Because of our multicultural identity we often struggle to decide on which side we belong. It’s not always 100% Vietnamese or 100% Czech. According to principle Jus sanguinis our citizenship at birth is determined by the citizenship of our parents, which may be Vietnamese nationality. But we practically often find ourselves in uncertainties where we don’t exactly feel or behave as a “true Asian” (whatever that might mean). 

Our identity can be affected by the people we are surrounded with. If someone didn’t grow up in a Vietnamese community, they are usually inclined to Czech culture. Being part of a friend group where everyone’s nationality is Czech, makes you view yourself as one of them too. But the way other people perceive us visually, it is hard to deny or hide your ethnicity. One of our participants said that there were a lot of Vietnamese people in her hometown and because of that Czech people didn’t make them feel inferior and she didn’t have the need to “fit in.”

*fun fact* The town with the most Vietnamese population in Czechia is Cheb (right after Prague).

If a Vietnamese person living in Czechia was compared to another Vietnamese person living in Vietnam, our values and opinions on culture might differ. Some traditions and everyday life things of a Vietnamese from Vietnam might seem strange to the Vietnamese living in Czechia even though their nationality is Vietnamese as well. It is at this point where one can doubt their cultural identity. If I view myself more as a Czech, others might argue I don’t look the part. If I view myself as a Vietnamese person, other Vietnamese might call me out for being too “white”, “foreign” or “mất gốc.”

Because of the fact that Asian cultures are often mocked and people often take advantage of a situation when someone doesn’t speak their native tongue well, it was harder for us to explore and accept our identity. But as we grew older it eventually became easier for us to find ourselves in this world. And for some of us, it meant finally accepting our Vietnamese roots. 

During this activity “Spectrum,” we then discussed the flexibility of multicultural identity which is being able to adapt to both cultures easily. Some of us identify ourselves as Czech and Vietnamese at the same time. It is not difficult for us to adjust to being around Vietnamese, Czech, or other cultures (as someone also mentioned British or German culture due to studying abroad). Most of the people that related to this aspect already accepted their multicultural identity and were satisfied with themselves because they didn’t struggle with having to fit in. 

I obviously can’t speak for everyone here. Not everybody felt this way and was bothered by this issue as they never felt the need to address it before. This matter is only a subjective opinion based on our own thoughts, feelings and background. The previous paragraphs were only some opinions that were mentioned during this activity and some aspects that a lot of participants related to. Each of the participants during the spectrum had an option to choose how they wanted to identify themselves.