I am proud to be hapa :-)
What's Hapa?
Ha•pa (hä´pä) adj. 1. Slang. of mixed racial heritage with partial roots in Asian and/or Pacific Islander ancestry. n. 2. Slang. a person of such heritage. [der./Hawaiian: hapa haole (half white)] Brief History of 'hapa' Derived from the English word "half", Native Hawaiians used this word to describe someone who was "half Hawaiian". In colonial times, it was often combined with the word "haole" which meant stranger, foreigner, or white person. As time passed, "hapa" was used on the Continental United States by Japanese Americans and other Asian to describe a person of partial Asian ancestry. Many Nisei (second generation Japanese Americans) considered the term to be derogatory. Today, "Hapa" is simply accepted as a way to describe a person of partial Asian ancestry.Hapa doesn't necessarily mean a Caucasian/Asian Pacific Islander mix either. ANY ethnically distinct mix with Asian or Pacific Islander ancestry is included in the definition (ie. Chinese/Vietnamese & African American/Japanese).
You know you are a hapa if...
- When people meet you they ask your name & race or ask “what exactly are you?"
- You would be a millionaire if you got a quarter for each time you were asked that
- People know you're a mix but don't know what you are exactly
- You stand out in family reunion photos
- When you speak your native language you get weird looks
- You get asked which race you prefer to date
- You get asked which race you identify most with
- Everybody thinks they know your sibling
- You are the "exotic one" in a group of friends
- You are ethnically aware
- In California everyone thinks you are Mexican and talks to you in Spanish