The process of losing yourself, finding yourself, and finding balance between the “Chinese” and “Canadian” of “Chinese-Canadian.”

Through the contrast of three colours, red, blue, and purple, I will explore what it means to live in the inbetween of cultures through an art film. My goal is to show both the process and the outcome of becoming/rejecting Chinese-Canadian as a label, because culture is more complex than one or the other or simply the sum of both. The film will be heavily dependent on colour and extravagant makeup to tell its story.

The film is broken into three parts: Red, Blue, and Purple. Italics are my thought process behind the story of each section.

 

Goal: I would like to illustrate the differences between the two cultures with explanations for the Chinese traditions so the audience could learn and have interest in learning more about the Chinese culture. The comparison will be displayed through a series of small clips.

 

Framework: The video will have a brief introduction and provide three examples often seen when you go over to a Chinese household compared to Western household.

 

Intro: When we think of Chinese and Western cultures, it is obvious the two diverges. Through the years of living in Canada, it is hard not to be influenced by the western culture; however, being able to witness such a diversity made me grew interest in learning the significance and reasoning behind the Chinese traditions. 

Ex 1. When we first arrive to the home, we greet the host with enthusiasm, but the two groups have distinctive greetings. Western culture likes to use the host’s name, Mr./Ms./Mrs. "last name”, or “blank’s mom/dad” in their greetings. However, the Chinese culture is more custom in using auntie, grandpa, sister, etc. terms for their greeting as it makes the relationship feel closer, like a family. 

Ex 2. Once we’ve entered the door, it is the norm for the Chinese to have their shoe off, as a sign of respect since they don’t want to get the host’s floors dirty. Often times the host will provide slippers as a way of caring since they don’t want their guest’s feet to be cold from the floor. While Westerners like to keep their shoes on for convenience, except there are some who does prefer shoes off, but no slippers are given.

Ex 3. When it comes to dinner time, it is common to see everyone at a “western table” using forks and knives on their own plates that has the same kind of food. Western culture is individual based and sees the importance in sanitary; therefore, they prefer to have their own plate of food rather than sharing a variety amongst each other. They also like to eat their vegetable raw, like salads, because they feel cooking their vegetables will lose too much nutrients. While, at every “Chinese dinner table”, there are many of dishes to share and everyone has their bowl of rice and chopsticks (back in the Hans dynasty, they viewed the use of pointy utensils as a correlation to slaughter and blood which is not pleasant image for the consumer to have, therefore they suggested chopsticks instead, as it is rounded on both sides). The Chinese culture values more of unity and enjoys the liveliness of gatherings; therefore, the dinner set up allows everyone to be closer and build a stronger connection. (don’t really eat raw, as they are worried about consuming bacteria, so they rather lose some nutrients than get sick)

-the highlighted parts are reasonings that I might use for explanations.

 

Project Goals: Through the stories of two dishes (one Western dish and dumplings) I want to frame how I personally overcame the difficulties of not being neither "Canadian" nor "Chinese" enough. From transitioning from the Western dish to a dish of dumplings, I hope to demonstrate how some Chinese-Canadian youth will realize that being Chinese-Canadian is exactly as the title states: it is understanding and living out both cultures with respect. 

 

INTRODUCTION: More often than not, Chinese-Canadian youth allow one culture to dominate the other, and it is always Canadian culture that wins and yet we are still losing something: a connection to our heritage and a culture that is rich with thousands of years of history. Unfortunately for me, I started losing connections to my heritage at a very young age due to my peers reacting negatively to another fellow Chinese-Canadian's lunch: a plate of dumplings. 

 

RISING ACTION: My peer's response to something so important in Chinese culture influenced me to have a negative reaction to Chinese culture as a whole. My solution to the problem was to turn my frustration into ignorance and I solely focused on what it meant to be "Canadian." This was especially apparent in what I ate; my mom offered to make me fried rice or pack leftovers from dinner but I refused and always made my own lunch, whether it was sandwiches, baked chicken, or salad. I just couldn’t afford to bring something that would elicit negative reactions from my peers to school. Still, I couldn't relate to my peers because I thought and acted differently due to the cultural values that my parents had taught me. Yet, I couldn’t fully comprehend Chinese culture due to a lack of knowledge and understanding. At the same time, I was confused and lost because there were so many clashing cultures at home as well: my parents came from totally different parts of China (my mom coming from the north and my dad coming from the south) and they had lived in Japan for ten years before coming to Canada. Thus, I had so many cultures and values to constantly think about and I didn't know what and how to think of each of them. In the end, by trying to become what I thought as "Canadian," I only lost touch with my parents and what really mattered the most: I lost sight of myself and my background. 

 

CLIMAX: In my senior year of high school, everything changed. I suddenly became not "Canadian" enough for my friends (none of whom had a Chinese background) and not "Chinese" enough for the Chinese international  and the Chinese-Canadian students at my school. At home, it became increasingly hard to speak and interact with my parents due to the cultural and language barrier. Above all, my grandpa passed away and I continue to live with regret that I was never able to fully talk to him the way that I wanted to before he left us. Through my struggle, I found a need to reconcile with my heritage and learn about my culture. It was important for me to do this so that I can not only to communicate with my family but also understand why a lot of Chinese people act the way the do. So I made an effort to continuously speak with my parents, watch Chinese television, learn more about Chinese cuisine and its importance, and more to learn about who I am to create balance. 

 

CONCLUSION: After my efforts to relearn and reconnect with my background, I realize that being Chinese-Canadian is not an either or situation--that it's not so black and white--and it is exactly what the title says and means: Chinese-Canadian. You can be both Canadian and Chinese. However, through learning about Chinese culture, I now understand and value my heritage exponentially more. I can now see how Chinese food, especially dumplings, can bring people together.

 

(It's hard to portray what I wish to do with my video through writing; I want to verbally say my story but have my video show me cooking as a demonstration of Canadian and Chinese culture.)

Project Goals: 

Organizational Framework:

- 例如：韓國男生就是大男人主義的，看不起女人，結婚以後一定要做家務

- 例如：女生跟印度男生結婚的時候一定要很多嫁妝，否則男方的家人不會對女方好

- 這部分我會找/用網上一些網上的短片/圖片來展示一些中國人對於異國戀的刻板印象

Goal: 

I want to analyze key differences between Chinese and western cultures in how they interact with members of the older generation. For example, how western children address their parents can be quite different from how Chinese children address their parents. Western culture dictates that calling parents by their first name can sometimes be okay, while Chinese culture demands that one must address their elders with the proper titles. Through examples such as these, I want to try and identify what cultural differences there are and how they affect the way we act, as well as why these cultural differences exist. In short, I want to look at how western and Chinese people interact with their parents and others’ parents based on the cultural values that they were raised on, as well as what pros and cons there are to either side’s values. 

Framework: 

Beginning - opening scene will be me visiting my western friend’s house, hearing her address her parents by their first names, and being visibly confused. This will introduce the idea of cultural differences for what is culturally accepted with regards to interacting with parents. 

Voice-over of how interactions with parents may differ between Western and Chinese culture, and asking the question of how our cultural values may differ based on those interactions.

I then introduce myself to the audience as “game show” host, where today we will be interviewing one of my western friends and discussing some of the cultural differences between our interactions with parents. My friend comes into the scene, and we both sit down and start chatting. 

Middle - we discuss different aspects of interactions with parents. We start by looking at our morning routines, showing skits to represent the interactions for both the western and Chinese perspectives. 

We then discuss nighttime routines and how we interact with our parents there. 

Next, we discuss how we interact with our parents at the supermarket. 

Finally, we discuss introducing romantic partners to parents. 

Conclusion - we discuss the overarching differences in our interactions with our parents, linking them together to form a conclusion as to how or why these differences exist. 

Ending - I thank my friend for coming on the “show”. I then try to see how the differences in interactions may reflect on Chinese and western cultural values, and discuss the good and the bad when it comes to these values, as well as how these values are incorporated into the Chinese Canadian identity. 

 
Leading questions: Have you ever felt left out/excluded in a country where the culture is different from the one that you share with your family? Did you try to "fit in" with the mainstream culture? If so, what did you do? 

Goal: Using the guide of the leading questions mentioned above, I will use a personal memorable story to illustrate the childhood cultural differences between grouping up in China vs. in a Western country

(As a Chinese born Canadian that had previous childhood experience in China, I am able to address what's it's like to have a childhood in China vs Canada).

Framework: 

I will introduce the background regarding my childhood experience - more specifically:

1. Giving background information on my age when I was in China and the age that I came to Canada
2. Introducing the beliefs when I grew up in China vs the beliefs in Canada
3. Bringing up the different issues I had with mainstream culture

Intro: When I think of my childhood experience in China vs in Canada, there are ideas, attitudes, and activities that are different. (I will provide at least 6 different examples that illustrate this)

In the video, I will introduce myself to the audience and let the audience know that to illustrate childhood cultural differences between grouping up in China vs. in a Western country, I will use my personal experience.

As I couldn't replicate examples that need a specific item such as a particular type of food from childhood, I will use images from the internet to help the audience understand generally what it is.

Body: I will dive right into specific examples to illustrate after I introduce my topic. There are certainly more than 4 different examples but these are what I have in mind so far:

Transitioning from childhood in China to childhood in Canada
Ex.1

Ex.2

Ex.3

Ex.4

Ex. 5

Ex. 6

Conclusion: I will give my interpretation on the childhood cultural differences between growing up in China vs. Western countries based on the examples I provided.

The cultural differences between how Chinese and Western parents raise their kids.

Goal:

I want to portray the key differences between Chinese and Western cultural on how they raised their kids. The examples will be told through comedic experiences between two friends that are  Canadian and Chinese. 

Framework:

Introduction: The opening scene will be me visiting my white friend to hang out and play some video games. I will enter the apartment and my friend would offer me some slippers to wear. As he hands the slipper to me, I would have a quick PTSD flash back of someone slapping the slipper against hands (so it looks like someone is ready to hit something, this is a reference in the future of where my mom hits me). Next my friend would offer me to hang my jacket, and when takes out the hanger this would trigger another PTSD event of where someone is untangling the coat hang wire into a line (similar scene as before). Lastly, my friend would show me the new belt that he bought, and this would trigger another PSTD event. This would prompt me to ask how was it like to grow up with white parents

Example 1: Bob (white friend) would explain how once he got in trouble by failing a test and his parents would congratulate him on his efforts and comfort him on how he tried his best. I would emphasis on how the parents only care on how he was doing and later offer him desert to cheer him up. I would play back the same scenario on me. This time my mom finds out that I got a B+ (the joke here is that I need As) and later cuts to another scene where she finds her weapons: slippers, coat hang wires and belts to hit me with. This is a funny scene since it looks like the mom is going to war. Then she proceeds to chase me. 

