Childhood, Immigration, Assimilation, Language

On Thursday night I got back home from work at Friendly's after a usual night's closing shift at about 1am to see 3 little pairs of sandals by the front door, one baby blue in color, another pink with girly flower patterns on it. In the morning, the sound of 3 children running, laughing, and screaming sounded throughout the house waking me up at 6am. My cousin's family had immigrated here from Hong Kong.

My cousin Stanley has been speaking English to the three kids, Brian, Alex, and Anna oldest to youngest, to prepare them for the abrupt culture shock they're to face in September, when kids will look at them funny and think they're stupid because their English is non-native. I argued him and said they'll pick up English naturally when they go to school...and it's important to focus on Chinese, to keep up and maintain the momentum of Chinese language development. I think our respective position's reflected our own immigrant experiences - Stan came here when he was 13 and surely was harassed about language, and I was born in the US and lament my inability to speak my ancestral tongue.

Over the first few days I put down my own insecurities over Cantonese (which includes embarrassment over not understanding Anna asking me for an eraser), and began speaking more English to them, which I decided to do only partially to transition them into an English language environment, and partially also because I don't want them to pickup my incorrect Cantonese.

And so as I've followed the family around helping them buy stuff, move stuff, and babysit the kids, I've played hangman, 21 questions, and "opposite day" in English with the oldest, Anna. The more I speak English to her though, the more English she's beginning to use with her little brothers and others in her family, which worries me about how my actions have ripple effects on the whole family's English and Chinese acquirement and retainment.

Other happenings:
1. Today, Alex said: "Why are there are so many supermarkets here but none of them are Park N Shop?" (that's the top supermarket in Hong Kong).
2. We've dragged out 3 big boxes of Lego's and other toys, bats, and balls to give them something to do other than watching Power Rangers non-stop on Toon Disney.
3. Today Anna asked, "What's 'Chinatown'?"