Heritage

I am half Russian (mom's side) and half Chinese (dad's side).  My mom grew up in the Soviet Union, and moved to the United States when she was 15, while my dad was born in California and raised in Alabama.  When asked which culture or ethnicity I identify with more, I really don't know what to say, since few elements of Russian or Chinese culture are important to who I am.  I'm American, and I happen to be half Russian, half Chinese.  It's an interesting mix, and people usually seem intrigued and want to learn more about my culture, but honestly I'm pretty much just American, although I respect traditions of my relatives.  My mom, although being from Russia, doesn't celebrate any Russian traditions (there just aren't that many of them...) and my dad can't even speak Chinese.  My grandparents are more intimately connected with their cultures - my mom's mother cooks Russian food when she comes over, and my dad's mother cooks traditional Chinese food and celebrates Chinese New Year.  There's also my Jewish heritage - my mom's dad and his whole family is Jewish, and though they aren't strictly kosher or anything, that culture is very important to them, and I see a lot of that during family reunions.  The history of my mom's last name is also interesting.  Before she was born, her dad had a Russian name that was clearly Jewish, and changed it to the Russian but not Jewish "Kremnova" after his favorite teacher.  Later, when her family moved to the U.S. they changed their last name to Cohen, going back to their Jewish roots but keeping it simple.  To sum up, my name and my heritage aren't very important to me compared to many other people, but there is a lot of interesting history in my family, which I like learning about and I respect.