British | Thai
Mum is from England with some Armenian and Scottish/Irish roots also. Dad is from Thailand and they met there. I recognized I was mixed-race pretty much as early as I can remember! I was always with mixed-race people/children/friends, so it was never something massive for me. My Mum is super into other cultures and can speak Thai fluently as well as read and write it well. When we moved to London I think my Dad had never even been on a plane before but picked up English (on top of what he learnt at school) really well. I think he had a pocket dictionary he carried around with him a lot lol. Thai and English culture are super different but I feel like by visiting a lot I’ve gained enough insight into both. Even though my Mum is White she really fits all the Asian Mum stereotypes! I’m definitely a westerner but I still feel like I can connect to my Thai side, especially when I’m there and around other Thai people. My Mums side also speak fluent French and have French ties, but I don’t feel French or as connected to that side of my family’s culture. I’m sure if I lived in Thailand or was there for a longer time, I would be very Asian/Thai. I do sometimes think I’d like to go to Thailand for a while, but I am a bit London obsessed. When asked where I’m from I would say Thailand and England, or London. A positive is that I feel like I belong in two very different countries. As I have a Thai passport/ID card I am treated as a Thai and when I’m there it’s definitely a different experience to being a tourist. I think being mixed-race in today’s society is great, I definitely am happy to be mixed-race rather than of one race only. Especially living in London it isn’t something looked down on or detrimental. In Thailand they love half Thai people so it’s nice to go there and be revered a bit. Although when I’m in other countries or Thailand I can see people trying to figure out where I’m from, but not in a mean way. I think it’s only going to get more and more accepted and even not seen as something unusual with certain mixes of races.
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