So, I think it’s pretty obvious, but I’m the only Chinese person on the squad. (There is another girl who is half Asian.) In Guatemala and Nicaragua, I was pretty popular. Now that I’m in Costa Rica and Panama…mm… not so much. And once we get to Asia, I’m pretty sure I’ll blend in so much my team will mistake me for some random girl. (Just kidding, but I’ll let you know if that becomes true. 
)
Here in Panama, it is estimated to have about 10% Chinese people. I usually find them in a “mini supers,” which are small markets that they manage and perhaps own. You possibly can tell how many Chinese people are living in a town by the amount of mini supers around. Although somehow I became the Spanish translator for my team (thank you to junior high school Spanish teacher if you ever read this.. you’ve taught me well), my Cantonese is better than my Spanish. When my squad arrived in Costa Rica late in the night and were hungry, but every restaurant was closing down, I conversed with the owner of a Chinese restaurant and they reopened just for us! (Yea, it was pretty sweet and my squad was thankful to be fed. 
)
While my Chin-ish (Chinese and English combined) is probably only understood by my parents and close friends, it was quite interesting to hear Span-ese (Spanish and Chinese, I totally made that up). Some times when I’m translating between the 3 languages, it gets jumbled up into Chin-span-ish. (And maybe a pinch of Russian somehow gets thrown in there too sometimes.)
I try to strike up conversation with the Chinese people here and they are usually surprised that 1) I am Chinese, they say I look like a different Asian type; 2) that I’m inching towards 30 years old; 3) that I’m not married; and then 4) that I speak funny Chinese. Anyway, once they get past my funny Chinese, I try to get to know them asking them why they are in Costa Rica/Panama and where they are spiritually, etc.
Some of the reasons they are in Costa Rica/Panama may be to have a better life than they had in China, and either their children have grown accustomed to the life here or they may be in debt by having an agreement with someone who got them out of China and is now stuck until they pay off the debt and still a few just prefer it here.
When they ask me what I’m doing, I try to tell them (in my terrible Span-ese) I’m a missionary and want to share God’s love and volunteering to help others. (Side note: interesting that any time I say “missionary,” most people here think Mormon.) So, I had to ask my daddy to help me translate a few words/phrases, which I’m going to share with you just in case if you ever encounter Cantonese speaking people:
So far, being and speaking Chinese has been a perk on the race. I can’t help but wonder how much different of an experience I have comparatively coming from dual cultures. Growing up, I was blessed with not really having been made fun of due to my background (well, the times I did, I’m pretty sure I put the fear in them so they wouldn’t do it again… haha), nor do I have a heavy accent when I speak English. Thankfully, I did not have too much trouble accepting my culture and heritage as some people do, but it was honestly tough at times.
Recently, I have also been looking back into my heritage since by doing so, we can understand the present and with the right attitude, equip us to look forward. Not only am I looking at my heritage of being Chinese, but also all the positive and negative influences that come from our parents and our parents’ parents. All of us carry these, whether known or unknown to us. We can inherit generational strongholds or we can have the blessing of love shown by God passed down to us (Exodus 20:5-6 and Beth Moore’s Breaking Free study).
When I look at my parents, I can see how some traits, both positive and negative, have been passed down to me. My parents are not perfect, though they are awesome, and I’m pretty sure there’s a good chance I’ll screw up my kids too 
, but God gives grace to us all and He can restore which that is broken. It makes me wonder what are the things I want to pass down to my children one day. And according to God’s promises, if I do my part for one generation, He’ll do His for a thousand!
It will be questionable if I’ll be able to pass down my Chinese language and heritage to my children one day, but more so, I hope to pass down the spiritual heritage of having a secure identity in Christ and following and loving God whole heartedly, and thriving in that. May my ceiling be their floor.
Questions to consider:
- What are the positive and negative influences you’ve inherited from your parents and their parents
- Though you cannot change the past, what would you want to pass down or end in your lineage? Are you willing to take the challenge of positively affecting those after you?
- What do you want your children and their children to inherit from you?
- Do you believe that God will generationally bless and show His love to those who love and obey Him?
Hope you enjoyed a few of my thoughts,
Ciao!
Lolita 
