C. C. — Family questionnaire

The questionnaireanswers as written; unanswered questions are not shown

What languages get spoken in your house, and who speaks which to whom?

My Ahma speaks mandarin to my dad and he answers in English usually. My brother and I were never taught Mandarin, but we are learning it in school. Sometimes I speak in Mandarin with my extended famiy.

Describe a normal weeknight dinner at your house.

Rice, a beancurd dish, stir-friend vegetable, and either meat or fish. I am pescatarian so I don't eat the usual beef or pork, but everyone else does.

Is there a dish your family makes that you have never seen anywhere else?

My Ahma makes this beancurd dish which I have never seen on a menu or at another persons house. It is a Taiwanese kind of beancurd so it is kind of rubbery. There is also pickled cabbage with it. It was my favorite dish growing up.

What is in your kitchen that would not be in most of your friends' kitchens?

My dad has a lot of loose tea leaves and various appliances to make it properly. Some things I don't know the purpose of and I have never seen them else where in the US. He buys it when we are in Asia.

Where does your family food shop, and how far do they drive to do it?

For snacks and typical Asian foods we buy from Wee which is all online. However sometimes there is a special ingredient and we go to either H mart or Super 88 which is around a 25 minute drive.

What sport, instrument or activity did you end up doing — and who decided?

Tennis. When my dad was growing up he played tennis and soccer because his parents made him, so now my brother and I play these sports.

What do your parents expect of you, said out loud or not?

Both my parents expect all A's, multiple instruments, sports, and extra activities.

When did you first understand that your family was seen as Asian American — and what happened?

Since I'm Wasian, I always felt too White around one half and too Asian around the other. What made me realize that to other Americans i'm considered just Asian was when a boy at school said my lunch looked gross even when it was just rice and spring roll.

What city or neighbourhood did your family first live in when they arrived?

My Ahma and Ahgong lived in NYC. I think then New Jersey (if not right after NYC, eventually), then the Chicago in the suburbs. After my Ahgong died my Ahma moved back to Taipei for a few years. She then moved back to the US in Boston and now lives with us.

What is one thing about America that someone in your family still finds strange, or funny?

My Ahma will talk a lot about "those Americans" a lot. Usually about what they are eating or their body.

Is there something your family does not talk about?

My dad doesn't talk about is childhood. If we ask he gives very vague answers. My uncle on the other hand talks all about it and tries to tell us stories. My dad especially doesn't talk about his dad.

Who in your family would you most want interviewed properly, and why?

My uncle, Mike.

Look around your house. What is one object your family would never throw away?

My Ahgongs tea pots. They are probably the most valuable thing in this house to my dad.

What do you want someone to know about your family in a hundred years?

My dad had a lot of trauma from his childhood having immigrant parents and that has affected my family, but not my brother and I. My parents try their best to not do what their parents did.

Held, not published

• Contributor's contact details (never published).
• Two photographs of the object (the grandfather's teapots). Held until the contributor confirms they may be published.