“I hate it when people don’t know I’m brown,” says Saraid de Silva Cameron, who has both Sri Lankan and Pākehā heritage. Conversely, her mum Karenza had moments where she wished she wasn’t brown, having migrated to Aotearoa from Sri Lanka as a child and endured being called “bush bunny” every day by a twerp called Robert.

In this bonus episode of Conversations With My Immigrant Parents, the series’ creators talk with their own mums.

In the second half, Julie Zhu is joined by her mum Jenny Chang - Julie speaks in English while Jenny speaks in Mandarin. When you move between different languages, it can feel like you’re moving between different versions of yourself. So how do we connect with our parents when we speak different languages?

Conversations With My Immigrant Parents is a podcast and video series where parents and children learn about each other anew, and confront the complex issues that are deepened by differences in generation and culture.

Made possible by the RNZ/NZ On Air Joint Innovation Fund.