Question:
What were the differences (if any) between your Japanese parent's way of raising you, and your gaijin parent's? Were some of the manners they instilled in you different? Was one tougher, one one more nice? Just wondering...
Answer:
Well, my parents are very similar; even being from different countries. However, perhaps this has something to do with my mother being very "Japan-ized" after living in Japan for the majority of her life. I'm not sure. Even so, they are still quite different in some ways.
For one, my father (who is the Japanese one) is the kind of person who doesn't care what people think. He said I could dye my hair bright, neon green and hang around boys in the Visual Kei scene- and he just wouldn't care, so long as I remained a respectable person. Respect is a big thing with my father, however he did not teach me to respect ALL elders- only those worth respecting. But he makes sure that, those whom are worth respecting, are shown the utmost amount of respect from me.
My mother (the American one), however, is more conscious of what others think. She raised me to dress and act like a very well behaved, cute little girl. Taught me to respect ALL elders- even those who prove themselves to be incredibly idiotic and ignorant. She raised me to be modest and quiet, dismissing any problems I come across- especially those revolving around her being a gaijin- and my being half Japanese.
My father, however, taught me to stand up for myself- and to be proud, not 100% modest.
My mother, surprisingly, taught me to embrace my Japanese culture- as she does, even not being Japanese. She taught me to love the Japanese culture more than any Western ones that she belongs to, being American.
My father, however, taught me to also embrace being half American- to love being different, to love looking different. Of course, my mother also taught me these things- however, it was my father who told me to never forget my roots- that I was half American, and always would be.
My mother was more lenient with punishments, while my father was quite rough on me when I did wrong.
My father was more emotional, however. He'd punish me, but then I KNEW he'd turn around and feel awful about it- while my mother would already be over it.
... It's sort of endless. They're so similar, but so different.
Point being, yes- there are differences between the two. I have no idea why I wrote most of the out in past tense. OH WELL.
