On being Asian American and being an APA mom

Here's an interesting meme for Asian American parents.

1. I am:100% Korean-American - 100% Pusanian in fact. The little Korean that I speak is even tinged with a country accent. People can usually tell right away that I'm Korean, unless they're not attuned to the subtle differences between Asians.
2. My kids are:100% Korean-American. I'm not like one of those KA's that think their one duty is to keep their bloodline pure, but yes, I guess I did fulfill my Korean responsibility to marry Korean and produce Korean children.
3. I first realized I was APA when: the kids at preschool made fun of my small eyes and teased me with racially inappropriate and demeaning names. Mean girls start young. Also, I grew up in Texas. Let's just say that people there are not the most accommodating and tolerant.
4. People think my name is: unique. Even though anyone who can read at a second grade level should be able to pronounce it, people look at my name and just give up. I wanted to say to every teacher, each year on the first day of school, "It's pronounced the way it's spelled, moron." Now that I have a 2-syllable last name which has almost all the same letters in it as my first name, it sounds really confusing. It's like the Asian version of Sirhan Sirhan. I used to wish my whole life that I had a normal "American" name, but now my name is me and I would never dream of changing it.
5. The family tradition I most want to pass on is: roadtripping, particularly on trips that involve nature and camping. As much as I love big cities, I need to be within a reasonable driving distance to non-manmade nature. My dad has always been an avid roadtripper. The only change I've made to the tradition is to have accommodations and reservations made in advance before hitting the road and not try to cram in so many sites in one excursion. We really didn't have a lot of family traditions growing up because all of our extended relatives live in Korea, but what we did have growing up was a strong sense that we needed to stick together.
6. The family tradition I least want to pass on is: that darn hot-blooded Korean temper. And pushing my children to become piano prodigies by age 5.
7. My child's first word in English was: ??? I think it was mom. For some reason she has never called me "umma" (mom for Korean), but only calls dad "appa."
8. My child's first non-English word was: Appa. But it was not used in reference to dad. Joe went away for a week when Abby was 6 months and she kept calling for "appa." We were so amazed that she recognized that her appa was gone and was calling for him, until dad came back home a week later and she stared at him like a common stranger off the street.
9. The non-English word/phrase most used in my home is: meh-meh hakah? So sad. I can't believe the most common Korean phrase used is one that has to do with punishment. Actually, the kids use it more than I do on each other as a way to threaten each other when there's a dispute.
10. One thing I love about being an APA parent is: that we get the best of both worlds. We get to take the good from our Korean and our American cultures and hand them to our children in the form of traditions and values. Also, since there is no protocol for Korean American traditions, we get to pick and choose and make it up as we go along.
11. One thing I hate about being an APA parent is: that I'm still confused sometimes about what is best, the Korean way or the American way. The Korean way stresses the importance of depending on your family and placing family first, while the American way focuses on the individual and gaining more and more independence. I want both for my children, but making sense of two opposing cultures can sometimes be stressful. On top of that we also have the added pressure to preserve our culture and language and pass it onto our children.
12. The best thing about being part of an APA family is: The strong sense of family. It can sometimes be like an idol and can come with a lot of expectations, but there are a lot of rewards - for instance, undying loyalty and faithfulness. I went to Korea by myself after almost 20 years (I was an infant the last time I was there), yet my family was still family and loved and took care of me as if I had known them forever.
13. The worst thing about being part of an APA family is: The expectations that the older generation can sometimes have upon us. But somehow I think this may be a universal truth. The mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship is doomed to fail in Korean culture. The MIL, the matriarch of the family, tends to have unrealistic expectations of her son and DIL. While the DIL is expected to submit to her MIL's authority. It's often hard to make sense of our two very disparate points of view.
14. To me, being Asian Pacific American means: that my actions, speech and thoughts are influenced by 2 extremely different cultures. Ultimately my nationality lies in heaven but my life is so rich with opportunities and experiences because of my dual "citizenship." I want my children to know, appreciate and be proud of their Korean culture even though they will grow up being surrounded by another culture. I also want them to know that who they are is much deeper than their skin or hair color.