Example 2: I ask Bob if it was easy for him to date girls when he was in high school. This cuts to a scene where he would walk out the door and shouts to his mom that he is going to visit his girlfriend. Now in the same scenario, I get a text from my girlfriend to “come over”, so I do a very similar scene from mission impossible and sneak around the house and do some rolls to avoid my mom finding out. I would make a fake pillow dummy on my bed and climb out the window. Next morning, I would climb back in very smoothly before my mom comes to check on me. 

Conclusion: We discuss the cultural contrast between the way we grew up. I will highlight how I grew up in a strict household while Bob had an easier life. But the joke at the end is that strict parents create the cleverest kids. 

I want to explore the differences between Chinese and Western mannerisms when having guests over in terms of physical contact, guest etiquette, and superstitions that impact gift-giving, etc.

The goal of this video is to discover the proper ways of interacting with Chinese guests to avoid awkward situations due to lack of cultural understanding. Since I don’t have any relatives living nearby and haven’t seen them in almost a decade, I haven’t really practiced greeting Chinese guests. Through this project, I would like to learn the appropriate mannerisms if I go back to visit.

I plan on presenting this information through whiteboard animations of a typical dinner at a Chinese host’s home and edit using iMovie.

Intro: (http://www.ediplomat.com/np/cultural_etiquette/ce_cn.htm)

I will start with relatives coming over and bringing Western greeting gifts compared to Chinese gifts (brandy, chocolates, cake). Additionally, I will describe Chinese superstitions so guests know which gifts to avoid giving (white=death, black=tragedy or death). Then I will demonstrate how older Chinese refuse the gift initially to be polite. To show that they aren’t really a fan of physical contact compared to Westerners, I will demonstrate the proper method of greeting. While Western guests usually act very polite, Chinese guests are encouraged to make themselves at home (while avoiding the bedroom and kitchen unless invited).  

After greeting, presenting gifts and making some small talk, I will show what Chinese dining etiquette is like compared to Westerners. For example, it isn’t polite to drink before others make a toast as drinking alone is considered to be rude. Refusing a drink isn’t wise unless you are drunk. I will talk about seating arrangement and how the guest of honor is sat at the head of the room and begins eating first. Chinese people try not appear starving since it is looked down upon. They also shouldn’t be too eager to open their gifts since it is considered to be polite to open them after guests leave. During dinner, there are some topics to avoid talking about such as suggesting that Taiwan is not part of China or asking somebody about their divorce. However, Chinese people aren’t afraid to ask some personal questions that Westerners may refrain from asking (marital status, family, age, job, income).

I will conclude by describing the context which having these manners would be helpful in and how it brings cultural capital. By reflecting on the ways Chinese treat their hosts, I will talk about how it shows the difference in values compared to Westerners and a little about how they came to be.

*Edit*
I find it hard to accept how many superstitions Chinese people have, especially since I found out that there used to be more that were enforced. I think it's easy to forget and to give a gift that might be culturally inappropriate if you don't familiarize yourself with some of the superstitions. 

The fact that Chinese people are very open with disclosing their income is hard for me to accept because it is considered impolite to ask in Western culture.
 
I can accept the hierarchy at the dinner table since seniority and rank is very important for Chinese people.

Goal: I will reflect on my wonderful friendships I’ve made since growing up, and despite our cultural experiences, how my friends made me feel proud in my Taiwanese heritage by celebrating our differences and learning more about my culture. 

Through a short film, I will show how I’ve tried to become closer friends with Canadians, and whether my experience revealed any interesting cultural differences between my culture and the western culture. Through these experiences, how have sharing my culture allowed me to make closer friendships?

Framework- Intro: Voiceover- Growing up surrounded by mostly Caucasians as a Taiwanese-Canadian, my childhood was often spent like I was an outsider who didn’t belong. Whether it was because of our cultural differences, or I was too shy to intermingle with kids that were different than me, I wouldn’t know. But as I got older, I got more ambitious to make friends here, and despite our cultural differences, I’ve made lots of wonderful friends these past years.

*Will include a short photo montage of me growing up, and cut to childhood pictures of me on my bedroom walls as I head out of my door. I will be walking through campus to meet my friends for the next scene. 

*In a study group:

I come in, friends will have their morning coffees, but I will come in with bubble tea

My friends will talk about their favorite western artists, like Drake, and I will talk about kpop and show them videos too. Then, we will bond over this experience. 

I ask my friends if I can have their contact information and they offer snapchat. I’ll then suggest LINE, which also has cute emojis. 

To get bubbletea, we go to the  International food court and marvel at all the delicious food around us. I introduce my friends to a couple of Chinese dishes. When ordering bubbletea, I will explain how milktea is the original flavor. When we sit down to eat, I will eat the meal noisily, and they will curiously ask why. I will explain that in Chinese culture, eating the meal noisily is a compliment to the chef and it means the meal is very good. 

While eating and drinking boba, my friend compliments me on my helix piercing, I say thanks, but that it gave my parents a real scare when I got it done. Then I explain how traditionally, Chinese parents are more conservative about piercings and tattoos because they think it’s associated with gangs.

When my friends invite me to their homes, I will take my shoes off. When my Canadian friends are confused, I will explain to them why Chinese people take off their shoes when entering an indoor space. 

When we make plans to watch movies together at their house, I will bring over anime films whereas they would suggest western films. I will be able to teach them about movies from studio ghibli, eg: spirited away. 

My friend will comment on how they thought I was shy when I first met them. I’ll explain that because it took me some time to learn English, I used to be nervous interacting with people because of the language barrier. But overtime, I learned that people are very accepting and they will even teach you English when you are having a hard time. 

Conclusion: *Sitting in our residence house lounge, while we are playing a card game. Voiceover- Despite all our differences, my friends never disrespected me because we came from different backgrounds; they always valued me on witty character and caring personality, and were always eager to learn about my Taiwanese heritage. This made me feel special and proud in who I was as a person, and I’m grateful that I grew up in a community that were willing to celebrate multicultural differences which allowed us to build beautiful friendships out of learning from each other. So at the end of the day, culture barriers won’t stop you from making friends, people become friends with you based on who you are as a person. 

Outro- My friend Camrynn calling my name, asking if I wanted to get bubbletea with our friend group. 

The differences between university admissions for Western versus Asian students.

I want to talk about the differences in education systems between Western and Asian countries and the pressures students face when applying and deciding what they want to study. For Western countries, universities are relatively easy to get into and there is not extreme pressure for students to get into university. Colleges and trade schools are also viable options. However for Asian countries, it is extremely difficult to get into university, requiring extremely hard entrance exams where students prepare since childhood by attending cram schools, which are after school tutoring sessions. I want to illustrate these differences and how they affect cultural as a whole

Show a quick skit with two different students applying to university, one just entering their information (like how to apply for Ontario universities) and another stressing to study for entrance exams. Then have an introduction about myself and the topic intercultural understanding, asking about what are the differences between western and Asian education systems and talk about my theme.

Talk more in detail about the differences. I’ll have to do more research about it but from what I already know, the pressure is extremely intense for students and oftentimes this can be perceived as their childhoods being robbed. Not only do students face pressure from the mere act of applying into universities, they also face pressure from parents to go to a good university and study a “useful” major. Asian students, parents have high expectations for students to go into high paying careers and want them to go into something like medical or law school. Maybe also talk about cheating culture, like how the pressure can drive students to cheat or how they perceive cheating as a mere tool to succeed rather than something unfair and wrong, but I do not want to focus on this too much.

Talk about the reasoning and history of how these immense pressure students face came about. Talk about how we should try and understand how these students feel. Sometimes students can be hostile towards each other because they view each other as competition into getting into something like medical school. Discuss how although this hostility is bad, we should come from a place of understanding as it is not necessarily their fault for their thinking. 

Conclude with how having this context is important to understand each other’s culture and difficulties they faced.

Adobe Premiere

My phone to film

Backup footage to a hard drive or cloud drive after filming in case of loss of footage.

Film the skits during reading break or on the weekend so that casting members are free and not as busy to avoid casting problems.

Save often with Adobe Premiere in case of problems like crashing.

1 min: Introduction, introducing myself, the ideas I want to talk about 

2 min: Go more in depth of these ideas and explain the differences

3 min: Reflect how this pressure came about and how it is related to culture as a whole

1 min: Conclusion, wrapping everything all up

To present this idea, I plan on using a few vlogs, pictures, and maybe some drawings. I will present some situations I encounter every day in both western and Asian settings which taught me how to handle being in both cultures. These situations will be based on restaurants, houses, and other possible settings that might come to mind in the future. All of these situations will include actors who will help me explain the situations I encounter every time I go back to China. I will choose situations that I found awkward, and my final goal is to have my viewers identify with my struggles. After each scene of my situation, I plan on using narration to clearly explain my thought process and its significance it had on my understanding of the Chinese culture. The video will include some actors who are from China and Canada, and I will use these actors in my acts. As for right now, all my editing and videos will be created with my phone, which is an iPhone X, and my computer, 2018 Macbook Pro. However, this could change, as I might be able to borrow a camera that may provide better footage for my project.

In conclusion, the central theme of this project is about how I was able to understand both Chinese and western culture. By using significant events that occurred to me in China which taught me about how to react to different cultures. These events eventually helped me become an open and diverse individual with friends from both western and Chinese culture. My end goal of this video is to try to identify with other students like myself; those who were surrounded by western culture, and come home to find the Chinese culture as well.

Importance: This topic is valuable to me because as a young child, I immigrated to Canada at the age of 3. Although I did not have much recollection of my connection to China, at times, China was like a foreign idea and throughout high school I mainly had friends who were Chinese but born in Canada so I did not think much of it. Instead, as I grew up, with the spread of Korean music and culture, I found myself and my peers being more proactive in learning and opening ourselves  up to the culture. As Korean culture was slowly becoming an important part of my life and I took the initiative to learn the language, my mom disapproved of my interests due to political tensions and l started to look down on Chinese culture. However, coming to university, I was able to make more international friends from China and learn about the Chinese culture, music, and fun trends through them. They were patient in teaching me as the language barrier limited my knowledge of Chinese culture. From there, I decided to begin learning about my culture that I have neglected in my childhood. 

