Emma: "Start by Changing Yourself and then Slowly Influence Others."

Interviewer 记者: Ami

Translator 翻译: Benetta

Editor 编辑: Benetta

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ENGLISH VERSION

Could you briefly introduce yourself?

My name is Emma Chen. I'm in grade 12 this year. I am very outgoing and love to chat with others. My father is from Wuhan, China, and my mother is from Hunan, China, but I am more familiar with Wuhan. This is probably because I don't really understand Hunan dialect. I was born in Canada. I lived in China for a while when I was very young but then I came back to Canada. For me, both Canada and China are my home, but China feels more like home because in Canada, only my parents and I live together. In contrast, I can see more family members in China.

Which community you feel more connect to? China or Canada?

Both Canada and China are my home, but I feel like I can't fit in either just because of the different habits, accents, and appearances. It's like if I was in China, people wouldn't be able to understand me because I have an accent, but on the other hand, even though my English doesn't have an accent, I don't look like someone who is fluent in English.

(Ami: So that would be considered as a stereotype? If you are Asian, you must be an immigrant and have poor English?

Emma: Yeah! It's not fair how people define your identity based on how you look...)

How do you interact with people from other cultural background?

Just be open-minded. You need to understand that there is no right or wrong in cultural diversity, and every culture matters. Don't stereotype other cultures just because of the negative comments in the news, especially if you haven't seen it or experienced it, otherwise you will easily be influenced by other people's stereotypes. Everyone thinks differently because they have experienced different things. It's like there are some Canadians who don't like Asians and think they are thieves, but there are also some Chinese who don't like foreigners. I think you should respect other people's opinion, but your opinion is just your opinion, and you can't require others to agree with you.

(Ami: So you can't be or support extremism?

Emma: Yeah, yeah, that's it!)

What do you think about the problem of cultural barrier? Is it possible for it to be eliminated?

That's the stereotype I was talking about... If you don't change your mind and you don't listen to other people's opinions, then you're doing...

(Ami (in Chinese): creating?

Emma: Yes, yes, you know what I mean!)

Creating a cultural gap (← Emma just learned the word "create" in Chinese as well...)

Have you ever faced experienced a cultural barrier before?

I tried to be friends with an Indian classmate in second grade, but she turned me down. I thought we should be friends because we're both Asian, but she didn't want to be friends with me. Maybe her family always said bad things about Chinese, so she thought Chinese people were bad. But we became good friends later on.

(Ami (in Chinese): So some voices and opinions can have a great influence on children. At this age, children are still learning and understanding the world. Parents should set an example.

Emma: What is "leading by example"?)

What would you say to someone who is facing the problem of cultural barrier or new to a community?

Everything will become better! Start by changing yourself and then slowly influence others. Many Chinese come to Canada without being fluent in English, and then they can't express themselves clearly, but if you learn English well, you can communicate better with others in the future, and then you can help other people translate, so you are also helping others.

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中文版本

简单介绍一下自己吧！

我的名字是Emma 陈, 今年12年级。我非常开朗外向，很爱和别人聊天。我的爸爸是武汉人，妈妈是湖南人，但我和武汉更熟悉，可能是因为我有点听不懂湖南话。 我在加拿大出生，之前很小的时候在中国住过一段时间但是后面就回到加拿大了。对 我来说加拿大和中国都是我的家，但中国更有家的感觉因为在加拿大只有我和我的爸爸妈妈住在一起，在中国我可以见到更多的家人。

你觉得中国还是加拿大对你来说更亲近？

两边都是我的家，但是我又感觉哪边都融不进去，就是因为习惯啊，口音，外貌 这些原因。就好像如果我在中国别人就听不懂我在说什么，因为我有口音，我的英语没有口音但是我看起来又不像是会讲英语的人。

Ami:所以这也算是一种刻板印象吧？如果是亚洲人就一定是移民而且英语不好?

Emma: 对啊！就很不公平，明明很多人都是在加拿大出生的，很多人的爸爸妈妈也是在这边出生的 (愤愤不平)

(采访暂时终止，Ami要去给Emma顺毛...)

你如何与来自不同文化背景的人交流?

就是要思想开明一些，你要明白文化的多样性没有对错，每个国家都很好，不要相信新闻里面的东西，特别是你没有亲眼见过或者感受过，不然你很容易就会被别人的刻板印象影响到了。每个人的想法都不一样，因为他们经历过的事情也不一样，就好像有一些加拿大人很不喜欢亚洲人，觉得他们都是小偷，但是也有很多中国人不喜欢外国人。我觉得虽然要尊重别人的意见，但是你的意见就只是你的意见，你不可以要求别人也去赞同你的想法。就是说你不喜欢外国人但是你不能也不让别人喜欢

（Ami: 所以就是不能成为或者支持极端主义?

Emma: 对对对就是这个！）

你怎么看待文化障碍的问题? 文化障碍有可能被消除吗?

这个就是我刚刚说的刻板印象嘛... 如果你不改变你自己的想法你也不听别人的意见那，你就是在做...(Ami: 创造? Emma：对对对，你懂我的意思就好啦) 一个文化隔阂（← 这个中文单词也是Emma现学的）

你有面对过文化障碍吗？

我二年级的时候想和一个印度人成为好朋友，但是被拒绝了。我本来就是觉得都是亚洲人所以我们才更应该成为好朋友嘛，但是她就不想和我做朋友。可能是她家长经常讲一些中国人不好的事情，她就觉得中国人是不好的，但是后来我们也成好朋友了。

（Ami: 所以一些声音和意见对小孩子的影响真的很大的，这个年纪的孩子本身就还在学习和了解这个世界，家长更应该以身作则才对啊。

Emma:啥是“以身作则”？）

你会对那些正面临文化障碍或刚到一个社区的人说些什么?

你一定要相信一切都会好起来的！先从改变自己开始，然后慢慢去影响别人。很多中国人来 到加拿大以后都讲不好英语，然后就会有很多东西说不清楚，但是如果你学好英语，以后你就可以和别人更好的沟通了，然后你也可以帮助其他人翻译，这样你就也在帮助别人了。