记得第一次在日本的大会上作口头报告。一般来说第一句话都是介绍自己姓甚名谁，从哪里来的。我也不例外。站在台上对着下面黑压压的一片听众，说”My name is XXX，I come from Sweden“ 这句”我从瑞典来“话音一落。看到下面有错愕的眼神和窃窃私语的人。我愣了一下。突然发现这句话好像需要解释。如果换到现在， 我会用开玩笑的口气说“你们的确没有看到金发碧眼，不过我的确是从斯德哥尔摩来的。。。” 这样让大家哈哈笑一笑，然后再开始讲我的工作。只是当时年轻没有现在这么油，所以当时只是愣了一下，就继续讲我的工作了。
On condition that all else being equal (social & political, economical, etc), 可能还是生活在自己相同的族类中感到舒服：现在很少见有日本人移居海外了。和印度的朋友交谈过，他们有类似的感觉，觉得自己的肤色在这个社会容易被区分出来。不过 1）人家有语言优势；2）印度的社会及经济环境比中国更糟，在这生活比较死心塌地，做长远打算。
On death bed, how many of us would say, damn it, it all has been a mistake?
Two years ago, our flight was delayed 24 hours in Ethiopia, and we were transported to a hotel in the capital, they took our passport, and we were able to roam in the city for a day. With two other Caucasian American friends, we set off to walk the downtown area. In reality, three of us are all Americans (US passport holders), yet, everywhere we went, the local people singled me out by yelling "China! China! China!". I took it as compliments, as all the markets in the city are full of Chinese products, and Chinese construction companies were building high-rises there. Yet it made me think, no matter how much I tried to assimilate in this country, to become an authentic American, my skin color will always "betray" me. All the places I visited, no matter what kind of passport I am holding, they all perceive me as Chinese.
We, Chinese parents, probably don't know all the details about how our kids are dealing with the identity issues outside our homes.
记得第一次在日本的大会上作口头报告。一般来说第一句话都是介绍自己姓甚名谁，从哪里来的。我也不例外。站在台上对着下面黑压压的一片听众，说”My name is XXX，I come from Sweden“ 这句”我从瑞典来“话音一落。看到下面有错愕的眼神和窃窃私语的人。我愣了一下。突然发现这句话好像需要解释。如果换到现在， 我会用开玩笑的口气说“你们的确没有看到金发碧眼，不过我的确是从斯德哥尔摩来的。。。” 这样让大家哈哈笑一笑，然后再开始讲我的工作。只是当时年轻没有现在这么油，所以当时只是愣了一下，就继续讲我的工作了。
