Nam Le Story Response

Through out most of their short story, there's an over arching theme of code switching. The main character is dealing with the recent arrival of his father, attempting to hide his somewhat toxic life from him, and attempting to relate to his Vietnamese speaking father. The issue of code switching is present in many assimilated POC, pressure from Western society forcing us to be one way or another- a mixture of cultures making you a foreign outsider. In regards to me and my heritage is that I am either regarded by Mexicans as very white washed, and to white people here, I'm a "spicy" Latina. I can't wear hoop earrings or a flannel shirt without someone asking me whether I was going for the "chola" look today. With my family and friends families, I'm know as "la guera" which essentially means "the white girl". I speak, read, and write in Spanish but I still am not seen as completely belonging to that culture. The same goes for my place in American society; I fluent in English and have light skin, but I would never be given the privilege that is afforded to other White people. Being somewhere between the two cultures creates a problem in understanding where one belongs, the almost strict standards of these populations alienating those who could be a great asset bridging regions together.