1. Wearing these slippers in the house was mandatory all year round, so we wouldn't catch a cold.
2. Our dishwasher was used as a storage rack instead of an actual dishwasher.
#GrowingUpAsian Your family uses the dishwasher as storage
3. Drinking this when we were sick.
#GrowingUpAsian #GrowingUpChinese "my throat hurts"
Our version of cough syrup definitely does NOT taste like cherries or bananas.
4. Or rubbing this on when we were in pain.
#growingupchinese when you were sick your parents rubbed this on your chest
5. T&T was THE place to be on a Sunday morning.
6. Where you'd grab some of these, which were our versions of All Dressed chips or Maynard's.
#GrowingUpChinese THE HIGHLIGHTS OF MY CHILDHOOD
So. Good.
7. And this was our candy of choice (wrapper included).
#GrowingUpChinese eating these with their edible wrapper 😍
There's just something about the chewy, milky flavour that was just so addicting.
8. Having a diverse friend group because of how multicultural Canada is (and finding out similar things about your backgrounds).
10. Taking tons of extracurriculars that probably included an instrument, Kumon, or drawing class.
11. There was always a secret menu at Chinese restaurants that wasn't available in English or French (where the really good stuff was listed). Sometimes it was straight-up written on a chalkboard on the wall.
12. Journey to the West was PEAK entertainment.
real ones know this was the original hot priest
The monk was cool, calm, and collected. And there were probably about 5000 film and TV adaptions of the classical Journey To The West story (one of the Four Great Classical Novels of China!).
13. Stephen Chow was our Steven Spielberg.
14. Having to go to Chinese school on Saturdays (and bonus points if you also had to learn French or take French immersion).
#ChineseSchool reminds me of weekend Chinese school, when any mark under 100% was deemed a failure #growingupchinese
I did both, and while I hated it at the time, I'm so glad that I did! Learning more languages helped me communicate better with so many people. My only regret was not paying better attention in class.
15. Getting made fun of for your food as a kid... only to see it gentrified as an adult.
16. The holy trinity of condiments was soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil.
17. Wearing red during the holidays meant Chinese New Year, not Christmas or Canada Day. And feeling like a millionaire when we got handed one of these.
#GrowingUpChinese triple checking these to see if you missed any money
18. Getting one of these calendars with our groceries around that time of year (bonus points if you remember wearing red socks when it was your zodiac year).
You know it’s the end of the year when your mom gives you calendars from Chinese businesses. She even gave me a mini one too. 👍🏻😂 #asian #growingupasian #newyear
While everyone else celebrates New Year's on January 1st, we wait until late January/early February.
20. Having this drawer in our kitchen:
#GrowingUpAsian "I need a bag"
We knew reduce, reuse, recycle before it was popular.
21. If you were lucky enough to have a Chinatown in your city, remembering all the delicious home-y meals.
Explore the origins of #VancouverChinatown, its distinctive hybrid architecture, and some of the myths that surround this historic district. Register for our online course, An Eclectic History of Vancouver's Chinatown, today! https://t.co/tJlpQWvkx2 #ChinatownHistory
I personally love getting authentic Rou Jia Mo (Chinese hamburger) or Liang Pi (cold noodles).
22. Memorizing the complicated names for every extended family member.
except i gotta remember these in a seperate dialect 🙃🙃🙃 #growingupchinese
23. We didn't waste anything, so food containers became Tupperware.
#GrowingUpAsian finding random foods in random containers 🙃
When we just wanted some cookies but every container was filled with something other than what was on the box.
24. If you're from Toronto, you know Pacific Mall.
Pacific Mall is reopening this week and here's what you need to know https://t.co/f19V2YuBz5 #PacificMall #Markham
25. Those long ass flights back to China to visit our extended family (you were lucky if you lived in Vancouver, since it cut the flight time down compared to other regions).
26. The pain and shock of biting into cardamom, star anise, or a big ol' chunk of ginger during a meal.
#GrowingUpAsian The thought of biting into one of these keeps me up at night...
27. Always being bundled up to face the harsh Canadian winters.
29. The awkward conversations with relatives after dinner when it was already the next morning for them.
#GrowingUpAsian *mom on phone with relatives* Mom: “Oh they’re right here” Me: *eyes wide, shakes head* Mom: *glares* 5 secs later
30. Having this haircut at some point during our childhood.
31. Having hot water readily available (and drinking primarily hot water because, apparently, it was better for our digestive systems than cold water).
#growingupasian Who doesn't need hot water at all times of the day?
33. And finally, realizing in hindsight that even though our parents didn't always show their love in obvious way, they sacrificed a lot and just wanted the best for us.
May is Asian Heritage Month in Canada. Check out how BuzzFeed is highlighting Asian voices and culture and check out more BuzzFeed Canada content!
