assmates were around. She became angry with me and refused to say anything. Back at home, she said to me, You told me not to speak Chinese at the supermarket, but why did you do so at my school? My classmates will laugh at me. I was surprised. I didnt expect that she interpreted my advice for being quiet as a signal of no Chinese. I just wanted you to show courtesy to other customers by not talking too loudly. There is nothing wrong in being Chinese and speaking the Chinese language! Yes, there is! she replied. In class, whenever my teacher asks who gives this or that incorrect answer, the boy next to me always points at me and says the Chinese girl, but it is not me! Then she burst into tears. This time I was shocked. I hadnt imagined that she would have experienced this at school. I thought hard and consulted with my husband in Canada. Since at the time I was the only parent with Amy, my attitude toward our identity, our primary language, and our culture would shape, to a great extent, the ways she looked at them and the patterns of actions she took. I started by ringing the fact to her conscious awareness that there are different races of humankind just as there are different species of plants in the world, and that no particular race or language is inherently inferior or superior to the others. I said to her, As the Chinese, we should respect ourselves. If we look down upon ourselves, how could we expect others to treat us as equals? We were born and brought up with our language, our culture, and they are part of our identity and our life. At home, I spoke to Amy in Chinese except for the time allotted for practicing English in the evening or on weekends. We observed the traditional Chinese festivals and sang Chinese songs. We visited friends from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mainland China, and communicated in Chinese when we met them. Together we read books about famous Chinese people and important events in Chinese history. If we came acr...
