No, my wife is Aussie of English descent - my kids are adopted.
My son was born in the Cauca department, my daughter in Valle del Cauca.
Ethnicity of Zoochatters
- Thread starter wensleydale
- Start date
No, my wife is Aussie of English descent - my kids are adopted.
My son was born in the Cauca department, my daughter in Valle del Cauca.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Oh I see, well I have to congratulate for adopting your children from Colombia, it is really a very noble and admirable thing to have done
Have they been back to visit Cauca and do you plan to one day take them to see the national parks there?
Believe I'm 100% Han Chinese.
My son was not yet 4 years old when we went back to get my daughter - not old enough to really remember any of the trip. At the time it was not considered safe to travel far into the Cauca department, so we stayed closer to the cities further north.
We did spend some time in the coffee district and got to visit the Valle del Corora near Salento and the Jardin Botanico Del Quindio near Armenia - but with two young kids our mobility was quite limited.
We had planned to spend 4-6 weeks in Colombia mid-last year, but COVID put a hold on those plans. As soon as it is safe to travel to Colombia again, we will visit.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
I see, that is quite understandable as the Cauca department in particular can be very dangerous and even to this day after the peace process and the demobilization of FARC and paramillitaries.
I think it is an awesome idea for you to visit Colombia with your kids in the future and of course there is so much biodiversity for them to see and experience and also on the subject of zoos there is the Cali zoo which is probably amongst the best if not the best in Latin America to visit.
I have a problem classifying myself.
- In my country, I am undoubtedly white.
- In the US, I would be classified as Latino.
- On the other hand, if I were born in the USA, I would be classified as white.
Why?
My paternal grandparents were both Portuguese and my mom is also of Portuguese descent. However, I was born in Brazil, which means that many people would not see me as white if I revealed my nationality.
- In my country, I am undoubtedly white.
- In the US, I would be classified as Latino.
- On the other hand, if I were born in the USA, I would be classified as white.
Why?
My paternal grandparents were both Portuguese and my mom is also of Portuguese descent. However, I was born in Brazil, which means that many people would not see me as white if I revealed my nationality.
Dr. Wolverine
Well-Known Member
I am Japanese, my parents are both Japanese, but I feel sometimes, because I go to an international school, that I lean more into western culture than traditional Japanese.
I see the culture surrounding one as much more important than genetic makeup. As such, I am an American and specifically a Midwesterner.
My heritage is primarily German, although some French, English, and Native American (Wampanoag) is present (though fairly far back in all cases). Although many Americans identify with a country or region of ancestry, but that is far enough back in my family history that I never grew up with such an identity.
My heritage is primarily German, although some French, English, and Native American (Wampanoag) is present (though fairly far back in all cases). Although many Americans identify with a country or region of ancestry, but that is far enough back in my family history that I never grew up with such an identity.
Lori Patton
Well-Known Member
I agree with your comment completely. I identify wholly as American and have always been somewhat perplexed by ethnicity questions. I have some ancestors dating back to the American Revolution, but even my most recent ones came to America no later than the 1800s. My ancestry is Western European, but as I've never been outside of the U.S., that is not very relevant to my daily life. As @birdsandbats mentioned, in America it is much more pertinent what part of the country you're from. As such, I'm a west coast person, but even then one has to be careful because there is much diversity between urban and rural locales. In my opinion, it is never a good idea to classify someone by race or ethnicity except strictly for demographic purposes.
NathanTheAsian
Well-Known Member
Chinese. My mum is mainlander whose parents are Shandong and Huzhou, my dad is Chinese Malaysian whose parents are Hakka and Teochew but whose families migrated to Malaysia. I was born in Australia, although I still visit Malaysia/Singapore regularly since a lot of my family on my Dad's side lives there. I also suspect I have some Mongolian since my mum is a northerner.
Last edited:
OkapiJohn
Well-Known Member
This is why I often refuse to "classify myself" under the US classes of race/ethnicity. These classes are absolutely US-centric and only match and mirror the reality of the American society, a society that gives way too much importance/focus on race/ethnicity. The term "Latino" tells more about your skin colour than your supposed "Latin" ancestry. French Canadians should be Latinos, but no one in the US would think so. South Asians are an absolute mix-bag. Some Indian ethnicities are closer to European Caucasians than to, let's say an Indonesian. However, someone from Indonesia or India would be put in the same "South Asian" category. Again, just a reflection of skin colour. Even in Europe, I have seen Americans referring to me as Latino, just because I am not blond and I don't have snow-white skin. However, I have no connection to the Americas at all.
I'm white and primarily of Mediterranean descent; my family culture is primarily Greek, and a number of my extended family still live there.
I feel it needs to be said by someone outright that the US census classification system is not some uniform, definitive thing, nor do we have any kind of uniform, definitive classification system regarding race and ethnicity, which are distinct concepts for how much they are blurred. There are plenty of ****** who overgeneralize race and ethnicity but they are are treated differently in different parts of the same country. In parts of the United States such as Chicago and California, people can acknowledge and recognize the differences between Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Phillipino cultures, while in other parts they are often generalized as 'East Asian'. I've seen a lot of people have genuine discussion about what does or does not qualify under the umbrella groups. There is really not as much of a desire to rush to label as the census often implies.
I feel it needs to be said by someone outright that the US census classification system is not some uniform, definitive thing, nor do we have any kind of uniform, definitive classification system regarding race and ethnicity, which are distinct concepts for how much they are blurred. There are plenty of ****** who overgeneralize race and ethnicity but they are are treated differently in different parts of the same country. In parts of the United States such as Chicago and California, people can acknowledge and recognize the differences between Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Phillipino cultures, while in other parts they are often generalized as 'East Asian'. I've seen a lot of people have genuine discussion about what does or does not qualify under the umbrella groups. There is really not as much of a desire to rush to label as the census often implies.
Just because some ignorant people would judge you based on your nationality should have no bearing on how you choose to classify your ethnicity.
They may have been Americans but if they assume anyone who is not blond and not white is Latino, they are more moronic than the average American, that is just absolutely ignorant behavior.
OkapiJohn
Well-Known Member
You can just call them Hispanophones or Lusophones (Portuguese speakers). However, there are people in South America of Polish or German, even Japanese ancestry whose native language is Spanish or Portuguese. Language is just that, language, it does not translate much to ethnicity. In which class would people from Suriname, Guyana, Jamaica or the Bahamas fit? Are they Latinos as well?
ZooTripper365
Well-Known Member
I'm mixed race (black and white).