Goal: In this video, I hope to share with the audience and further my cultural understanding through showcasing the beauty of each culture and their connections stemmed through their values and history.  

I intend to bring in comedic and touching elements to my video through different scenarios like greetings (how people greet strangers), meals (how do families eat together), friends (how do you make friends, how do friends hang out), jobs (how do people look for jobs), marriage (bringing significant other to see parents), LGBTQ (how asian cultures are opening up to this sensitive topics).

They are all intended to present the stages and struggles that a person goes through in their life. There will be subtle nuances and reactions that will show how each culture may react differently. 

Through inspiration from some videos, I have thought it would be fun for me to play multiple characters to add comedic effect. At the same time, that would be a bit difficult for me to make my video more interactive and time-consuming. On the other hand, I have thought about recruiting some of my friends who can act certain characters for me (Tiffany Luu, Cindy Zhang) to make it more engaging and allow to have more freedom and variety in my video.

Design of your project (style of your video): 

I am aiming to film videos to capture the scenarios in a skit type of format where I may occasionally put some images to support the story.

Editing tools & Equipment: I will use my phone to film. I will edit with iMovie. 

In filming a project like this, there might be sudden difficulties that will pop up. To deal with loss of footage, I will make sure to film extra takes and keep my videos in multiple places (Google Drive, Laptop). If my casting members are unable to make the schedule to film, I can ask more friends to keep the option available or I can prepare to act multiple characters myself through different costumes.

Introduction (45 sec)

Part 1 (1 min 15 sec)

Part 2 (1 min 30 sec)

Part 3 (1 min 30)

Conclusion (1 min)

 

The differences in values between Western and Chinese society influences the choices we make in our lives.

Project Goals

I would like to discuss how the decisions that are made in my life are impacted by the culture around me. How in some cases the choices I make may be considered “western” and can garner disapproval from my Chinese family and how my more traditional Chinese choices may be scrutinised  by the western society I grew up in.
In this aspect I will try to demonstrate the balance between western and Chinese culture without having to give one or the other up.

Framework:
Introduction:

Introduce myself, my family, how I grew up, system of beliefs and culture

Middle:

Talk about major decisions in life such as:

Whether or not to go to post-secondary; am I supposed to make a choice based on my own wants or also in the interest in my family who will be supporting me?

What sort of career to invest in; is this a career that will be fulfilling to me or should this be discussed with my family that favours stability?

End:

Conclude by talking about what sort of decisions I made in the end, how I came to make those choices and why I did so

Video: draw my life style, with a voice over

Goal is to show how the differences of behaviour and culture between where he used to live and where he lives now and how he ultimately copes with both cultures to find a balanced lifestyle. Even though he is able to speak and talk like a person who has lived in Canada for years. He was unable to connect as he would with other people in Shanghai.

介绍：作为一名在上海长大但去过国际学校的学生。他没有接触过华语社区。他会说普通话并在一定程度上与人沟通，但无法与他所来自的本地人进行深入交谈。他喜欢中国的便利，喜欢一切的快节奏。无论走到哪里，他都可以用手机付款，并使用一个单独的应用程序微信来完成所有事情。如果他想要一些食物，他可以使用Eleme。如果他晚上饿了，可以在凌晨3点点菜。如果他需要出租车，他可以随时随地搭上出租车。

当他第一次到达温哥华时，他发现点菜很难。饿了么（Eleme）是他理想的食物选择，但正如人们所料想的那样，这里当然没有，所以他找到了一种送餐服务，称为跳过菜来点菜。该名男子终于到达他的公寓，正当他乘电梯下楼时，该名男子已经离开。他打电话给客户支持投诉，他们退还了他的钱，并告诉他再次订购，他感到震惊。如果该男子只等了2分钟让他下来，他就会从该男子那里抢走食物。

当这是他一学期的第一堂课时，他公然与一个随便的人开玩笑，说他见过的其他人。这个家伙对这些笑话感到震惊，说他非常无礼，去找另一把椅子。他有点想家了。

该脚本将有其他示例。这是我将要做的简短概述。

总结：他受到文化冲击，并短暂地想念家。后来，他注意到生活中的小事，并学会了不依赖便利。并且像温哥华当地人一样学习适应和说话。

Being born and growing up in Canada, especially where I initially grew up didn’t have a large Chinese or even Asian population. In that environment, I tended to be immersed in “Canadian” culture more than Chinese culture. I spoke English at school and afterschool activities and even started to speak primarily English at home with my parents instead of Chinese. As a result, for a long time I felt out of touch with my Chinese heritage. Therefore, I want to explore the theme of integration and assimilation of second-generation people/Chinese-Canadians in a new environment and how that affects their understanding and identity of both cultures. Especially regarding CBC or ABC as second-generation Chinese people are so prevalent in Canada and have a large effect of the culture here.

I want to take a look at what “culture” means to people, specifically what people of different backgrounds think of when they think of certain cultures. For example, what does “Canadians” (people with a long line of “Canadian” ancestors) think of when they hear Canadian Culture versus Chinese Culture. Then what do Chinese people from China think about what defines Canadian versus Chinese culture. Finally, I want to take a look at my own experiences right now and growing up immersed in a culture that was different than my parents.

I plan to either interview people or experience different aspects of culture (i.e. sports, food, music) of the two different cultures and compare and contrast it with my own experiences and view right now or growing up.

Hopefully by looking at other people and my own experiences, I can come to a better understanding of what is Canadian or Chinese culture and what makes my inbetween of those cultures unique in its own way.

To a certain degree, I understand who I am culturally and who I was growing up, especially given the large amount of CBC kids that grew up in a similar situation to me. However, I believe that this has led to a sort of subculture within both Canadian and Chinese/Asian culture because of the mingling of these two differing cultures. I want to see what aspects represent this subculture and how this subculture interacts with its parent cultures. In my life right now, how do I see myself and others as people given their relation to these groups (e.g. Western/White people, CBC, Chinese people)

As a child, I was raised in between two very different cultures and environments. Although I was born in Vancouver, I visited Taiwan every year before starting school in Vancouver. I would travel to Taiwan for around 6 months at a time since that was the maximum length of my visa, and after starting school, I continued to return every year during summer break. Growing up, I was fortunate enough to be able to experience the lifestyles and cultures from both countries, and thinking about it now, I’m able to see just how different the two are. My goal for this video documentary is to showcase the cultural differences between people living in Vancouver, and people living in Taiwan. More specifically, the details that I would like to explore are their community interactions, daily lives (work and school), and their food.

Framework:

In the opening of the film, I want to start off by telling the audience a little about myself and the reasons why I want to dive deeper into the cultural differences between Taiwan and Vancouver. I will talk about aspects of my childhood as well as how my view on Western and Asian cultures changed as I matured. 

While the voice over during the opening of the film plays, I want to have the video playing be footage of life in Vancouver, and also footage from life in Taiwan so that I can showcase the differences in scenery between the two locations. Footage in Vancouver will be shot by me and although I’m still not sure how I’ll get footage from Taiwan, I’ll most likely find a way by the time I need it (probably going to ask family in Taiwan).

After I explain the video’s premise, I want to end off the beginning scenes by firmly reinforcing the theme that I will be looking at in this documentary, and what exactly I will be comparing (community interactions, daily lives, and food) to analyze this theme.

               In the middle of the film, there are three separate themes that I want to explore when comparing cultural differences. These three themes will be community interactions, daily lives, and food. Here are certain aspects of these themes that I may compare in my documentary…

-        Community Interactions:

o   I want to look at the differences in the relationships between us and our neighbors

o   How we interact with friends, and different things we do when we hang out

o   If there are any differences between the type of conversations we have with people in our community and the type of things we find appropriate to talk about

-        Daily Lives:

o   I want to look at the differences between the school life in Vancouver compared to the school life in Taiwan

§  Maybe touching on aspects of how successes and failures are treated in both cultures especially in school

o   The work culture in Vancouver compared to the work culture in Taiwan

§  Looking at the hours worked, and the relationship with coworkers/boss 

o   How people in Vancouver start and end their day compared to how people in Taiwan start and end their day.

-        Food:

o   When comparing food, I’m mainly going to be looking at the way food is treated and served in Vancouver compared to Taiwan rather than the types of food. This is because Vancouver is a very multicultural city which means that you can find many varieties of cuisine including Taiwanese (even though its obviously not as good). 

o   I’m going to be looking at how a lot of food in Vancouver are in restaurants and are most likely sit down and eat kind of places. In contrast, many of the places in Taiwan or Asia in general are like stands on the side of the street where you can just order your food and go within a few minutes.

o   Comparing the convenience of food in Vancouver compared to the convenience of food in Taiwan

               I would like to conclude the documentary by summarizing the main/interesting things that I discovered while looking at the cultural differences between people living and Vancouver and people living in Taiwan. I want to return to some of these findings and reflect on how growing up amidst two of these cultures has influenced my life and has allowed to have a better intercultural understanding and respect for both Western and Asian cultures. 

-        Probably just me and maybe some of my family and friends

-        I want to film aspects of my daily life and school life in Vancouver for the Vancouver side of the comparison

-        I will probably dig up old videos from when I was in Taiwan as well as ask family members in Taiwan to film some interesting things for me.

Theme:
Comparing Western and Asian Music

Goal:
To share the differences and similarities between the two major continent’s music styles and preferences. 

Video Set-up:
I’ll be using a small but essential variety of equipment starting with a camera, screen captured footage of music software, as well as personal and web photos to aid the storytelling process. This will help create a good visual that will be supported by a voice over. 

Beginning:
I’ll briefly talk about my music childhood and how I was always listening to it everywhere I went. I will then discuss how my father would prefer traditional music from the east and my mother would prefer classical music from the west. 

Middle:
My mom has been a piano teacher for over 30 years and naturally she has been a classical music listener. My father showed appreciation towards traditional Chinese and Cantonese music as he worked in China and Hong Kong for many years in the beginning of his career. The music he enjoyed there, he still enjoys now. As for myself I listen to an equal amount of Eastern and Western music as I was exposed to both. The music I want to create is one that will attract ears from audiences who have been in the same spot as me where they did not know which side they belonged to; they didn’t need to belong to just one. 

End:
I conclude that music has been a big part of my life and I learned that regardless of Western or Eastern cultural influence, good music will always be good music. 

