ジーニー・チェンマイのインスタグラム(thejeanniemai) - 6月11日 01時03分

Growing up first gen in the Bay Area, I only knew how to be a hella proud Vietnamese girl. I spoke Vietnamese, I thought in Vietnamese... my loving, goal focused, hard-working household didn't feel any different from the American families around me. It wasn't until I entered kindergarten & struggled speaking English that I noticed I was different. I couldn't understand what the kids were saying, but I could certainly feel their mocking of my Viet language when I defended myself. I ran home to ask my mom why she didn't teach me English. @TheMamaMai told me something in Vietnamese I will never forget... "A foreign accent is the sign of a survivor." It changed the way I heard myself and my family members speak. My mom was right, I eventually learned how to speak English (thx Sesame Street👋🏼) and later I even taught my new friends from school how to speak in Viet. ("Pho is fuh, not foh 😉🍜) All to say, in today's ongoing conversation about minorities, it's mad vital than ever for us to recognize the value behind the accent, the cultures, and the influence we have on this country.
I took the #IActOn pledge today with @ceo_action, and am committing to having more conversations around diversity and inclusion. Will you take the #IActOn pledge with me? TAG YO SQUAD! My goal is to contribute 20k pledges. Link in bio babes 💙

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aishaandlife I lived in Europe throughout my childhood. As a kid, I'd feel embarrassed by my parents' accent. My schoolmates would tease me about how 'African' I was and I never understood why it was such a bad thing to them. Of course I'm grown now and love my parents as they are. And so proud of what they've accomplished. Thanks for sharing your experience and your family with us ??

belladama21 I feel you gurllllll as bilingual speaking person . Ive been here in the USA for 391/2 years.. and trust me it wasnt easy for my family and i.. we were in bilingual class till grade 5.. im... in my 40ies now.. and i still have an accent.. according to my american friends.

kelly_suazodavis As a Dominican-American that lives in a different state every 2 1/2 hrs I hear lots about my accent some that love it others that I often offer to translate ??? your Mama is correct. Survior-Warrior-Fabulous-Accent ??? @thejeanniemai

km_kcs And here I am struggling with accepting I have a Hispanic accent. I dislike the way it sounds when I speak English. I needed this! Anyway, I'm signing up. ?

erink883 Omg. I asked my mom how she taught me English and she said “I just sat you in front of Sesame Street” ? i wonder if that’s an Asian mom hack lol

hellosharonpaz You two are adorable! I wish I had a strong bond and relationship with my Mother. Love watching you ladies on @hellohunnayshow ????

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• TheMamaMai