Heritage vs. Diversity

So I realized that my family is straying more and more away from our Teo Chew roots. When I was little, Chinese was my primary language at home and English was always secondary. Vietnamese was negligible, even though it was my parents' adopted tongue and was constantly used when relatives gathered on the weekends. Like other Teo Chew families in our community (at least I imagine) our food, outlook, and mannerism were steep in Chinese culture, and heavily accented by our TC heritage. Sometimes, we would reach out to our host countries (current and former) by sampling their cuisine and entertainment options in an attempt to show our appreciation for their hospitality. But they would remain foreign entities in our hearts and mind. Even our fellow Cantonese neighbors were set aside for weekend indulgences (except for tv and film since TC ones are virtually non-existence). We were raised the Teo Chew way and set up to maintain and pass on that state of existing.

But that seemed like eons ago. Mom no longer cooks stictly TC food, or even regularly. We still eat Chinese food daily, but gone are the nuances and embelishments that separate them from other Asian households. It is quite sad to realize that my younger siblings will not be able to pick out a TC dish from among dozens of Cantonese ones. English has assumed itself as the dominant tongue with Vietnamese a close second. Darn those Romans and their Alphabets! I feel quite helpless in my futile quest to keep our language alive as I can see my vocabulary crumbling and withering away as I attempt to raise its usage. The social aspect of TC life is not much better either. We attend the Temple and shop at TC owned markets out of habit more so than mere appreciation or enjoyment. We've stop frequenting TC restaurants and shops because we no longer feel the urgency to be loyal and dutiful even though our loyalty is being challenge more so at this moment than a decade ago. Even friends with TC roots are being tossed assunder as we embrace the new and exciting key marks of unfamiliar cultures. I, myself, have tried being more receptive to acquainances who are TC, but novelty wears off once the dust begins to settle.

Somewhere along the way, TC became 'Tentatively Chinese.' Perhaps, it was the separation from the Teo Chew enclave. Perhaps it was the departures of the elderly. Perhaps it was the impact of multiple assimilations and the general apathy of the first generation. Somehow, we allowed ourselves to be engulfed in the melting pot of America and undistinguishable from our fellow Countrymen. We can call ourselves Chinese Americans, but we cannot be truly Teo Chew and American at the same time without losing a piece of each in the compromise. Such is the price for freedom of thought and the flourishment of diversity. Whether this price is large or small, depends stictly on which side of the line we find ourselves on at any given moment.