⭐️五月是美國亞太裔傳統月！美國亞太裔外交官在美國國務院扮演重要的角色，在AIT的運作上更是如此！在整個五月份，我們將為各位介紹AIT亞太裔官員的重要貢獻。今天要跟大家分享的是文化新聞組組長蘇戴娜真摯動人的成長故事。(照片中間那位笑容可掬的女孩就是蘇組長)
💞有人說：「只有當你有了自己的孩子，你才會真正了解父母的愛。」我的日籍母親和美籍父親為我們家三姊妹犧牲許多，但直到我有了自己的孩子，我才真正體會父母的犧牲奉獻。當我們離開日本時，我們對加州的一切感到新奇又困惑，同時也極力想要融入新的校園生活。我的母親每天都會幫我準備漂亮的便當帶去學校，但我都會求她改做花生果醬三明治，因為同學都會說我們「很奇怪」。家母理解我們的感受，也暫時放下了她自己的文化偏好。自此之後，我們開始吃牛奶麥片當早餐，而不是味噌湯，午餐則是花生果醬三明治。
但母親也總是告訴我們，別人覺得「奇怪」的地方，正是我們之所以獨特的原因：我們承襲了兩種文化，能說兩種語言，我們在童年看過的世界可能比許多人一輩子看到的還多。當其他小孩對我們不友善，或是取笑母親的口音時，母親告訴我們，他們會這麼做是因為害怕或無知，人們天生會恐懼新事物，但絕不能無知，因為每個人都有能力透過教育和學習來獲取知識。家父雖然出生於美國，但有時候在美國也覺得格格不入。家父年輕時本著冒險犯難的精神加入美國海軍，也擺脫了小鎮思維的侷限。當我收養女兒的那天，我把她抱在懷裡，心想現在的世界終於比較友善，有愈來愈多人覺得外國口音很有趣，而且帶便當盒是件很酷的事情。但我知道，作為一個亞裔女孩，在這個紛紛擾擾的世界也有她自己要面對的、不同的挑戰。我希望能夠盡我所能保護她，但我知道我能為她做的，就是讓她摒除無知的迷惑，擁抱生命的奇遇和燦爛。-- AIT文化新聞組組長蘇戴娜
#AsianAmericanandPacificIslanderHeritageMonth
⭐️It’s Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! AAPI diplomats are a vital part of the State Department, and especially our AIT operation! All month, we look forward to featuring the important contributions of our AAPI colleagues. Today we are sharing the inspiring story of Public Diplomacy Section Chief Diane Sovereign with you. (Diane is the one in the middle of the picture)
💞Some say that “only when you have your own children can you truly understand the love of your parents.” My Japanese mother and American father made many sacrifices for me and my two sisters that I never fully appreciated until I had my own child. When we left Japan, we were confused by California but felt desperate to fit in at our new school. My mother made beautiful bento boxes for our lunches, but we begged her for peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches because kids called us “weird.” My mother understood and put aside her own cultural preferences. We started eating cold cereal instead of miso soup for breakfast, and yes – peanut butter for lunch.
But she always told us that what other people called “weird” is what made us so special: that we benefited from two cultures; that we could speak two languages; that we had seen more of the world as children than many people see in their whole lives. When kids were unkind to us or made fun of my mother’s accent, she told us that they did it because they were afraid, or ignorant. Fear of new things, she said, was natural. But ignorance was unacceptable-it was a condition each person had the power to cure through learning. My father was born in the U.S. but sometimes felt like a stranger. He joined the U.S. Navy at a young age to seek adventure and escape the limits of small-town thinking. When I held my own daughter in my arms on the day I adopted her, I was happy that we now live in a world where foreign accents are interesting and bento boxes are cool. But I know she faces her own, different challenges as an Asian girl growing up in a confusing world. I want to protect her from everything. But I know the best thing I can do for her is to live a life that welcomes adventure and rejects ignorance. -- AIT Public Diplomacy Section Chief Diane Sovereign
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