How I Pay Homage to My Chinese Heritage by Drinking Boiling Hot Water in the Dead of Summer
June 30, 2021
‘The greatest sacrifice you give to your family is one’s own suffering’
By: Julia Zhen
I’m American born Chinese. I can’t speak Mandarin that well, can’t really cook that well, but I am really good at being a disappointment to my parents. I’m tired of waiting around for my moment, so I’ve decided that there’s more that I can do to take back my heritage by drinking boiling hot water in the middle of the summer. Even though it has left the inside of my mouth with scalding burns, I know as well as anyone else that the greatest sacrifice you give to your family is one’s own suffering.
Now I know you might be wondering, is that even a Chinese thing? Yes, 100% absolutely it most definitely is. There almost always a way for you to fill up your thermos (whether it have tea leaves or not) with boiling hot water. I’ve seen 60 oz. thermoses full of hot water behind the counter at various stores, in the trunks of cabs, and most people working at desks likely had one under the table. I’ve decided to start this tradition in my office. I bought one of those thermoses, and she sits nicely under my open concept desk at work.
I’ve also decided that since the office is carpeted, what’s the point of wearing my shoes? I’ve sent a memo out to the team that I’ll be transitioning to wearing slippers indoors. I know the office isn’t my “home” or someone else’s “home” but if you think about it, the office is “home” to various others we don’t think about: the printers, the vents, and the homeless man sitting outside of it. We should be respectful and wear slippers in the office. I’ve got my pair at my desk, and will be providing an entire dresser’s worth of slippers for our clients to wear when they visit. Of course, when clients visit, I will also be preparing some freshly cut fruit for them. This will be offered upon initial entry to our home as well as after any meals that we enjoy. In the warm months it will be a various assortment of melons and in the colder times of the year it will be citrus mandarins and oranges. My coworkers have been bothered by this but I’ve simply told them what my family tells me all the time “You’re American, you’ll never get it.” At least I’m trying! Right? Right.
In a last ditch effort to truly take back my heritage, I’ve decided that I will only be answering the phone with “wei.” My family is relieved that I finally do this with them, but it has proven to be quite confusing and annoying to my clients and coworkers. But they will simply just have to understand that being Chinese is not a choice and taking back my heritage is a must if I even want to be considered for my 98 year-old grandmother’s will. Or at least get my family to like me again.