Project Goals: From this project, I want to express both the joy and the difficulties that come with embracing interculturalism in my everyday life. Having lived in Canada my entire life, you could say I’m “white-washed”, which has made it challenging to understand and accept traditional Chinese beliefs and ideologies. As I’ve grown older however, I’ve become more open and curious about my own heritage, as I’m realizing more and more the importance of valuing and respecting my cultural background. From learning Chinese to studying customs and practices, over the years I’ve slowly come to integrate these cultural aspects into my life.

The process of losing yourself, finding yourself, and finding balance between the “Chinese” and “Canadian” of “Chinese-Canadian.”

Through the contrast of three colours, red, blue, and purple, I will explore what it means to live in the in-between of cultures through an art film. The film will be heavily dependent on colour and extravagant makeup to tell its story. My goal is to show both the process and the outcome of becoming/rejecting Chinese-Canadian as a label, because culture is more complex than one or the other or simply the sum of both.

Context:

The transitions between red and blue were inspired by my own childhood. I was ESL when I was younger and learned most of my English at school. Now, ironically, I’m learning Chinese and coming to terms with my culture of origin. I feel like a lot of that process has to do with how the school system enforces “Canadian-ness” through language, even though it’s supposed to be multicultural. When I wanted to talk to my friends in Chinese, teachers would stop us and tell us to speak English so they could understand us. What gives them the right to understand everything we say, when we once couldn’t understand them? But blue prevails nonetheless, and we accepted it happily without thinking. The discontent in blue comes from my realization that, in my own search for “my culture,” I was a lot more confused and unconfident than when I was young and wasn’t looking for it. Canadian culture is one that claims to embrace the cultures that flow into it, but neither Chinese nor Canadian are as adaptable as they wish to be. Multiculturalism, as it turns out, inevitably entails losing part of the original culture to adapt to the new ones, but perhaps that in-between is where those with hyphenated identities will flourish and bloom. 

The film is broken into three parts: Red, Blue, and Purple. 

Introduction (1 min)

Part 1 (2 min)

Part 2 (2 min)

Conclusion (1 min)

Project Goals: 

Organizational Framework:

- 例如，韓國男生就是大男人主義的，看不起女人，結婚以後一定要做家務

- 例如，女生跟印度男生結婚的時候一定要很多嫁妝，否則男方的家人不會對女方好

- 這部分會找/用網上一些網上的短片

 

Goal: I would like to illustrate the differences between the two cultures with explanations for the Chinese traditions so the audience could learn and have interest in learning more about the Chinese culture. The comparison will be displayed through a series of small clips.

 

Framework: The video will have a brief introduction and provide three examples often seen when you go over to a Chinese household compared to Western household. The video will be paused (freeze frame) at certain sections to explain the reasonings. Also, to compare the two culture, the difference will be shown one after the other.

 

Intro: When we think of Chinese and Western cultures, it is obvious the two diverges. Through the years of living in Canada, it is hard not to be influenced by the western culture; however, being able to witness such a diversity made me grew interest in learning the significance and reasoning behind the Chinese traditions. 

Ex 1. When we first arrive to the home, we greet the host with enthusiasm, but the two groups have distinctive greetings. Western culture likes to use the host’s name, Mr./Ms./Mrs. "last name”, or “blank’s mom/dad” in their greetings. However, the Chinese culture is more custom in using auntie, grandpa, sister, etc. terms for their greeting as it makes the relationship feel closer, like a family. 

Ex 2. Once we’ve entered the door, it is the norm for the Chinese to have their shoe off, as a sign of respect since they don’t want to get the host’s floors dirty. Often times the host will provide slippers as a way of caring since they don’t want their guest’s feet to be cold from the floor. While Westerners like to keep their shoes on for convenience, except there are some who does prefer shoes off, but no slippers are given.

Ex 3. When it comes to dinner time, it is common to see everyone at a “western table” using forks and knives on their own plates that has the same kind of food. Western culture is individual based and sees the importance in sanitary; therefore, they prefer to have their own plate of food rather than sharing a variety amongst each other. They also like to eat their vegetable raw, like salads, because they feel cooking their vegetables will lose too much nutrients. While, at every “Chinese dinner table”, there are many of dishes to share and everyone has their bowl of rice and chopsticks (back in the Hans dynasty, they viewed the use of pointy utensils as a correlation to slaughter and blood which is not pleasant image for the consumer to have, therefore they suggested chopsticks instead, as it is rounded on both sides). The Chinese culture values more of unity and enjoys the liveliness of gatherings; therefore, the dinner set up allows everyone to be closer and build a stronger connection. (don’t really eat raw, as they are worried about consuming bacteria, so they rather lose some nutrients than get sick)

-the highlighted parts are reasonings that I might use for explanations.

 
Leading questions: Have you ever felt left out/excluded in a country where the culture is different from the one that you share with your family? Did you try to "fit in" with the mainstream culture? If so, what did you do? 

Goal: Using the guide of the leading questions mentioned above, I will use a personal memorable story to illustrate the childhood cultural differences between grouping up in China vs. in a Western country

(As a Chinese born Canadian that had previous childhood experience in China, I am able to address what's it's like to have a childhood in China vs Canada).

Style: I will narrate my childhood experiences of both in China and Canada.

1. Giving background information on my age when I was in China and the age that I came to Canada
2. Introducing the beliefs when I grew up in China vs the beliefs in Canada
3. Bringing up the different issues I had with mainstream culture

Organization:
Intro: I will first give an introduction on the challenge of being in a different country.

Body: To make it more coherent, I will divide my ideas into their respective sections and choose a specific one to compare and contrast. 

Transitioning from childhood in China to childhood in Canada
Ex.1

Ex.2

Ex.3

Ex.4

Ex. 5

Ex. 6

Conclusion: I will give my interpretation on the childhood cultural differences between growing up in China vs. Western countries based on the examples I provided.

Alicia: Hey, mind if I sit here?

Lana: Yeah, sure.

Lana to Sveta: Они так громко разговаривают! (They are talking so loud!)

Sveta to Lana: Китайцы всегда разговаривают громко. Вы не заметили? Это меня так сильно раздражает. И что это с ними, используя зонтик, когда на улице солнечно? Это очень ненормально.(Chinese people always talk so much. Have you not noticed? It annoys me so much. Also, why are they using an umbrella when it’s sunny out? It’s so abnormal.)

Alicia to the Russian girls: Это потому что китайцы не хотят загорать на своей коже. В китайском обществе нормой красоты является светлая кожа. Вот почему они используют зонтик, когда солнечно. В Китае люди обычно переполнены, поэтому они разговаривают громко, у них нет чувства личного пространства. (It's because Chinese people don't want to tan their skin. In Chinese society, it is a beauty standard to have fair skin. That is why they use an umbrella when it is sunny. In China, it is usually overcrowded with people so that's why they talk too loud, they don't have a sense of personal space.)

Sveta: Oh wow! I didn’t know you spoke Russian!

Alicia: Yeah, my mom was born and raised in Russia and my dad was born in China and worked in Russia. At home, my mom preferred to speak Russian over English or Chinese. I lived in China for awhile with my grandparents so I also speak Chinese. So I guess my cultural heritage is both Russian and English. Sorry to interrupt your conversation, I couldn’t help but want to clarify some things. 

Lana: Oh wow! And of course, no problem! I guess that makes sense. They talk loudly because of where they grew up. Back from where we come from, everyone just talks quietly because everyone is very to themselves and don’t trust strangers. We are just not used to people in public being anything other than quiet!

Alicia： Honestly, both Russian and Chinese social manners can come off as rude in public. But the two cultures share a lot of similarities in terms of social interactions. Both Chinese and Russians like to get to the point in a conversation and don't like wasting time

Sveta： I’ve always been curious, why do Chinese people drink hot water even when it’s hot outside?

Alicia: Chinese people think drinking cold water is bad for your health. 

Joyce: Sorry to interrupt. But drinking hot water is actually really good for your immune system. Well at least that’s what we Chinese people think! 

Alicia: It’s like Russian’s obsession with drinking hot soup with every meal of the day. My mom always has a whole pot of either borsch or chicken noodle soup in the fridge ready to be warmed up even during the hot summer! Russians love their hot soup just like how the Chinese love their hot water. 

Sveta: Oh how I missed my mom’s homemade soup! Speaking of mother Russia, Lana, when are you planning on going back home?

*Joyce turns to me*

Joyce: 听说你会中文也会说俄语。你跟俄罗斯人长大的。在两种不同的文化中成长一定很有趣。您认为俄罗斯人和中国人在文化上有什么不同？他们是不是喝很多酒？很多VODKA?（I overheard that you can speak both Chinese and Russian. It must be interesting growing up with both Chinese and Russian culture。What is the major difference growing up with in a Russian cultured household?)

Alicia: 啊不！我不喝很多酒！是的，俄罗斯人确实会大量饮酒，但自2004年以来，他们实际上将饮酒量减少了40％。在俄罗斯家庭中长大的最大区别是餐桌礼仪. 中国人吃东西时张着嘴张口大嚼，向主人表明食物味道很好。但是对于俄罗斯人来说，他们认为张开嘴嚼东西和slurping着嘴是不好的餐桌礼仪。他们也有这样的说法：Когда я ем — я глух и нем. 我吃饭的时候聋哑. 吃饭时多说话是不礼貌的. (Oh no! I don't drink a lot of alcohol! Yes, Russians do drink a lot, but since 2004 they have actually reduced their drinking by 40%. The biggest difference growing up in a Russian family is the table manners. The Chinese chewed with their mouths and mouths open when they ate, indicating to the host that the food tasted good. But for Russians, they think that chewing with their mouths open and slurping their mouths are bad table manners. They also say this: Когда я ем — я глух и нем. I am deaf and dumb when I eat. It is impolite to talk more when I eat.)

Sherry: 太有意思了！We are having a hotpot gathering at ours in an hour. Want to come? We’d love to have you and talk more about this!

Sveta: Hotpot! We just had hotpot last week! It was so good!

Sherry: If you want to join our hotpot gathering you can! 

Lana: Oh! I don’t want to intrude!

Sherry: Not at all! Our place is just down the street. We’d love to have new faces at our hotpot gathering. 

Sherry: By the way, my name is Sherry. I don’t think we even know each other’s names yet!

*Everyone laughs and agrees*

Sveta: I’m Sveta.

Lana: I’m Lana. 

Joyce: I’m Joyce! 

Alicia: Nice to meet you guys! My name’s Alicia.

