It was very interesting to read the various stories and experiences of so many people. Yet, notice how similar these stories really are. I am from South Africa and my story is somewhat different from the many I have read. Maybe this is because most are an American experience. In South Africa many of you would know that we had the apartheid system for many years. People were categorised accoring to the race group that they belonged. Example white Europeans/South Asians/Black Africans and then there were us poeple belonging to a seperate group. We were officially known as "Coloured" people. Today i reject that term because it does not explain what I am. I say that I am multi cultured which to me should explain much more. My family are a mix of African, Irish, English, Jewish and South Asian. Both my parents are multi cultures, so are my grandparents and great-grand parents. My mothers family are all very fair and many of my grandmothers family have lived as whites. they wanted her to do the same but she rejected the idea. In my community all the people that i grew up with were multi cultured. We went to the same schools, churches etc. We were a seperate community. I guess it sounds like a good idea, but it was very restrictive, because you did not mix with the other races because of the apartheid system. It was only after leaving South Africa and travelling to different countries did I see my difference. Becaise people were never sure what race I belonged to. In South Africa it was hardly ever questioned. So it was very strange when people asked me what are you to my face. I lived in Thailand for two years and what an experience. People would come up to me in a supermarket and stroke my skin. They would say i was beautiful, I never been so complimented in my life before. When I said I was from South Africa they would not believe me because they think that only Black Africans lived in Africa. I was so tired of explaining that people of all colours live in my country. In the beginning I would be annoyed at being stared at, but with time I sort of got used to it. The first time I entered an African persons home was when i was in my twenties. This is how separated we were. It only that I have moved from South Africa that I have come to appreciate my heritage. I have come to celebrate my difference and find pleasure in educating people when they ask. My husband and met an African-American guy on a boat trip while we lived in Thailand. I started talking to his mother who was accompanying on the trip. They were not aware that we were also of African heritage because of our looks. But, he said that he could feel our soul. I thought that was one of the best things somebody said to me.

Addendum:
i am 34 years years old and living in australia. i was born in south africa and as you can imagine would have quite a story to tell. as you can imagine race was and still is a major part of our lives in south africa. our lives were dominated by the race issue. you lived in your own neighborhood according to the race you belonged. basically your entire school years was only spent with people of your own race group. we only mixed with people of south indian descent during our sport meetings. white people were totally foreign and african people worked in our homes. if your were wondering i am multi cultured. in south africa people from a multi cultured background are viewed as a separate race group. my parents,grandparents and great-grand parents are all from mixed ancestory. so as you can see we were not really confused on who we were. my mothers family are all very fair people. most of my maternal grandmothers family identified with the white side. she refused to do so even though her family urged her to do differently. our group identified mostly with the western culture. i had never been to the home of a black african till i was in my twenties. i remember feeling so strange and embarresed that it had taken me so many years to experience this. the apartheid system was very successful in this instance. the first time i went to a white persons home was when i was a teenager. my husband and left south africa in 1997 to live and work in thailand for two years. my husband is also multi cultured and was born in the neighboring country of zimbabwe. there they had the same apartheid system before independence. we left south africa in 1997 to live and work in thailand. this is were i really came to appreciate my identity. like so many people of mixed race i was mistaken for so many different nationalities. i once had jewish tourists speaking to me in hebrew. they were so surprised when i told them that i am not jewish. though my family have jewish ancestory. i can identify with so many stories i have read. my philosophy is that we are all equal and that nobody no matter who you are is better than the rest.

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