Originally Posted by Paul L.
I learned that as nisei. Down in Okinawa I think they use the term hafu as well but I think the term nisei is generally more polite. Always good to learn more tango!
Yeah. I hear "ha-fu" in Japan. I think "ha-ppa" is more the Hawaiian equivalent, but being "ni-kkei", I don't know if I really know what is correct. "Nisei" literally means second generation. Nowadays most people are "san-sei" or "yon-sei" (3rd and 4th gen respectively). I like to say that I am "two and a half generation" to throw people off.
The new accepted PC term seems to be "bi-racial" or "bi-cultural". A friend of mine calls his kids "doubles" instead of "halfs".
BTW, to clarify any misunderstanding. I don't dislike Japan for being weird. I was just thinking about it overnight, but the pain thing does have another upside. There tends to be a higher level of social reponsibility here because people are willing to "just deal with it". I dropped my wallet once on a busy street and when I went to the Police Box to report it lost, it was waiting for me! Someone had taken the time to walk over to the police box which was blocks away!
Of course, it was not in Shinjuku. An acquaintance of mine actually had her purse stolen while she was there. I would have not had as much luck there...
- Jeff