The APA Parenting Meme

Thanks to Daddy in a Strange Land for creating the seemingly ubiquitous APA Parenting Meme and tagging me. You can find him and other cool dads at Rice Daddies (go here to read other APA's memes), one of my favorite stops.

Better late than never, hopefully. Here is my attempt at some answers:

1. I am: Korean American adoptee, husband, father, poet, teacher.

2. My daughter is: Chinese American adoptee (although I will let her come to her own description of self. She may have her own unique description, since I am Korean and my wife is hapa, Filipina/German-Irish).

3. I first realized I was APA when: I was very, very young since my family is Caucasian and it was rather obvious. I realized the political aspects of it in college, when (for the first time) an Asian guy selling Pink Floyd t-shirts at an Earth Day festival said to me, "Hey, brother."

4. People think my name is: odd. Koreans think my first name is Herrick.

5. The family tradition I most want to pass on is: be giving.

6. The family tradition I least want to pass on is: occasional impatience.

7. My child's first word in English was: dah dah.

8. My child's first non-English word was: ba ba (Mandarin for dad).

10. One thing I love about being an APA parent is: everything (truly). Sorry, I know that's the wrong answer.

11. One thing I hate about being an APA parent is: I'll have to get back to you.

12. The best thing about being part of an APA family is: the richness of cultures and the love we give.

13. The worst thing about being part of an APA family is: having people still ask if I/we speak English.

14. To me, being Asian Pacific American means: pride, love, community, family, friends, work, give, be yourself and work at remembering.