{"id":729,"date":"2011-09-25T05:29:40","date_gmt":"2011-09-25T05:29:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mtls.ca\/issue10\/?page_id=729"},"modified":"2019-04-02T13:26:10","modified_gmt":"2019-04-02T13:26:10","slug":"jenna-tenn-yuk","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.mtls.ca\/issue12\/spoken-word\/jenna-tenn-yuk","title":{"rendered":"Jenna Tenn-Yuk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Everyone Loves A Jamasian Girl <\/strong><\/h1>\n

Everyone loves a Jamasian girl<\/p>\n

Is pretty much the most awesome mix in the world<\/p>\n

Jamasian, a fusion of Jamaican and Asian, Chinese you see<\/p>\n

Which is pretty sweet, cause you get some spicy roti and patties and curry goat and rice and peas<\/p>\n

And then throw in some Chinese, with sticky rice and har gow and char siu bao.<\/p>\n

And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not just the flavour of food I savour<\/p>\n

But the island sounds and soul I grew up hearing<\/p>\n

Wearing my dad\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rasta belts and hats<\/p>\n

Listening and dancing to beats and skats<\/p>\n

Like Peter Tosh and Barrington Levy and Jimmy Cliff and Bob Marley.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153One love, one heart, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s get together and feel all right.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em><\/p>\n

And we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d feel all right celebrating Chinese New Year without a care<\/p>\n

Receiving red envelopes, enveloping money<\/p>\n

A sign of good luck for the year to come<\/p>\n

But sometimes I feel like my luck has run out<\/p>\n

As I doubt who I really am.<\/p>\n

I am Chinese<\/p>\n

I am Jamaican<\/p>\n

I am Chinese Jamaican<\/p>\n

I am Chimaican<\/p>\n

I am Jamasian<\/p>\n

I am Canadian?<\/p>\n

I am confused like Confucius<\/p>\n

Collecting and contemplating my thoughts<\/p>\n

Okay, so I look Chinese except I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m darker and my nose isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t as flat and I have fuller lips<\/p>\n

But I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really fit in or understand them<\/p>\n

Am I a fasian?<\/p>\n

A fake Asian wanting to be in with those who speak Mandarin<\/p>\n

But I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t speak Mandarin or Cantonese or any of these<\/p>\n

Not getting any of the cultural jokes because my culture is more Jamaican<\/p>\n

Where my parents grew up in Little London and Kingston<\/p>\n

And yes, my parents have Jamaican accents<\/p>\n

No way!<\/p>\n

Way!<\/p>\n

You don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say.<\/p>\n

Ya, I just said that.<\/p>\n

Look, my dad\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s basically a China man who sounds black<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really not that whack<\/p>\n

And when I tell people my parents are Jamaican, they think that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so cool<\/p>\n

But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not sure if you can identify with these roots<\/p>\n

Asking who Norman Manley and Marcus Garvey are<\/p>\n

Who are far from the ones I grew up hearing, like Sir John A. Macdonald<\/p>\n

Bumbaclot<\/p>\n

I knew I was missing something in those history classes.<\/p>\n

So I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not black enough for the Jamaicans<\/p>\n

And not yellow enough for the Asians<\/p>\n

So where do I even fit in?<\/p>\n

This Miss Chin wondering if she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more Canadian than Chinese and Jamaican<\/p>\n

And what does being Canadian even mean?<\/p>\n

Does it mean hockey?<\/p>\n

Cause I played that.<\/p>\n

Peacekeeping?<\/p>\n

I like peace [peace sign].<\/p>\n

How Asian of me<\/p>\n

And I could stand up here getting nowhere<\/p>\n

Debating what is Canadian.<\/p>\n

D\u00e2\u20ac\u2122accord, c\u00e2\u20ac\u2122est dommage.<\/p>\n

D\u00e2\u20ac\u2122oh! So Homer Simpson of me<\/p>\n

Please excuse me, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just trying to figure out my identity<\/p>\n

Identifying with Jamaicans so people think I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m amazing<\/p>\n

Or with Chinese people so I can make fun of Asians<\/p>\n

But really mocking myself because now I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m the token Asian in a lot of groups<\/p>\n

Even though I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m clearly not the best representative of that crew<\/p>\n

But maybe I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not just exploiting my cultures, but myself<\/p>\n

Selfishly caring what you think of me as I keep talking and telling myself<\/p>\n

Everyone loves a Jamasian girl.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n