我从来没同时和俄罗斯人和中国人在一起玩。我总是觉得我的两种不同文化是如此分裂，但毕竟并非如此。只需要有人开始对话即可。（I never hung out with both Russian and Chinese people at the same time. I always felt the two different cultures in me to be so divided but it really wasn't so after all. That all it needed was someone to start a conversation.）

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKNnRlVo9fU&feature=youtu.be 

The differences in cultural values between Chinese and western culture, shown through interactions between the younger generations and their parents. 

Goal: 

I want to analyze key differences between Chinese and western cultures in how they interact with members of the older generation. For example, how western children address their parents can be quite different from how Chinese children address their parents. Western culture dictates that calling parents by their first name can sometimes be okay, while Chinese culture demands that one must address their elders with the proper titles. Through examples such as these, I want to try and identify what cultural differences there are and how they affect the way we act, as well as why these cultural differences exist. In short, I want to look at how western and Chinese people interact with their parents and others’ parents based on the cultural values that they were raised on, as well as what pros and cons there are to either side’s values. 

Framework: 

Beginning - I introduce myself to the audience as a “game show” host, where today we will be interviewing one of my western friends and discussing some of the cultural differences between our interactions with parents. I will then ask how interactions with parents may differ between Western and Chinese culture, and ask the question of how our cultural values may differ based on those interactions.

My friend comes into the scene, and we both sit down and start chatting. 

Middle - we discuss different aspects of interactions with parents. We start by looking at our morning routines, showing skits to represent the interactions for both the western and Chinese perspectives. 

We then discuss nighttime routines and how we interact with our parents there. 

Next, we discuss how we interact with our parents at the supermarket. 

Finally, we discuss introducing romantic partners to parents. 

I then “end the show” by thanking my guest for coming on the show and “discussing” the skit topics. 

Conclusion and Ending - I try to reflect by seeing how the differences in interactions may reflect on Chinese and western cultural values, and discuss the good and the bad when it comes to these values. I will link these ideas together to try and get an idea of how or why these differences exist, as well as what the significance of these differences may be with special regards to the identity of being Chinese Canadian. 

YouTube link to draft video: 
https://youtu.be/bOro8pCD8Hc

 

Project Goals: Through the stories of two dishes (one Western dish and dumplings) I want to frame how I personally overcame the difficulties of not being neither "Canadian" nor "Chinese" enough. From transitioning from the Western dish to a dish of dumplings, I hope to demonstrate how some Chinese-Canadian youth will realize that being Chinese-Canadian is exactly as the title states: it is understanding and living out both cultures. 

 

Framework: 

More often than not, Chinese-Canadian youth allow one culture to dominate the other, and it is always Canadian culture that wins and yet we are still losing something: a connection to our heritage and a culture that is rich with thousands of years of history. Unfortunately for me, I started losing connections to my heritage at a very young age due to my peers reacting negatively to another fellow Chinese-Canadian's lunch: a plate of dumplings. 

 

My peer's response to something so important in Chinese culture influenced me to have a negative reaction to Chinese culture as a whole. My solution to the problem was to turn my frustration into ignorance and I solely focused on what it meant to be "Canadian." However,  my grandpa was diagnosed with cancer in my junior year and I suddenly found a need to reconcile with my heritage and learn about my culture. It was important for me to do this so that I can not only to communicate with my family but also understand why a lot of Chinese people act the way the do. So I made an effort to continuously speak with my parents, watch Chinese television, learn more about Chinese cuisine and its importance, and more to learn about who I am to create balance. 

 

From doing so, I learned a lot about Chinese culture, especially Chinese food. The Chinese language itself is special, some characters having deep historical connections and characters looking like the thing they represent, such as 林 for forest. Chinese culture also brings people together, such as inviting friends and neighbours to have an impromptu meal together. But individual dishes can also have special meaning. Dumplings, for example, brings families together, especially in Northern China as family make them together. But dumplings themselves can symbolize wealth and prosperity for the future. I started to realize that when I had a deeper understanding of Chinese culture, I could finally start to understand my family more, to understand things like why we had so many family friends over all the time and how community is important. It was only then that I started to appreciate it. Altogether, it made me realize how important my heritage is for me, especially when it came to building my relationship with my family. 

 

Although there aren't too many instances of food holding special meanings in Wester culture, other than a typically turkey for Thanksgiving, there are a lot of aspects of Canadian culture that I find important and crucial to my life. Canadian tolerance is something that I really value. For example, Canadians are generally more tolerant and lenient when it comes to academic standards, grades specifically. Even though my parents are quite tolerant to many things, I see tolerance as something that Canada is generally known for, much more so than in China. 

 

By seeing both cultures like so, each having unique features, I can respect them both and decide which aspects of each culture that resonates more with me. Therefore, there is no "either or" situation with Chinese or Canadian culture for Chinese-Canadians, like me, will come to realize that being born in a different country than your ethnicity is about vicariously living out both cultures and customs. 

Being born and growing up in Canada, especially where I initially grew up didn’t have a large Chinese or even Asian population. In that environment, I tended to be immersed in “Canadian” culture more than Chinese culture. I spoke English at school and after school activities and even started to speak primarily English at home with my parents instead of Chinese. As a result, for a long time I felt out of touch with my Chinese heritage. Therefore, I want to explore the theme of integration and assimilation of second-generation people/Chinese-Canadians in a new environment and how that affects their understanding and identity of both cultures. Especially regarding CBC or ABC as second-generation Chinese people are so prevalent in Canada and have a large effect of the culture here.

I want to take a look at what the effects of being a 2nd generation Canadian generation entails. Specifically with CBC's how does being raised in Western culture but also having influence from our parents culture affect the way that CBC's act or do that is separate from both Western and Chinese culture but that draws inspiration from them.

I plan to look at some Vancouver things like movies or restaurants. Vancouver is a perfect hotbed for an intermingling of Western and Eastern cultures.

Hopefully by looking at other people and my own experiences, I can come to a better understanding of what is Canadian or Chinese culture and what makes my in between of those cultures unique in its own way.

To a certain degree, I understand who I am culturally and who I was growing up, especially given the large amount of CBC kids that grew up in a similar situation to me. However, I believe that this has led to a sort of subculture within both Canadian and Chinese/Asian culture because of the mingling of these two differing cultures. I want to see what aspects represent this subculture and how this subculture interacts with its parent cultures. In my life right now, how do I see myself and others as people given their relation to these groups (e.g. Western/White people, CBC, Chinese people)

Video Draft:
https://youtu.be/exOQzUkOnJ4

               In the middle of the film, there are three separate themes that I want to explore when comparing cultural differences. These three themes will be community interactions, daily lives, and food. To compare these themes, I’ll be talking about personal experiences from when I lived in the two places, and I’ll use the film as a visual to help the audience to better understand my point of view…

-        Community Interactions:

o   I want to look at the differences in the relationships between us and our neighbors

o   How we interact with friends, and different things we do when we hang out

o   If there are any differences between the type of conversations we have with our friends, and also what we find appropriate to talk about

-        Daily Lives:

o   I want to look at the differences between the school life in Vancouver compared to the school life in Taiwan

§  Maybe touching on aspects of how successes and failures are treated in both cultures especially in school

o   How adolescents in Vancouver start and end their day compared to how people in Taiwan start and end their day.

§  Might want to look at an adolescent’s part time job in Vancouver vs. Taiwan during school

-        Food:

o   Comparing the types of places that adolescent go for food and also where they go to hang out with friends and contrasting it to adolescent lifestyles in Vancouver.

o   Comparing the convenience of food in Vancouver compared to the convenience of food in Taiwan

Draft :D
https://youtu.be/S0FfGyPleXg

The differences in values between chinese society vs a western society; and how having both these cultures influence the choices we make in our lives

Project Goals:

I would like to discuss how decisions in my life are impacted by the combination of western and chinese values. How in some cases my more “western” decisions are frowned upon by my traditional chinese parents and how of my decisions are considered “too chinese/traditional” to my more westernized friends/peers.

Framework:

Introduction:

Introduce myself, my family, our system of beliefs and culture

Middle:

I wanted to talk about 3 different experiences growing up and how I was influenced by my culture. I was going to have the 3 be different in terms of importance; so first scenario will be something small, second will be something medium, and then the last one will be a major decision; or just 3 decisions that have made an impact on me/have really stuck with me.

Some ideas I had were: getting my ears pierced, going to post-secondary school/which post-secondary school to go to, what sort of career path to take

(I’m sorry I haven't decided which ones to do yet because I haven't figured out which parts of my life I’m willing to share with everyone since some of these things are quite personal)

One point I definitely want to bring up is how in Chinese culture, there’s a big focus on being a collective, while in western society individualism is valued. While they both sort of overlap at times, there are other instances where one is more prevalent than the other 

End:

Conclude by talking about what choices I ended up making. Was I able to find a compromise between the two ideologies? Am I willing to completely assimilate into one ideology or is it best to have both of them? How one could be better than the other or how having both of them impact my life in a positive way? What sort of limitations are there for me if I'm always living in the middle of two cultures? As well as the benefits?

Video: Draw my life style with voiceover

The cultural differences between how Chinese and Western parents raise their kids.

Goal:

I want to portray the key differences between Chinese and Western cultural on how they raised their kids. The examples will be told through comedic experiences between two friends that are  Canadian and Chinese. 

Framework:

Introduction: The opening scene will be me visiting my white friend to hang out and play some video games. I will enter the apartment and my friend would offer me some slippers to wear. As he hands the slipper to me, I would have a quick PTSD flash back of someone slapping the slipper against hands (so it looks like someone is ready to hit something, this is a reference in the future of where my mom hits me). Next my friend would offer me to hang my jacket, and when takes out the hanger this would trigger another PTSD event of where someone is untangling the coat hang wire into a line (similar scene as before). Lastly, my friend would show me the new belt that he bought, and this would trigger another PSTD event. This would prompt me to ask how was it like to grow up with white parents

Example 1: Bob (white friend) would explain how once he got in trouble by failing a test and his parents would congratulate him on his efforts and comfort him on how he tried his best. I would emphasis on how the parents only care on how he was doing and later offer him desert to cheer him up. I would play back the same scenario on me. This time my mom finds out that I got a B+ (the joke here is that I need As) and later cuts to another scene where she finds her weapons: slippers, coat hang wires and belts to hit me with. This is a funny scene since it looks like the mom is going to war. Then she proceeds to chase me. 

