WEBVTT

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My name is Ailin and I have 
multiple nationality syndrome.

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What is that?

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I was born in Argentina.

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I have a Spanish surname, 
my mom is Bolivian and my dad is...

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Asian.

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I say it that way
because it's easier for me

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to say he is Asian, Chinese or Korean,

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rather than explaining that I don't know 
where is he from, where is him,

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or who did I get my Asian eyes from.

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He left me and my mom
when I was eight months old.

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When I was a little girl 
I found it difficult to understand.

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I missed him, without even knowing him.

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And I had a huge desire
to know what he was like,

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ask him a thousand questions,

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while I was dreaming that 
one day he would come back

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and my family would finally be complete.

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As I grew older, it made me uncomfortable
to be singled out for being different.

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I was "the Chinese".

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As if it was something
you could be sure of just by my looks,

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even when I myself didn't know
really well about my roots,

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my ancestry, my identity.

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Everyone seemed to be sure
that I was Chinese, except me.

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It felt like a void, a mystery.

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And, within that mystery,
now I understand, I saw options.

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I saw an opportunity.

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If everyone thought I was Chinese,

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why not learning about being Chinese?

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When I was eight years old, I asked
to be enrolled in a Chinese school

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that I attended on weekends.

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At the same time, my classmates 
were forced by their parents to go

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to perfect their Chinese.

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And many of them 
already spoke Chinese at home.

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I was there being the exception.

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I loved going there.

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I was able to share my existential doubts
with my classmates,

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like the identity clash of not knowing
if you're more Argentinean or Chinese.

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They said they felt Chinese in Argentina

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and Argentineans when they were in China.

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In one place in the world or in the other
they were seen differently.

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I also took on Korean lessons.

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And over time I started to care less
where my dad was from.

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And I became more interested

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in learning about the culture
of the countries I was so linked to,

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where I found 
different senses of identity.

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I would discover myself in the 
exploration of the different tones

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that this mystery could take,
this void to be filled.

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Yet other concerns popped up.

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I wondered, 
"And what does all this mean?"

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"Do I study Chinese 
in order to be Chinese?"

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"Do I seek to be Korean 
by studying Korean?"

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"Am I trying to fit into the expectation
others have of me when they see me?"

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No, it's not just that.

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I discovered that my identity 
it's not fixed,

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something concrete
and with clear boundaries.

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And that I am actually 
in a constant transition.

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The decisions I made
which led me to so many experiences

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helped me understand 
how to connect worlds,

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discover a thousand options 
and possibilities.

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Opportunities.

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And discover that it is the differences
between us that enrich us.

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My multiple nationality syndrome
made me to understand life

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as a constant transition.

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And I suspect each of you 
are also a constant transition.

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Each with your many
multicolored personalities

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discovering a thousand options 
and possibilities,

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building ideas and dreams;

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discovering the multiple tones

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that this mystery can take.

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Thank you.