I get this question all the time, so I made a page explaining my ethnic heritage.
It’s not annoying that people ask at all, people are curious and that’s okay.
Taking the information from my family tree, and two DNA tests from Ancestry.com and 23andme.com and my half-brother’s DNA test, these are the countries my ancestors come from:
To put it as simply as possible, and rounding out the fractions: I’m half Chinese, a quarter White and a quarter Mexican.
Obviously that isn’t accurate looking at the map, nor is it how DNA works. But it’s the simplest way to explain it. Otherwise people will look at me as if was crazy listing all of these countries!
You also get 50% of your DNA from each parent, but which DNA you get is random. So while my father is half-Mexican, I did not get 25%.
I have screen shots from Ancestry and 23andme, both have pie charts, but I cannot imagine strangers on the internet need to see those!
Some facts:
My paternal grandfather is from Mazatlán, Mexico. There is also DNA from Central America, Chile, Spain and Northern Africa.
My maternal grandfather’s parents are from Taishan, Guangdong, China.
According to one of the DNA tests, I have some Dao in me, which is one of the 55 ethnic minorities in China. The rest would obviously be Han, which is the dominant group.
My maternal grandmother’s grandfathers were from Canton aka Guangzhou. Her grandmother is from Oakland, CA, making me a 5th generation. Since I was born in San Francisco, it’s just not 5th gen Oaklander. However, I am 4th generation San Franciscan on my father’s side.
My research on my family tree is the most extensive on my paternal grandmother’s side. Some of the trees extend out to the 1500’s! England kept very great records!
My paternal grandmother’s family comes from Scotland, England, Ireland, Germany and France according to the family tree. I wasn’t able to trace any of the Norwegian or Italian ancestors, but it’s in the DNA. However, the French DNA did not seem to reach me!
I do tell people (who ask) I am half Chinese, then English, Scottish, Irish, German and Mexican. But as I can see from Ancestry, there’s more! I find it very interesting! Thinking about migration patterns, events in history and who these people could have been.
If you were to ask me what I identify as: I’m mixed. I’m not bi-racial, but tri-racial. But mixed will do!
If you were to twist my arm, I grew up with my Chinese-American side, so I am more aware of my Chinese-American culture, though my mom did her best to educate me on my Mexican side.