Example 2: I ask Bob if it was easy for him to date girls when he was in high school. This cuts to a scene where he would walk out the door and shouts to his mom that he is going to visit his girlfriend. Now in the same scenario, I get a text from my girlfriend to “come over”, so I do a very similar scene from mission impossible and sneak around the house and do some rolls to avoid my mom finding out. I would make a fake pillow dummy on my bed and climb out the window. Next morning, I would climb back in very smoothly before my mom comes to check on me. 

Conclusion: We discuss the cultural contrast between the way we grew up. I will highlight how I grew up in a strict household while Bob had an easier life. But the joke at the end is that strict parents create the cleverest kids. 

Include:

David: Yeah I grew up with really strict tiger parents, but I believe that it shaped me as a person to effectively do tasks correctly. Also because after I hit puberty, my parents do not have the facilities to take me haha. At the end of the day, they punished me because they cared for me. And believe me,  I was a naughty kid. Once, I remembered a time where I broke the TV by accident and my mom would be hitting me while crying and screaming how this is hurting her more than me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgqUj3Ts7JE

What does it mean to be a man in Chinese and western cultures? What is seen as masculine in these cultures and why?

Goal:

I want to explore how men are viewed in western and Chinese cultures and see how their roles in the family differ and how they are the same. I will reflect on my experiences growing up in Canada; what was considered masculine by my western peers compared to what my Chinese family valued, how did the movies I see generally depict the ideal man as versus how they depicted asian men, and finally reflect on the attitudes that my Chinese girlfriend's family had towards me and what they expected from me. I may also interview family members and friends in order to gain deeper insight on these topics. Through this reflection I want to gain a deeper understanding of why certain things are valued over others in these cultures, and ultimately reflect on what's important and what's not.

Framework:

Beginning:

I will begin the video with a brief introduction on myself and my cultural heritage. I will start my reflection with my highschool experiences growing up in Canada; remembering what was considered cool by my peers, contrasted with what my parents cared about. I will also reflect on how masculine men were portrayed in media I consumed while growing up, with some footage from such media. I want to compare this with how asian men are generally portrayed in western media, and talk about how this affected me while I was growing up. During this reflection I will have footage of myself walking around the town I grew up in, some footage of my highschool, as well as some footage of my friends and myself at the gym.

Middle:

In the mid part of the video, I will begin looking at the reasoning behind all of the previous differences in the expectations of boys and men. I will explore the possible reasons why my parents cared so much about getting good grades (as well as other Chinese parents), compared to how western families are generally more lax about it. I also want to reflect on why guys who play sports are relatively more respected and popular compared to guys that don't, in western culture. I will then explore the possible reasons why asian men were generally depicted as timid and weak in western media. I may interview my family and friends to gain insight on these topics, and include the interview footage if applicable. I will have footage of my family as I talk about why they care about grades so much, and I will have some footage of my little brother playing basketball as I talk about how sports are perceived in both western and Chinese culture.

End and Reflection:

The end of the video will begin with me reflecting on my recent experiences interacting with my girlfriend’s family, their attitudes and expectations of me, and explore the reasoning behind their actions. I want to use this to bridge the gap between western and Chinese cultures in the expectations of men; to show that in both cultures, ultimately it’s important for a man to provide and take care of his family. I want to end the video by reflecting on the important values in both cultures that men can learn from. I will have footage of my family eating dinner together while talking about my girlfriend's family, and footage of myself, friends, and family as I make my final reflection.

Goal: I will reflect on my wonderful friendships I’ve made since growing up, and despite our cultural experiences, how my friends made me feel proud in my Taiwanese heritage by celebrating our differences and learning more about my culture. 

Through a short film, I will show how I’ve tried to become closer friends with Canadians, and whether my experience revealed any interesting cultural differences between my culture and the western culture. Through these experiences, how have sharing my culture allowed me to make closer friendships?

Framework- Intro: Voiceover- Growing up surrounded by mostly Caucasians as a Taiwanese-Canadian, my childhood was often spent like I was an outsider who didn’t belong. Whether it was because of our cultural differences, or I was too shy to intermingle with kids that were different than me, I wouldn’t know. But as I got older, I got more ambitious to make friends here, and despite our cultural differences, I’ve made lots of wonderful friends these past years.

*Will include a short photo montage of me growing up, and cut to childhood pictures of me on my bedroom walls as I head out of my door. I will be walking through campus to meet my friends for the next scene. 

Body: *Will be highlighting the differences between Western and Asian culture, and how learning about different cultures allow people to get closer.

*In a study group:

I come in, friends will have their morning coffees, but I will come in with bubble tea

We have different ways of getting caffeinated

Explain how bubbletea is from Taiwan and ask them to have bubbletea with me another day. 

While doing school work, I will pull out prawn crackers to share, which my friends find interesting. 

My friends will talk about their favorite western artists, like Drake, and I will talk about kpop and show them videos too. Then, we will bond over this experience. 

I ask my friends if I can have their contact information and they offer snapchat. I’ll then suggest LINE, which also has cute emojis. 

Next scene:

** New edit ** To get bubbletea, we go to the  International food court and marvel at all the delicious food around us. I introduce my friends to a couple of Chinese dishes. When ordering bubbletea, I will explain how milktea is the original flavor. When we sit down to eat, I will eat the meal noisily, and they will curiously ask why. I will explain that in Chinese (Guangdong culture, from My mother’s side), eating the meal noisily is a compliment to the chef and it means the meal is very good. 

While eating and drinking boba, my friend comments that she doesn’t really like bubble tea. I will look offended and sad, thinking she didn’t enjoy this outing. My friend quickly says that she’s not trying to be mean and that this outing was very fun for her, just that she doesn’t like how sugary bubbletea is. I say ok unconvincingly. 

She then compliments me on my helix piercing, I say thanks, but that it gave my parents a real scare when I got it done. Then I explain how traditionally, Chinese parents are more conservative about piercings and tattoos because they think it’s associated with gangs.

Next scene:

When my friends invite me to their homes, I will take my shoes off. When my Canadian friends are confused, I will explain to them why Chinese people take off their shoes when entering an indoor space. 

(New edit) When my friend greets me, she tries to kiss me on the cheek but I pull away quickly, frowning, and ask why she is kissing me. In Chinese culture, we normally just greet your guests politely, but in Western culture, you physically address your guests more warmly but giving them a hug and giving them a kiss on  their cheek. 

When we make plans to watch movies together at their house, I will bring over anime films whereas they would suggest western films. I will be able to teach them about movies from studio ghibli, eg: spirited away. 

(New edit) My friend will comment on how they thought I was shy when I first met them. I’ll look hurt at first, thinking that that thought I was weird. Then I think back to the time when they explained that they didn’t like bubble tea. I realize that Canadians are more direct about their opinions, because everyone usually respects people’s different opinions. Chinese people, on the other hand, are not very direct with their opinions and usually won’t voice them in fear that it will cause conflict with people that they are talking to, which might hurt your relationship with that person. 

I then explain that because it took me some time to learn English, I used to be nervous interacting with people because of the language barrier. But overtime, I learned that people are very accepting and they will even teach you English when you are having a hard time. 

Conclusion: *Sitting in our residence house lounge, while we are playing a card game. Voiceover- Despite all our differences, my friends never disrespected me because we came from different backgrounds; they always valued me on witty character and caring personality, and were always eager to learn about my Taiwanese heritage. This made me feel special and proud in who I was as a person, and I’m grateful that I grew up in a community that were willing to celebrate multicultural differences which allowed us to build beautiful friendships out of learning from each other. 

(New edit) Message to audience- (voiceover)- So at the end of the day, culture barriers won’t stop you from making friends, people will become friends with you if you are a genuine person; people will also accept and respect you for your different opinions. And what’s great about having multicultural friends is that you get to enrich your human experience by learning outside of your own culture, by seeing how other people live on a day-to-day life. You learn to appreciate multicuralism within your community as it creates dialogue between different perspectives, offering knowledge that intrigues you. 

Outro- My friend Camrynn calling my name, asking if I wanted to get bubbletea with our friend group. 

Goal:

To share my struggles towards both Western and Chinese beauty standards through the different stages of the last 20 years of my life. Speaking about how my family, friends, and experiences changed my mindset towards what is 'beautiful'.  

Video Set-up:
I will be using a mix of clips filmed by a camera, self-drawn animation, as well as different photos to share my story. The style will be a voice-over 'draw my life' style with different clips to explain different things I've experienced. 

Beginning:

I will begin by explaining the mindset that I was raised with by my mother and how that mindset has made me feel in different stages of my life. Then I’ll transition to a brief introduction of the history of the culture I’ve been exposed to as a child to now. 

Middle:

I will transition to speaking about when ‘beauty standards’ begin to have a large impact in my daily life as a child transitioning to a teenager. How my friends, my family, the media and outside sources help fuel this change. I will further explain how my struggles of being ‘beautiful’ differs as I am confronted by the different cultures I was exposed to growing up. I will elaborate these struggles with experiences and stories I have encountered.

 End:

I conclude by sharing what I have learned through the different experiences and mistakes I made throughout the years. How I feel about myself today and the people around me. How even now, as an adult, the term ‘beauty standards’ impact me daily and how this impact has changed throughout the years. I will end it by generally addressing the topic of beauty standards as an American-Chinese female living in our society and expressing my outlook on the term itself.  

Video Link: 
https://youtu.be/Hrq2p6UEuLk 

Project Goals: From this project, I want to express both the joy and the difficulties that come with embracing interculturalism in my everyday life. Having lived in Canada my entire life, you could say I’m “white-washed”, which has made it challenging to understand and accept traditional Chinese beliefs and ideologies. As I’ve grown older however, I’ve become more open and curious about my own heritage, as I’m realizing more and more the importance of valuing and respecting my cultural background. From learning Chinese to studying customs and practices, over the years I’ve slowly come to integrate these cultural aspects into my life.

Intro: Give a brief introduction about who I am, talk about my cultural background. Introduce the topic of multiculturalism and why it is so important, as well as how I learned to embrace my “other side”. Specifically mention the difficulties in finding my cultural identity.

