Further Insight

At this point, I am not sure what to expect.  As I've previously mentioned, although I was brought up in a Chinese/Taiwanese household, I grew up in America which means the way I do things, think, and act are predominantly American, which I found out later in life.  Growing up, I thought was culturally 50% Chinese and 50% American because of how we were raised.  At home, we still retained some traditional cultures and beliefs because of the way we interacted, celebrated holidays, and handled situations were different compared to "Americans."  All of my parent's friends and families were Chinese and had similar beliefs, so I felt that we had a good balance between the two vastly different cultures.  Boy, was I wrong?

It wasn't until I went to China, to meet my future in-laws for the first time, that I realized I was far from being 50% Chinese and 50% American.  In reality, I am more 80% American and 20% Chinese, in the way I think and act.  Even though we were raised with traditional Chinese values at home, over a few decades in America, we gradually replaced some of our cultural beliefs and actions, so my first trip to China was a culture shock.  The way people interacted with each other, conversational topics, beliefs, values, to name a few, were all very different.  There were a lot of things they did or said that caught me off guard because I was not accustomed to them. In the same token, there were certain actions or behaviors I had that were deemed inappropriate or unacceptable.  

The longest time I've spent outside of Southern California was a month or so when I was young and went to Taiwan during summer vacation.  Aside from that, all my trips overseas have been only a couple of weeks at a time.  My exposure to the Chinese culture was limited to what I was taught at home, which had already been modified, or through my interaction with Chinese immigrants.  It wasn't until the past couple of years, with my family being in China, and I started traveling over there regularly did I gradually start getting used to the differences.  Even when I went to Guangzhou the last couple of times, there were still some things that the locals did that bugged me and difficult to comprehend. 

The more exposure I've had with the Chinese culture, the more information I've gained.  The cultural differences between regions in China are intimidating enough, so imagine trying to comprehend, understand, and accept the differences as someone who grew up in America.  Not only is still a lot to learn and understand, but I will also have to deal with the expectations.  Regardless of how "American" I am, I am 100% Chinese which means based on my physical appearance, there are expectations that not only should I know the local culture but I should also adhere by them.  Dealing with perceived expectations is only one of many challenges I'll need to face.