Grade 12 student Kyle C. Is a Chinese-Romanian student at AISB who recently spoke about his experiences with being a part of two different cultures.
What follows is Kyle’s story, in his own words:
I was born here in Romania, but my family is originally from Northern China. So growing up I’ve always felt connected to both cultures, but at home, I speak Mandarin, and we celebrate each other’s holidays, and my parents, although they’re not extremely Asian, they do emphasize values, like hard work and respect each other. Yeah, but outside of home, I grew up in Romania, so I’m more whitewashed and I attend an American school, which adds another cultural layer. So, in a way, I’ve been exposed to both sides, like the Romanian culture and Chinese culture. Well, I mean, when I was younger, I didn’t really think much about it because I thought that was just normal, but as I got older, I started to realize that something’s different and my experience is very different from those of my peers. At home things felt traditionally Asian, especially in terms of family expectations and values; although it’s not as heavy from my parents, it’s still emphasized.
The big advantage [with being from two cultures] is I’m able to adapt and I’ve learned how to adjust in different environments or different situations. I’m used to hearing from different viewpoints because of my school. And I get to understand many different communication styles; being multilingual also helps a lot. It helps me connect with Romanians, English speakers, but also Mandarin speakers and it also made me more open-minded, because when you grow up and you’re exposed to many different cultures, you kind of realize that there’s no single correct way to live or think and the mindset helped me a lot in school discussions and especially in the critical thinking part.
[My being from two cultures] made me more interested in international opportunities. I won’t limit myself to just one country, like here [in Romania] or China, and since I’ve already grown up in between cultures I feel comfortable in diverse environments. I definitely will consider studying or working abroad in the future. In a globalized world, it’s very important being able to understand different perspectives, and I would also like to pursue something where I can use that skill of me being trans-cultural and maybe something related to international business, communication, healthcare, and so on.