Body:

          我很小的时候曾经在中国读书。没去加拿大之前, 我只知道中国的文化。那时我是在中国过童年，一直到九岁才来到加拿大。因为我从小就在中国长大，所以一开始我就不适应西方国家的文化。我觉得西方人比中国人开放。虽然他们每个人都不同， 他们不会因为个人的不同而去排除他人。另外，我习惯看同样的面孔。在中国，我很少会看到多数国家的人。可是在外国，我会看到很多很多不同国家的人。这有利于我认识西方国家的文化。

          到加拿大以后，我不光看见了各种个样的面孔，我还见识了个种个样的食物。因为在加拿大有不同国家的人，食物也有很多不同的风格和味道。我在加拿大上小学时，总是看见我的同学在吃美式快餐。比如，汉堡，薯条，炸鱼，等等等等。此外, 我发现吃饭时，西方人不会用筷子反而用叉子。我交了朋友之后和他们吃饭时都是看见他们用叉子来吃面。我问过一个从小就从加拿大长大的朋友，她说她不会用筷子。我觉得这很奇怪因为我在中国吃饭都是用筷子的。这让我对西方人的吃食有了新的认识。

          除了食物之外，交朋友也与和我平常见识的不一样。他们沟通的方式很开放。比如说西方人会很乐意的跟陌生人打招呼并且尝试去认识他们。可是换成中国人就不同了。中国人比较喜欢在自己的朋友圈里沟通。他们很少会与一位他们不相识的人友好。就算他们在一起打球或上课，他们只会觉得和他们在一起学习的伙伴才是他们的朋友。这可能是因为中国比加拿大重视学习。因为不同的国家有不同的文化，所以交朋友其实不是那么的简单。

          因为文化的不同，所以交朋友的方式和吃的食物也就不同了。从中国到加拿大我见识了很多。包括对西方人的打招呼方式和吃饭的习惯。我觉得他们不用筷子来吃饭很奇怪。我以为大家都会用筷子。后来我才发现其实我的想法并不对。另外，我在加拿大认识的朋友都很热情。当我需要帮忙的时候，他们很多时候都是很乐意的去帮我。与中国人相比，我觉得西方人更友好。对我来说，来到加拿大是一件很幸运的事情因为我对西方人的文化有了新的认识与了解。

当他第一次到达温哥华时，他发现点外卖很难。饿了么（Eleme）是他理想的外卖软件选择，但正如人们所料想的那样，这里当然没有，所以他找到了另一种送餐服务，称为跳过菜来点菜 （Skip the dishes）。当送餐员过了很久终于到达他的公寓楼下等他取餐时，他发现到他下楼的时候，该送餐员已经离开了。他打电话给客户服务投诉，他们退还了他的钱，并告诉他他应该再次点餐时，他感到震惊。如果该送餐员多等了2分钟让他下来取餐，这一切都不会这么麻烦，也不会让他为了点一个外卖吃东西费这么多时间。

当他上第一学期的第一堂课时，他与一个人随便开了个玩笑。但是这个家伙对这些笑话竟然感到震惊并且有些生气，说他非常无礼，然后去找了另一个座位坐下。那时他有点想家了，因为在那里没有人会因为这种小玩笑而感到不开心。

该脚本将有其他示例。这是我将要做的简短概述。

他受到文化冲击，并时不时地想念家。后来，他注意到生活中的那些令人开心的小事，并学会了不依赖便利。而且他慢慢地学会了像温哥华当地人一样学习和交流。

現今二十一世紀的社會都很開放，特別在加拿大這個多元文化的國家，異國戀是很普遍的事情。雖然包容和互相尊重大家是加拿大的價值觀，可是很多華人父母依然很傳統和保守，不是太接受自己的家庭被同化。很多時候，中國人也覺得外國人可能分化中國人的家庭，導致一些中國家庭文化和傳統違失。中國人的家庭觀念一向都很重，中國父母一般畢生的願望就是自己的子女能夠學業有成和成家立業。他們常常掛在口上的一句話是“養兒一百歲，長憂九十九”。很多時候，不論孩子多大，中國父母都會為子女的事情煩惱和操心，希望子女的生活過得更好。所以，他們常常什麼都希望為孩子做主，好像婚姻這些人生大事。中國長輩一般都很注重“門當戶對”這個概念，希望子女找到另一半跟他們的背景很相似。特別在大中華地區，他們希望子女會跟中國人結伴，不要離鄉別井跟別人去另外一個國家。因為異國戀正是跟他們“門當戶對”這個概念背道而馳，所以異國戀在中國人眼中是不太接受的。

中國父母不贊成異國戀的原因是他們與外國人的文化背景和思想觀念不同，所以對外國人有很多刻板印象和偏見。他們覺得跟背景不同的人不會有幸福的因為很多時候會有不同的意見和看法。雖然他們那些觀念是根深蒂固，可是他們的想法會隨著時間和他們的經歷而改變的。因為現在的中國父母在都很開通，他們會為孩子放下自己的想法和對不同的民族有不同的誤解。比如說，以前很多中國父母覺得西方的同學太開放，不是太有分寸。他們的印象是西方人對愛情不太認真，很多關係都很複雜。但是中國父母經過了解以後，他們反而覺得西方人是很成熟穩重和有承擔的人，因為他們成年的時候就會搬出父母的家，自力更生。

很多中國父母在移民潮的時候已經到了加拿大生活，他們很多的孩子都跟異國人一起結婚。最好的例子是我鄰居馮阿姨的兒子Chris。 Chris 的太太Jessica是一位韓國人，他們已經在十年前在韓國結婚，並育有了一位可愛的小女兒了。起初他們認識的時候，Chris 是在河石賭場當荷官的，而Jessica是在溫哥華的一位留學生。他們是透過一位相熟的朋友認識的。開始的時候，他們只是普通的朋友。雖然他們會一起常常出外吃飯聊聊天，可是，Chris從來沒有帶Jessica回家給父母認識。其後，當Jessica 要回到韓國的時候，Chris還沒跟Jessica表白。隔了三個月有多了，有一天，Chris突然跟馮阿姨說要去韓國旅行，大約一個月回到溫哥華。馮阿姨很驚訝，因為他不明白為什麼自己的兒子會一個人去一個陌生的地方那麼久。馮阿姨開始感覺到自己的兒子有心上人了。雖然馮阿姨在加拿大生活都有幾十年了，可是她依然很傳統。她的家裡很多家具和擺設都很有中國特色，好像大字和山水畫。此外，她還會在家裡燒香拜佛。過了一個月，Chris帶了Jessica 回到加拿大，跟馮阿姨說他們結婚了。當時，馮阿姨很不贊成Chris娶Jessica當妻子，因為大家的背景都不一樣，而且他們有溝通障礙。馮阿姨還覺得很多韓國女生結婚以後不會工作，只會留在家裡做家務。她害怕Jessica會成為Chris的負擔。Chris認為只要他們當Jessica是家裡的一份子，一家人用時間來磨合，一定可以開開心心的相處。雖然Jessica比較獨立生活，可是，她為了尊重馮阿姨，她也答應了會跟馮阿姨住在一起。經過一個多月的相處時間，馮阿姨開始對Jessica改觀了。雖然馮阿姨和Jessica溝通不了，可是Jessica很多時侯會對馮阿姨照顧得無微不至。比如說，Jessica一定會陪馮阿姨去看醫生和提醒她要做的事情。過了不久Jessica還找到工作，在一間小學教書，她的收入還比Chris 高。他們一家人樂也融融，不久還有了孩子。馮阿姨也開始接受這位韓國媳婦，她覺得背景的國籍的不同不是一個問題，最重要的人格要好。Chris覺得他能夠說服馮阿姨來接受Jessica的關鍵是他會給很多機會她來了解Jessica，令到馮阿姨明白不一定是要中國女子才會孝順她，然後逐漸放下自己對對方的成見。Chris 和Jessica覺得他們相處之道是不論遇到順境還是逆境的事情都要說出來，他們才可以解決問題，保持他們的感情。另外，他們認為不要理會一些刻板印象，最重要的大家有相同的人生價值觀和目標，一家人就可以互相遷就和妥協，化解一切的誤會。

在加拿大，很多中國父母都很包容，會互相尊重不同人的文化以及背景。雖然中國父母很傳統和保守，很多中國父母也在加拿大接受教育和工作，所以已經融入了西方社會。他們跟西方人的價值觀一樣，都覺得自由戀愛是可以的。他們會給自由孩子去交男女朋友和尊重他們的選擇。現今在加拿大的中國父母依然會為孩子的事情操心，可是只會在孩子的旁邊給他們一些意見，不會替他們做決定。其實很多時候，是很多電視劇和新聞會影響或這誤導中國父母對異國人士的看法。很多網上的媒體他們會故意說一些比較誇張的例子，令到別人相信他們說的東西。正所謂耳聽三分假，眼見未為真，很多事情都要親身體會才能得出一個結論。幸好現今的中國父母在加拿大有多了機會接觸異國人士，跟他們相識。所以，很多時候中國父母的觀念會隨著他們的經歷而改變。他們的成見也會慢慢的放下和更包容和接受其他國籍的人士，令加拿大的社會變得更和諧。

他是一个与意大利父亲和广东母亲一起长大的孩子。但是在家里，他很少讲普通话或广东话。他只有在不在学校或在房子外面时才可以交流，但他喜欢华人社区和他居住的城市。

当他第一次到达温哥华时，他发现点外卖很难。饿了么（Eleme）是他理想的外卖软件选择，但正如人们所料想的那样，这里当然没有，所以他找到了另一种送餐服务，称为跳过菜来点菜 （Skip the dishes）。当送餐员过了很久终于到达他的公寓楼下等他取餐时，他发现到他下楼的时候，该送餐员已经离开了。他打电话给客户服务投诉，他们退还了他的钱，并告诉他他应该再次点餐时，他感到震惊。如果该送餐员多等了2分钟让他下来取餐，这一切都不会这么麻烦，也不会让他为了点一个外卖吃东西费这么多时间。

当他上第一学期的第一堂课时，他与一个人随便开了个玩笑。但是这个家伙对这些笑话竟然感到震惊并且有些生气，说他非常无礼，然后去找了另一个座位坐下。那时他有点想家了，因为在那里没有人会因为这种小玩笑而感到不开心。

他来自的地方，到处都是高楼大厦，每个路口都有人流。与温哥华不同，他可以在需要时随时致电Didi。他很少需要乘坐公共交通工具，因为每次乘车都很便宜。为了在温哥华的这个城市四处走走，他不得不与当地人打交道，并找到了一个名为Kabu的应用程序以及许多非常昂贵的地下应用程序。当他到达温哥华时，他们没有任何叫车应用程序。因此，当他与朋友深夜出门时，在市区内很难找到出租车，而且实在是付不起。由于价格上涨，这迫使他不得不乘坐更多公共交通工具，而他实际上慢慢地开始享受它了。这是一个非常不同的变化，但确实改变了他的观点。

