Sarah Huang
& Juna Kawai-Yue
Reflections:
Juna Kawai-Yue
There were some questions that I knew the answer to on the back of my hand, and yet there were some that I had to think about. I think it’s indicative of the parts of my background that I really pay attention to in contrast to the ones that I don’t really think twice about. When bringing my partner into the picture, the interview really cements the fact that we all have incredibly different stories and ways of living, but we are both Asian American. I was really interested to learn that both my partner and I have two ethnicities, showing the diversity of Asian Americans and almost debunking the belief that all Asian Americans are inherently the same, regardless of their identities.
Sarah Huang
I’ve learned that in between several cultures — American, Korean, or Taiwanese — I have been lucky to be in a family that forges its own mix. My family has built our own traditions and celebrations, and rather than keeping a mindset of scarcity between one culture or another, we can enjoy the abundance of it all. Juna’s story of her last name seemed to be a really incredible example of building our own culture and adapting to the rich and wide histories of her Japanese and Chinese parents.
interview excerpts
Sarah interviews Juna
SARAH:
What do you know about your family name? Are there any stories about its history or origins? Has it undergone any changes?
JUNA:
My last name is Kawai-Yue, which is a combination of both my mom and my dad’s last names. My mom’s last name is Kawai, and she’s Japanese. And my dad’s last name is Yue, and he’s Chinese. At first, my dad really wanted me to take on his name, but my mom said no because it’s really hard for Westerners to say. She said, “Why don’t we put our names together?” My dad still wanted his name to be first, but it ended up being Kawai-Yue, anyway.
SARAH:
What are your hopes for the future?
JUNA:
I hope to find a balance of my identity. I’ve always felt that trying to focus on a part of my identity leaves another part out—it’s always a compromise. If I try to learn more about Chinese culture, I feel like I’m leaving out my Japanese side; if I try to learn more about Japan, then I leave out my Chinese culture. And the more I try to fit in in America, the more I leave both of my Japanese and Chinese sides.
It’s always a constant battle between these parts of my identity, and I really want to find a kind of balance where I feel at peace with myself.
JUNA interviews Sarah
JUNA:
What do you know about your family name and the history of its origins?
SARAH:
My name ended up being long—Sarah Hae-Jin Ahn Huang. When I was in sixth grade, I had to do a research project on my last name. And everyone else has these very white last names, and it’s easy for them because their parents tell them about Pilgrims on the Mayflower. I had to Google my last name, and it turned out to be the Huang River in China, which is this giant yellow river because of the clay sediment. And I was like, “I don’t want to be named after a giant pee river!”
JUNA:
Do you ever experience discrimination based on your race or ethnicities?
SARAH:
I think Asian [Americans] have a certain kind of privilege that other people of color don’t really have. The stereotypes surrounding Asian identity aren’t the same as stereotypes [surrounding] black people. People don’t feel that Asian people are necessarily dangerous or threatening in the same way. But I’ve grown up in white culture, and a lot of my friends tend to be white. But when white people see me, they don’t see me as their own.