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Some of the things only immigrant children understand is that parents someone just force you to be their free translator/interpreter... (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works to c/casualconversation@piefed.social

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So... when I was a kid, like soon after I gained proficiency in English, they made me translate:

every paper they fill, tax documents, USCIS (the government agency in the US that deals with immigration) shenanigans, letters, bills, phone calls, talking to customer support (I mean like utilities, phone bills, banking, etc...), trying to buy a house, car dealership, court cases, doctor's appointments, city hall stuff, bussiness licenses, and um...

fucking parent-teacher conferences? Wtf so... am I supposed to translate the negative things the teacher says about me? Huh? 🧐 (I kinda just refused, just sit there in silence while teachers were trying to find some adult in the building that can translate). I remember it felt so awkward.

Like, bruhhhh I went to 2nd grade in my previous country, I don't even have the vocabulary to explain shit.

Then like if I refuse, my parents ask my older brother, then he gets mad and is like: "why not ask him [aka: me]?" So then it's a sort of 3-way mini-cold-war at home.

Such a chaotic childhood.

I can sometimes almost sort of "hallucinate" my name being called for some weird bs.

When you think about it this way, I'm sort of like a diplomat between my household and the outside world. I guess I should just get a job at the UN (/kidding, no way in hell I wanna do any more "translating" bullshit as a job)

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[–] ArgumentativeMonotheist@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I feel like you've benefited immensely from the experience despite the headaches it might have caused? 🤷😅

[–] DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 week ago

I can understand a language better? But there aren't any Cantonese shows worth watching, IMO.

If my family was like... Japanese instead, those skills could've been used in watching anime lol

But nope, I have a language that is spoken mostly by the older first-gen immigrant diaspora and I kinda don't have much in common with older people, younger people mostly speak English now, so what's the point lol. Maybe great for going to Chinese restaurants? That's about as useful as it gets lol. That and the sort of bragging rights I have for knowing more languages lol.