Ok, so here's the scoop. A "Bananna" is an asian who is born in North America. Clear as mud? Get the analogy? Yellow on the outside and white on the inside. Hm...well, that describes my asian friends and I perfectly. I think in the States they describe themselves as a "Twinkie". I like Bananna better...More healthy!

My brother and I grew up in Calgary Alberta often being the only asians in our school. Heck, I didn't even know what color my skin was until highschool! Here's a prime example of my cluelessness... I could've been in grade five or six that doesn't matter. For some reason I was comparing skin tones with my friends and when it came around to me we were baffled. Hm...well we later came to a consensus that I was tanned. Yup. I had a tan in the middle of winter. It wasn't until I came to British Columbia where 90% of the immigrants are asian, that I was told that I was yellow. Now I knew I didn't like being called yellow! So I guess I wasn't tanned huh?

So what has it been like being a Bananna? It's weird. I speak little Korean...heck, I speak French better than I speak Korean! That's not good considering I only have French 12! Also, I'm not familiar with too many of the customs. However, I love the food! yum yum...bul go gi baby! So I'm not totally accepted by the Koreans nor am I totally accepted into Canada. And I was born here!! My attitude, the way I dress, walk and talk reflects a very western identity.
I'm also cursed with Konglish. That's a mixture of English and Korean. A Creole? Dang it...linguistics helped some but not too much. I say some words in Korean and some in English. Don't get me wrong. I love being a Bananna. I get the best of both worlds. I love being a Canadian and am slowly beginning to appreciate my Korean heritage. In fact, I'm looking forward to getting of this rock called North America and visiting Korea for the first time! WooHoo!
BUT I still can't see myself listening to Korean music, drum banging or otherwise. AND I KNOW I can't stand those weepy Korean dramas. BUT I love those Korean games! And seeing people getting ddong-jeeped gets me everytime!! ;D
Um...no offence to those to whom the term Bananna is offensive.

I hope this is the first of many links I'll have to those willing to share their experiences and stories of their Bananna lifestyle.
  • Andrew MooJin's Parks writings
  • The Korean Heritage College's website(I'm going here this summer)
  • The Unofficial Korean Heritage College Yearbook
  • Santoki's page
  • Margaret Lee's Page
  • Korean Canadian Student Federation(kcsf)