"Where Are You From?"
I've lived in the United States of America since the second grade. True to the Asian American experience, two questions have followed me all my life. Question 1--How do you pronounce your name? Question 2--Where are you from? Being the obedient Chinese that my parents raised me to be, I answer the asker without hesitation. "Ja Ja...I was born in Taiwan." After the 1990s people stopped complimenting me on how well I speak English. There is cultural awareness, y'all! Fast forward 20 years. I'm less obedient and more rebellious now. This guy on Tinder with an Italian first and last name asked me via text, "What part of Asia are you from?" This was the first thing he texted. I read his text with an innocent, I-just-wanna-know tone. "California," I texted back. "The southern part." Then radio silence for the next twelve minutes. Men ask me where I'm from all the time . White men ask me way more often than men of col...