It’s not too hard to find people who’s parents come from very different cultures on opposite sides of the world. For complicated political and historical reasons, some ethnic mixes are more common than others: British and Chinese, for example, could’ve met in Hong Kong. With some others, you might wonder how their parents ever encountered one another! So what’s the most unusual ethnic mixes you’ve ever encountered?
I once dated a half-Greek Jewish, half-Chilean guy.
Another friend is half-Greek, half-Mexican.
Challenge: Does anyone know of any Tongan/Kazakh mixes? Me and a friend were joking that’s gotta be the one combination that’s NEVER happened, but I want to be proven wrong!
I know 3 people (siblings) who are half eastern-european Jew, and half Indian Hindu. (technically the Indian is Jewish now too, but it still makes for a weird cultural mix)
I’m confused – do you know someone who’s !Kung/Bolivian or are you just throwing that mix out there as unusual and unlikely?
Quartz: What if someone volunteers the information, hmm? :rolleyes: A lot of mixed people are very proud of their heritages, and in my experience, are happy to tell you about it unprompted.
Indian and Chinese is rare in the West. we don’t have any kids, though. But in the east, well, there are places in NE India where people look Chinese but speak Hindi and it’s so jarring (in a good way).
That reminds me of the Russell Peters’ skit where he says that in 200 years “we’re all gonna be some combination of Indian and Chinese! So you can run from us now – but sooner or later we’re gonna fuck you.”
No unusual mixes yet, but in my mom’s side of the family we have Polish, German, Korean, Indian, and Pakistani. When two of them have children I will have a Korean-Pakistani nephew (although the Korean cousin was adopted from a young age and so depending on what you define ethnicity as, might not be ethnically Korean.)
Seems like many, many people in New York City, excluding Manhattan, is part Dominican in some way. “Yeah, I’m half Jewish, a quarter Irish, and a quarter Dominican.” Dominican isn’t unusual; it’s just that it’s like those Dominicans get around a lot. Reminds me of how so many people elsewhere claim to be part Cherokee.
No children yet, but I know an Alaskan native who was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Vanuatu and is now engaged to a Vanuatan. If they have kids, they’ll probably be the only ones their school with that particular background.
Three of my cousins are half of Irish descent and half Ashkenazi-Mexicans (their grandparents immigrated to Mexico from Poland).
My mom’s Polish and my dad’s German. The ironic part is, in that particular household … Poland wins every argument, every time, and Germany always backs down. They’re re-doing WWII, I guess.
I know one couple where the wife is from the Philippines and the husband Nigeria; they met in college in the US, married and made their family and life here. Never met any Tuvan/Nigerian mixes but I would be surprised to meet one.
