In celebration of my first Asian-American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month living outside of the U.S., I'm reflecting on my Taiwanese-American identity and how it's evolved since immigrating to Asia.

As someone who was constantly insecure about both my "American" and "Taiwanese" identities growing up in the U.S., living outside of that context has finally helped me accept both.

Here in Japan, I'm constantly reminded of how "American" my personality, my point of view, my humor... all of it really is. And with my Mandarin being stronger than my Japanese, I've found a sense of connection with other Mandarin speakers living here and finally feeling more confident about my Taiwanese identity for the first time in my life.

In this episode, you'll learn vocab like 亞太裔傳統月 / 亚太裔传统月 / yà tài yì chuán tǒng yuè ("AAPI Heritage Month"), 少數族群 / 少数族群 / shǎo shù zú qún ("minority ethnic group"), 兩極 / 两极 / liǎng jí ("polar opposite" / "very contrasting"), and more.

In celebration of AAPI Heritage Month, now through May 31st, if you join our Real You Mandarin: Self-Expression course, you'll get FREE lifetime access to the Podcast Transcript Membership ($100 value) to unlock full transcripts of all past and future episodes. Transcripts include Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Pinyin, and English with vocabulary highlighted. Simply forward your course purchase confirmation email to support@realyoumandarin.com to get complimentary access to the Transcript Membership.

Learn more about the Real You Mandarin: Self-Expression course and the Transcript Membership at https://www.realyoumandarin.com !

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