How I answer the question, "Which culture do you most identify with?"

Apart from the most dreaded “home” question, the next toughest question that has been the most challenging and least favorite for me to answer, especially when dealing with small talk on dating apps is “which culture do you most identify with?”

I’m Singaporean, Taiwanese, Chinese and Siberian, born in Jakarta, Indonesia. I grew up and was raised in Singapore, Suzhou, Beijing, and Shanghai. I’ve lived and worked in Tokyo, Jakarta, Bali, and Sydney.

My core family and best friends who I visit regularly live in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and Indiana. All of these cities have left a mark in my heart and each has imprinted an element of its culture into my identity.

So the simplest answer I can think of to the “culture” question is TCK. Although it’s not a specific “country” per se, it embodies a culture of openness and adaptability and is one where its people share a similar mindset, ideas, and social behavior. So if TCK were a culture, that would be the one I most identify with.

By Felisa

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