Chinese EurAsians tend to struggle with the same issue wherever they go.

"Where are you from?"

"England." (For me).

"No, where are you really from?"

I don't think I can tell you the number of times I have been asked that exact loop of questions. Some people will attempt be subtle by using the words 'ethnically' or asking you about your parents. But, really, it's the same thing: you don't fit in anywhere. Ever.

There are two kinds of EurAsians. The ones with parents who were together before immigration. These families are generally as described by deadbatteries in her 'Chinese American Characters' segment. Make reference to that if you wish to write something like that.

Then there's the two Asian immigrants who come together in the country of origin. Generally are like the 'Chinese American Characters', but they tend to vary, depending on how well their parents integrated into society. Most of these families will speak a mix of the host language (English, Italian - wherever your story is based) and their native language. Plus, their meals? They tend to be pretty Westernised, although they'll never go a day without an asian meal somewhere. It's little differences that you notice between this and my next example: one native, one immigrant (like my family). But, these families will generally have one or two Chinese meals daily and they will, indeed, snack and shop mostly at Asian stores.

Now, here's the one that I can give you the most experience on. The EurAsian that looks not as Asian. Or, in other words, the most 'Fasian' as they come. This is generally a third generation child (family came, had kids, kids had kids) - although, I'm actually second, but moving on. Most of them will not speak Asian. They'll probably eat Chinese, cooked by a parent at home in the evenings and loosely abide to Chinese traditions, but mostly, it's just morals. The basics, respect elders, always do the cleaning, help them cook, set up the table, yes - use chopsticks, we're not that fake.

These families exist in many forms, from the expat family where an Englishman/Italian/whatever went over to a country and brought back a spouse.

Getting more detailed. In the U.K., if that is where your story is going to be set, most 'Chinese' immigrants will in fact originate from Hong Kong and speak Cantonese, not Mandarin. This is because of the British Empire and such, but we'll skip the history lesson. So, what's the difference? Well, they speak a different language. That 'dimsum' (food of the heart) stuff you probably eat at Chinese Restaurants at lunch is most popular there - it's that steamed stuff that comes in those knitted-yellow pot things.

But, most of all, Mainland Chinese people can't understand them, period. However, most Cantonese speakers understand Mandarin. It's sort of like posh British person trying to understand a thick-accented Scot. It's just not going to happen.

So far I've been pretty vague. Therefore, I'm going to be doing a much more thorough analysis here.

The Child

There are three VERY well known stereotypes.

1. The Smart Asian. Good musician.

2. The Dumb One.

Although these can seem to be prominent, it's simply not true. For example, the not as mentally developed one, in terms of mathematics, English and Sciences, tends to excel in various sporting fronts. Although, I'm not going to repeat what what said by illusoire, so reference back to her entry called 'Chinese Characters'.

The Parent

1. The Pushy Parent - this is the parent that isn't pleased until you have 100% on every test and A+ in every subject report, which we all know is impossible. I have one of those. For example, to put it into perspective, in my latest report it was confirmed that I came top in the year for English, amazing, right? But, not, that wasn't good enough because it wasn't 100%. He literally through it back at me and had a flip.

2. The Parent That Doesn't Give - you usually find these ones among richer families when the parent doesn't care how they do in school because they're going to be taking over the family business anyway. But, essentially, it's usually that kid who messes around in class and never pays attention. They usually have one of those parents.

Please don't take this the wrong way because, really, I'm just listing stereotypes and we all know that none of these are strictly true.

Although, if you're looking for humor/humour the best way is by hammering the parent. It's the least offensive and the most funny. If you want to see more examples of this, I suggest going onto youtube and searching 'Goodness Gracious Me'. It was a TV show aired in Britain, composed of a group of ethnically Indian people, taking the piss out of themselves. It's a great laugh but not offensive. That's the approach you need to take. Light hearted and fun is best.

Or, you can take it the other way, if you like writing a non-fiction type story which tells the story about a hard working student, working from the bottom with aspirations to go to a great University. That kind of thing is popular too and is a much more mature kind of story. Although, most told stories along those lines tend to be true.

There is a very interesting demographic of gender imbalance in China due to the one child policy which was only recently scrapped. But, without turning this into a geography essay, I'll give you an idea as to why a lot of immigrants tend to be male.

Due to China having a huge acceleration rate in its economy, jobs are popping up everywhere and people are getting better educated - great. But now, they realise - hey? Why don't I go to the West and get a better pay. So they do it. Most of these men are, in fact, male for many reasons.

Many families are tight on money and can only afford to send one child to a good school. So, if the family has two, they'll send the oldest son. Therefore, the well educated one is more likely to be male and want higher wages.

There aren't enough females. Literally, there's an estimated 75 million more males than females in the country. Then, with the increased number of working women, there's even less willing to marry and throw away their careers. So, the men leave to find somebody - that actually does happen, surprisingly often.

I don't know what it is, but all the immigrant families always seen to be common. Lee, Li, Wang, Lui, Xu, Lam. They just are. So, with that in mind, let's move along.

First names? They tend to be western names. So, Kayla, Jack, Tom, John, Mica all of that. They want their kids to fit in more and having a local name should help.

Middle names? A lot of Chinese family love to carry tradition. So, many middle names will have an identical stem. I'll give you an example. Say the family line is Wan - just made it up. The grandmother could be called Hee-Wan, the characters parent have the middle-name Tah-Wan and so on. That's just a custom they like, sort of like what you see with some families calling their boys the same name. "John III". And then some families will have their middle name as their Chinese name - it really depends on what that family does. It's your choice!

It's pretty basic. Grandparent probably won't speak English too well and have an accent - if at all. Asian parent probably has bad grammar and a slight accent. The child and first local born will probably be speaking like a local. If the parent isn't great at English, then sometimes the child will act as a translator for certain things. But, if the parent is good at English, a lot of the time the child can't speak the either of the Chinese languages because they've never had the need. Simple, right?

Fellow Fasians, weep with me. When you tell them that your dad is the Asian parent. It just seems to below a locals mind. Don't know why. It just does.

The girl and father. The number of times I have heard the story of someone thinking they were dating their father. Don't even.

Your hair can never be on point. It somehow manages to be fine, frizzy, thick and unmanageable all at the same time. Genetics. #TheStruggle

Most EurAsians seem to have the worst metabolism and can easily put on weight, yet there's a myth that they make great models. I don't get it, honestly.

Whenever we go on holiday to like South America, everyone thinks your a local. It's just peculiar. But, somehow, at the same time, you're treated like a foreigner in your home town.

If you speak two languages you're sensational, but if you only speak one, you're then an idiot. There is no in-between.

But, hey, we get the best of both worlds, right? Free money on Christmas and Chinese New Year!

That was a lesson with me, Sim. Got any questions? Just comment below or contact me directly.

I hope that this lesson helped you out and inspires you to try taking on a EurAsian character. We're a struggle, but it's fun - honest.

MrE