Unity of Two Cultures

Martin Leung, 5th Grade

In my living room there are two stacks of newspapers. One of them is in Chinese. The other one is in English. They have the same stories but different languages. These two stacks of newspapers belong to my grandparents, parents, brother, and I. My parents and grandparents read the Chinese ones, and my brother and I read the English ones. They show my dad is a great example of the unity of Asian culture and American culture.

My dad is a great example of the unity of Asian culture and American culture. If I could give anyone a gold medal, I would give a gold medal to my dad. My dad has done extraordinary things, but coming to America stands out of all of them. When he was 18, his family packed their bags and moved to a new land of opportunity. He left his grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles behind. There was no time for him to enjoy himself in America. He not only had to learn the Western culture, but also had to work.

As soon as he and his family arrived, they had to find jobs quickly because they only had a hundred dollars. They lived in a house in Oakland with their relatives, who had previously came to America from China. His parents worked at a restaurant in Oakland. He worked as a customer service representative in an insurance company when he was 18. He knew some English but had to learn more for this job.

He wanted to be American, but at the same time he couldn’t forget his Chinese heritage. For my family, America has been a great place with opportunity. My father was able to get a full scholarship to college and get a good job as a journalist for a Chinese American newspaper. There are more privileges here. For example, in America you can assemble a team and get followers to protest. Everybody has freedom of speech in America, which is important for a journalist.

My father says, “If you live by the rules of life you will never accomplish something new. In order to succeed you must be extraordinary and take risks.” My father took a risk to come to America and it didn’t fail him. My father did not like people limiting his opportunity. In America you can accomplish anything, so my dad took advantage of that. He got many jobs and enjoyed all of them. That is why he loves America.

At the same time, he has retained his Chinese culture. He works for a Chinese newspaper, sharing American culture to Chinese people. He still eats Chinese food and celebrate Chinese cultures.

If I gave my father a gold medal it would be a Chinese flag next to an American flag. The flags would be next to each other to represent the unity of Asian culture and American culture in him. In the background would be two words: Asian-American.