize how American you really are.
If you are American born, the first time you visit the country of your parents’ origin can be a shocker. It’s nothing at all like the homeland that your parents talked about from their childhood. The food is unique, the people dress differently, and you realize for the first time that you speak your parents’ language with an American accent. When a local actually calls you a foreigner, you realize that while in America, you may be perceived as Asian, but in Asia, you are perceived as American.