Re-intro #2

[artsfartsyjanet]

Hello, I'm going to follow suit by reintroducing myself as well. I'm Janet. Hence the username. =) I was born in St. Louis, Missouri (not pronounced Missouruh like some of these rural folks here). I'm Chinese American, and I popped into this city 23 years ago. My grandfather was born in Guandoung (i slaughtered the spelling) Province, but he and his sister fled to Vietnam during WWII. Then, my grandfather married my grandmother who is also of Chinese heritage in Vietnam. Then, my dad popped out in Saigon. He worked in the American Embassy there doing a bunch of paper work and served as a translator in the South Vietnamese army. he met my mom through his younger brother. Then, of course, there is the Vietnam War.... My dad, his brother, and my mom fled to the U.S. earlier than a lot of folks via airplane. They were refugees in several countries before arriving in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1974 or so. Xerox company sponsored them over here. Then, they moved to California, got married in L.A., ...aw...., then moved to St. Louis to start the lovely labor of a small fast-food restaurant business. Then, I popped out and became the chop suey princess. My parents still run the restaurant til this day. Now, that I've given you a chronological time table of my history, WELCOME NEWBIES!!!!

Oh this might be important. I'm your Moderator for the Women's Forum. Kasia is my partner. Nice to meet all of you beautiful people. :dance:

Much love. :luv:

[SunWuKong]

is your mother vietnamese? are you mixed chinese-vietnamese? is vietnamese hard to learn?

[artsfartsyjanet]

I'm not mixed Chinese-Vietnamese. I'm actually only Chinese in descent (as far as what I've been told). Mom and Dad are Chinese. Maternal and fraternal grandparents are Chinese in descent too. My father can speak Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and English. My mother knows mostly Cantonese, Vietnamese, and some English. I only know Cantonese (orally), French (written/oral), and English (wr./oral). I can order some foods in Vietnamese. It's not very hard to recognize the Vietnamese language to me.... I guess I can make out a few words in Vietnamese but I certainly can't get by. A lot of my family members are either Chinese, Vietnamese, or Chinese-Vietnamese.

[artsfartsyjanet]

Any of you who already know me have anything to add besides the crash course history lesson about how I popped into this planet? let's see... oh, I'm a psychology major who is fickle about whether I should study abroad to Beijing or stick to my original plan and apply for grad school in organizational-social, counseling, clinical, AND developmental psychology. I will be happy with any program I get in... I'll be happier if I find the place where they will fund my education well ...If not, I may have to panhandle from all of you people. :D Wouldn't you love to see me panhandle?

[LT25]

Wow... :)
Nice to meet you :lol:

[artsfartsyjanet]

Maybe I should set up an artsfartsyjanet fund. Accepting checks only.

[artsfartsyjanet]

Originally posted by LT25@Nov 4 2002, 06:40 PM
Wow... :)
Nice to meet you :lol:

nice to meet you too. :dance:

[luv]

Hello,

I never got a chance to really learn how to read/write in Chinese. I'm 23 now, think its too late to learn. Its really awesome that you're tri-lingual!

:P

[wylin]

Originally posted by luv@Nov 4 2002, 06:38 PM
Hello,

I never got a chance to really learn how to read/write in Chinese. I'm 23 now, think its too late to learn. Its really awesome that you're tri-lingual!

:P

just goto taiwan and wander around for 6-12 months u'll be speaking and reading chinese no problem!

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by artsfartsyjanet@Nov 4 2002, 06:22 PM
Any of you who already know me have anything to add besides the crash course history lesson about how I popped into this planet? let's see... oh, I'm a psychology major who is fickle about whether I should study abroad to Beijing or stick to my original plan and apply for grad school in organizational-social, counseling, clinical, AND developmental psychology. I will be happy with any program I get in... I'll be happier if I find the place where they will fund my education well ...If not, I may have to panhandle from all of you people. :D Wouldn't you love to see me panhandle?

you should definitely go to beijing. i know a number of overseas chinese who have studied/worked or is currently still in mainland china or HK. for many, it's a life-changing experience. it's the best sense of "reclamation" of your roots. but if you go, i suggest going for at least a year.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by luv@Nov 4 2002, 09:38 PM
Hello,

I never got a chance to really learn how to read/write in Chinese. I'm 23 now, think its too late to learn. Its really awesome that you're tri-lingual!

:P

it's never too late to learn. :)

[ren28]

Hello! I've seen you around. :dance: :dance:

[artsfartsyjanet]

Originally posted by luv@Nov 4 2002, 09:38 PM
Hello,

I never got a chance to really learn how to read/write in Chinese. I'm 23 now, think its too late to learn. Its really awesome that you're tri-lingual!

:P

I never think it's too late to do anything. I have a lot of aspirations too. I want to learn how to play the guitar, take voice lessons, and even learn how to write in Chinese and speak in Mandarin. Of course, I need to FOCUS, since I tend to get side-tracked quite easily. I'm a spontaneous person.... it can get me in trouble I suppose. Hmm... I think I'm going to apply for grad school and see if I get accepted. If I do, I'll see if I can get a deferment. If I get a deferment, I'll study abroad.

[artsfartsyjanet]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Nov 5 2002, 02:08 PM

you should definitely go to beijing. i know a number of overseas chinese who have studied/worked or is currently still in mainland china or HK. for many, it's a life-changing experience. it's the best sense of "reclamation" of your roots. but if you go, i suggest going for at least a year.

I don't think I can afford to stay in China for more than a year. *shrug* I don't feel like taking out too many loans either since the thought of grad school is looming in the air... and that's going to cost me a bundle. School is sooo friggin overpriced. The cost of most private school tuition in a university is more than a middle class family income. Shiet.