I was taught in school to hate Japan and the Japanese people. I grew up in a rural area in central China.  My grandfather and great uncle fought in the wars against Japanese Imperialism. The scars and the traumatic memories, beginning with the Japanese invasion of China in 1937, are freshly reopened by personal tales, movies, shows, school lessons, and propaganda in the news that occurs on a regular basis.  It is a widely shared sentiment in China that having hatred toward the Japanese is our patriotic duty.  I never questioned that belief before I left China.

My cultural shock began rather quickly after I landed at the Milwaukee airport 21 years ago.  My cultural identity of being a majority Chinese was challenged and dismantled shortly after my arrival.  I remembered during the initial “honeymoon” phase, everything I saw in the U.S. impressed me.  The blue sky, the endless green tree lines, the vast, ocean-like Lake Michigan, and wide-open space! And “Oh, my!”, free toilet paper in every stall in each bathroom! When I visited Milwaukee County Zoo, I was shocked by how well the wild animals lived! I viewed these animals with fascination!. 

Then I went through the…