couple of years ago, I rebelled against my parents [because they pushed] me to keep my Japanese culture. And I was like, when I’m older, I’m going to speak completely in English and my kids are going to be 100 percent American, and we’re going to live here and I’m not going to make them go to Japanese school. It didn’t seem fair that because I went to Japanese school, I almost had double the homework. But now I realize how important it was.” Oyama expressed that in the future, she will likely raise her kids the same way her parents raised her, just so that they can be reminded of their own cultural heritage. “When you look in the mirror, you can see that you’re Asian,” Oyama said. “And even if you are Japanese but you can’t speak it or prove it, then you’ve basically lost who you are.”
Ravali Poreddy
Porredy dancing at her sister’s wedding. (Photo from Ravali Porredy)
While Japanese culture and values have greatly impacted Oyama’s life, she admits that she was faced with some difficulty in formulating her identity. “I went back to Japan in seventh grade and went to school there,” Oyama said. “I was told that I had an American accent in my Japanese, and I was horrified. Even though people don’t say I have a Japanese accent when I speak English here, I’m obviously Asian. I look different here, and was considered different in Japan, so where did I belong? I feel like I can identify myself as Japanese, but sometimes I go through this period of identity crisis, debating whether I am Japanese or American. Because technically I’m Japanese, but I feel like I’m American almost.” Nevertheless, Oyama strongly believes in the value of maintaining her Japanese background and values. “I guess I’ve been able to take the good parts of Japanese culture and American culture and find a happy medium,” Oyama said. “As of right now, I feel that it’s really important to keep my Japanese culture. A
For senior Ravali Poreddy, her parents’ Indian culture still plays a significant role in her life. “I think I’m connected, as connected as I can be for someone who lives and has grown up her entire life in America, but I think I’m still pretty knowledgeable about my culture and my traditions,” Poreddy said. “I think that’s pretty important, because I think that’s an important part of what makes me who I am, what makes me Indian-American.” Poreddy was born in the United States; however, her parents were the first in their family to leave the small, rural village in South India where they grew up. Poreddy reflected on what a huge culture shock the move was for her parents. “There you live around your family more I guess ... there everyone in the town is related to them on my mom’s side,” she said. “So she went from a place where everyone knew her and everyone was related to her and [was] very family-like to a place where it was very cold and no one talked to each other. Even when I’m in India what I notice is people who live in apartments keep their doors open and drop by to say hi and walk around outside, and it’s a lot more [open]. Here you don’t really talk to your neighbors and you keep your doors shut, so she’s told me it’s a completely different atmosphere here.” Despite the different atmosphere, Poreddy and her family try to stay in touch with their culture mainly through Poreddy’s classical Indian dance, called Kuchipudi, as well as through the Telugu Association. Telugu is the language that is spoken in the region of India where her parents are from—she explained how the large Indian population in St. Louis is broken up into several language communities. These communities are easier to build because of the linguistic and cultural similarities that many Indians who speak Telugu share. Poreddy’s weekly dance practice helps keep her in touch with other Indian-American teens and helps keep her culture fresh in her mind. Indian dance is also popular at colleges and especially large universities—dance teams from large schools often go on to compete at national Indian dance competitions. Poreddy even remembers how she recently voted for her friends’ team in Maryland that had 20,000 votes in the pool. Poreddy’s dance company performs sometimes at the Telugu Association meetings, which occur about every two months around the time of an Indian holiday. About 300 people come to the meetings, and there is dinner and entertainment, which can range from dance performances to singing and skits put on by parents and kids in the community. Poreddy even visited the Telugu Association of North America for a five-day convention four years ago in Chicago. Around 2,000-3,000 people came, and celebrities from India helped entertain as well. “In America and St. Louis there’s always the big Indian communities trying to keep culture alive as much as they can for all the generations to come,” Poreddy said. She hopes to stay affiliated with a Telugu Association in the future. “I’d hope to because it’s a way to stay connected,” she said. “All of the friends my parents keep in touch with the most are Indian and Telugu