Growing up Japanese in a White World: Identity Issues

Growing up Japanese in a White World: Identity Issues
I thought the presentation was going to be boring at first just because I didn’t really know what to expect, but as I listened in I became more and more interested in her story and what she had to go through. I have recently been thinking about diversity at our school and what it must be like for students who are minorities. I think about what It would be like for me to travel to a country like Africa and go to school there being the only white person there. I would definitely feel as if I didn’t fit in. So for some of the people here at our school, I sympathize with what they have to go through. Interesting enough though, Chizu said that even though she was Japanese and grew up here that she liked it more and felt like she fit in here more than in Japan when she went back. I would have thought it would have been the other way around. That she would feel more comfortable in Japan because she is Japanes, but I was wrong. Listening to her explain the challenges that she faced in Japan was interesting to me. She liked the active learning theory and stuggled when she couldn’t raise her hand in class without being disrespectful back in Japan as opposed to the United States where she grew up. I wish she would have kept talking about her experiences and challenges. By the end I was thinking a lot and trying to put myself in her position. It would have been really hard for her to deal with these issues growing up. Overall, I thought the presentation was great. She has a great reading voice.