To use a biological analogy (albeit not necessarily an accurate one so correct me if I’m wrong, Mr. Bio B.A), Chinese-American culture, particularly Californian Chinese-American culture is the product of cultural evolution within the context of a geographical bottleneck – in many ways akin the relationship that the Boers in South Africa might share with the Dutch living in the Netherlands or the relationship between the finches in the Galapagos. If you took a California-bred Chinese-American whose ancestral home was in Guangzhou and transplanted him in the middle of Beijing, he’d fare no better than you would. He might speak better Chinese than you, but that doesn’t necessarily make him any less foreign. Even if he were perfectly in tune with his offshoot Californian culture, he’d still have mannerisms that locals would recognize as non-native, and he’d probably just as likely project nuances that would be perfectly acceptable at home but which the locals would probably identify as weird or outdated.

All that being said, this has been your magnum opus thus far – extraordinarily insightful, deeply personal. Keep up the good work.

I think that some return visits to the boba shop are in order, so that I can enjoy Chinese boba through you (i.e. pictures!). And some more posts about your classroom doings!

Now it is my turn to be envious of my friend having adventures abroad.