#ExpectAsianVsReality: I once had a job interview at a tutoring agency in Toronto. They had me observe one of their math tutors in a session. The student was perplexed by some quadratic functions. The tutor said, “I know it’s like I’m *speaking Chinese* to you, but try this ...”

Later she apologized to me and I lied, "It's fine."

To English-speakers, Chinese language is shorthand for confusing and foreign. I've heard colleagues say "I don't follow this document, it's like Mandarin to me." Even John Searle used it in his Chinese Room thought experiment.

Chinese is a language that earns white people accolades when they learn even a tiny bit, but it attracts disapproving looks when Chinese-Americans speak it in public.

No wonder I refused to speak it as a kid. My parents would talk to me in Mandarin and I'd reply in English.

I rejected my bilingual roots for decades. But lately I'm practicing speaking and reading Mandarin on @Duolingo & @Lingodeer. Yes, the characters are confusing and hard to remember. But now, when my grandma group-texts our family, I can read some of those words. And I feel proud.

To end, I wanna shout out some Chinese-American celebs who grew up in the US but proudly speak Chinese. 谢谢你们!

Jeremy Lin @JLin7

@MingNa Wen, voice of Mulan

@LucyLiu @ 29:58 https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5v0krl 

#ExpectAsianVsReality