尽管如此他仍然对文化感到震惊，并时不时思念家乡。后来，他注意到生活中快乐的小事情，并学会了不依赖便利而且他像温哥华人一样慢慢学会了学习和交流。

虽然他能够适应温哥华的生活，但是有些事情常常困扰着他。他不明白为什么，他虽然喜欢温哥华的氛围，但他只是觉得无法与他来自的地方相比。即使他能说一口流利的英语，并且表现得像温哥华人一样，每个假期他仍然会回中国一周，因为这让他感到非常高兴。尽管他的父母不再住在那里，但这并没有阻止他。多次回去之后，他终于意识到了为什么他如此爱它。不是因为住在那儿很方便而是和他长大的朋友和中国那边的人在那里长大，这改变了他的生活并将他变成了他现在的模样。之后，他终于能够克服使他一直在温哥华感到不适的障碍。

到加拿大以后，我不光看见了各种各样的面孔，我还见识了各种各样的食物。因为在加拿大有来自不同国家的人，食物也有很多不同的风格和味道。我在加拿大上小学时，总是看见我的同学在吃美式快餐。比如，汉堡，薯条，炸鱼，等等。此外, 我发现吃饭时，西方人不会用筷子反而用叉子。我交了西人朋友之后，发现他们都是用叉子来吃面。我问过一位从小就在加拿大长大的朋友，她说她不会用筷子。我觉得这很奇怪因为我在中国吃饭都是用筷子的。这让我对西方人的饮食文化有了新的认识。

除了饮食之外, 中国人和西方人交朋友的方式也不一样。西方人更加开放。比如说他们会更愿意对陌生人分享自己的事。他们也比较爱参加不同类型的活动，例如去健身房、去演唱会、去爬山等等。因此，他们的朋友圈比较广泛。我问了一位曾经在中国读书的朋友。她说中国的小孩读小学和中学的时候通常比较重视学业，所以他们很少去参加课外活动。大部分认识的人都是学习伙伴。上大学以后才有更多机会认识新的朋友。因为中西方有文化的差异，所以交朋友的方式也很不一样。

除此之外，中国与西方教育子女的方式有很大的区别。比如说，西方人会用鼓励的方式来教育儿女。就算他们看到孩子犯错了，他们也不会用打或骂的方式来进行教育。他们反而会告诉孩子失败了也不要气馁 。叫他们要鼓起信心去面对挫折。西方父母会支持孩子多多尝试不同的的事物，激发他们的好奇心。相比之下，中国父母对孩子更严格。我问了一位中国母亲。她说她对她的女儿很严格。譬如，她从她女儿四岁的时候就开始逼她学钢琴。即使她女儿对钢琴没有兴趣，她也没有给女儿选择的权利。还有，她说中国父母有时会用打或骂的方式来教育儿女。总之，中西教育方式很不同。

我们来比较一下中西教育方式的长处和短处。中方教育对孩子要求比较高。所以孩子会压力比较大。孩子一开始可能会经常反抗，随着时间，孩子与父母的关系会因此而变差。另一方面，因为父母的影响，孩子在成长的过程中，自我要求会变得很高。与西方教育相比，西方教育比较轻松，所以孩子的心理状态会更好。但是父母不会给孩子压力, 所以孩子可能对学业上没有什么要求。总而言之，中西教育的方式各有好坏。

因为文化的不同，所以交朋友的方式和饮食也就不同了。从中国到加拿大，我见识了很多的不同，包括对西方人的打招呼方式，吃饭的习惯，和父母教育的方式。我在加拿大认识的朋友都很热情。当我需要帮忙的时候，他们很多时候都是很乐意的去帮我。与中国人相比，我觉得西方人更友好。还有，我一开始觉得西方人不用筷子来吃饭很奇怪，后来我才发现其实我的想法并不对。另外，我发觉我对自己要求很高。这可能是因为我的父母从小对我很严格。虽然我有点羡慕西方孩子在成长中比较多自由，但是我也很感激我的父母对我的教导。我知道中国的父母也是出于想孩子成功的心态才对他们那么严厉。总而言之，来到加拿大是一件很幸运的事情，因为我在加拿大对西方人的文化有了许多新的认识与了解。

-李家骅

有一天我开车的时候，我经过了我来温哥华住的第一个地方，这让我想起了我一开始对温哥华的看法，然后我想了想我现在的态度和以前差别很大。

作为一名在上海长大但在国际学校念书的学生，我没有接触过华语社群。我会说简单的普通话并在一定程度上与人交流沟通，但无法与本地人进行深入交谈。我喜欢中国的便利，喜欢快节奏的一切。无论走到哪里，我都可以用手机付款，并使用一个应用程序“微信”来完成所有事情。如果我想要从家里点些食物，我可以使用Eleme“饿了么”点外卖。我可以在凌晨3点的时候点些吃的送到家。如果我需要乘出租车去别的地方，我可以随时随地用打车软件叫出租车。

我是一个与广东母亲一起长大的孩子。但在家里，我很少讲普通话或广东话。我只有在不在学校或在外面时才会交流，但我喜欢华人社区和我居住的城市。

当我第一次到达温哥华时，我发现点外卖很难。饿了么是我理想的外卖软件，但正如人们所料想的，这里当然没有，所以我找到了另一种送餐服务，称为Skip the dishes。当送餐员终于到达我的公寓楼下等我取餐时，我发现等我下楼的时候，他已经离开了。我打电话给客户服务投诉，他们退还了我的钱，并告诉我我应该再次点餐，我感到震惊。如果该送餐员多等2分钟让我下来取餐，这一切都不会这么麻烦，也不会让我为了点一个外卖吃东西费这么多时间。

当我上第一学期的第一堂课时，我与一个人随便开了个玩笑。但是这个家伙对这些笑话竟然感到震惊并有些生气，说我很无礼，然后去找了另一个座位。那时我有点想家了，因为在那里没有人会因为这种小玩笑而不开心。那时我对温哥华的感觉正在发生变化，觉得这个地方与我熟悉的那个地方有很大的不同。 我如此的困惑和想家，以至于我不想再待在这里了。当时我觉得人们似乎非常冷漠和不友善。 我开始讨厌这里。

我来自的地方，到处都是高楼大厦，每个路口都有人流。与温哥华不同，我可以随时致电滴滴。滴滴是中国的乘车服务，它是任何人想要去任何地方乘车的首选平台。人们都不说：“我们叫车过去吧”，人们都说：“我们滴滴去吧”。

我很少需要乘坐公共交通工具，因为每次乘车都很便宜。但是为了在温哥华四处走走，我不得不与当地人打交道，并找到了一个名为Kabu的应用程序以及许多非常昂贵的地下应用程序。当我到达温哥华时，我们没有任何叫车软件。因此，当我与朋友晚上出门时，在市区内很难找到出租车。由于价格上涨，我不得不乘坐公共交通工具，但是我实际上慢慢地开始享受它了。这是一个非常不同的变化，我开始改变了我的观点。

尽管如此，我仍然对文化感到震惊，并时不时思念家乡。后来，我注意到生活中快乐的小事情，并学会了不依赖便利而是像温哥华人一样慢慢学会了自主学习和交流。

虽然我能够适应温哥华的生活，但是有些事情常常困扰着我。我不明白为什么，我虽然喜欢温哥华的氛围，但我觉得无法与我来自的地方相比。即使我能说流利的英语，并表现得像温哥华人一样，每个假期我仍然会回中国，因为这让我感到非常高兴。尽管我的父母不再住在那里，但这并没有阻止我。多次回去之后，我终于意识到了为什么我如此爱它。不是因为住在那很方便而是和我长大的朋友在那里，这改变了我的生活并将我变成了我现在的模样。最后，我终于克服了我一直在温哥华感到不适的障碍。

Extra Credit Assignment for Final Essay: https://youtu.be/QxI9SadBFNo
I did a trailer for my essay in video form instead of my Ted Talk. I wanted to do something a bit different. I hope that is okay Laoshi !!

 Requirements:

1) Please add a profile picture and write your self-introduction in both English and Chinese. 

2) Briefly introduce yourself 

3) Please summarize the key ideas of your final project 

4) Leave a note inviting your peers and others to write comments/feedback for your final project.

Hi everyone! My name is Shih-wei Wang. I was originally born in Taiwan, but when I was 7, my family decided to immigrate to Canada. This is a story about me becoming friends with Canadians and learning about the Canadian culture, I hope you will enjoy it! 

我的视频是讲我对两种文化下的饮食习惯的体验和感受。我的视频一方面讲我小时候带中国料理到学校的尴尬，另一方面讲我现在对中国菜的感情。 我希望大家喜欢我的视频。 谢谢！ 

Hello, everyone! My name is Jennifer You. My parents are originally from Mainland China, whereas I was born and raised in Canada as a second-generation Chinese-Canadian. 

In my video I discuss my experiences and feelings towards food in Western and Chinese cultures. Specifically, I express my experience of bringing Chinese food to school, as well as my current relationship with said cuisine. I hope everyone will enjoy my video. Thank you!  

大家好，我是胡耀康，我在马来西亚出生长大。我是UBC的大二学生。这个学期, 我上王老师的中文143课。

想起来我家的音乐背景的时候, 我很好奇想起, 别国家的朋友们的音乐背景如何影响他们现在的音乐喜欢和不喜欢。我为这一视频访问了两个朋友。一位是在中国出生长大, 另外一位是在加拿大出生。如果大家有时间, 请看我的视频。谢谢!

Hi everyone, my name is Ben and I was born and raised in Malaysia. I am a UBC 2nd year student. This term, I am taking Wang Laoshi’s CHIN143 class. When I think of my music background, I can’t help but be curious of my friends’ experience with music especially if they grew up in a different country. I interviewed two friends (one born in Canada, one in China). If you have any questions about my video, don’t hesitate to leave a comment and I’ll be sure to take any feedback! Thank you! 

Hi, I’m Anna! I’m a first year student at UBC. I lived in China when I was little, then moved to the US and then to Canada. I don’t really remember my experience leaving China, though. Knowing that everyone who has come from Chinese-speaking places to Canada has a different experience adjusting, learning cultural differences, and finding community, I asked four of my good friends about their experience, and found their stories both different and similar to my own. There’s no universal way that people adapt to life in a new country, but the more stories we tell about it, the better.