Carol Law Lee: "I don't feel Chinese; sometimes I forget that I am"

BañolasAt the school in Girona that I attended as a child, Carol Law Lee, of Chinese origin, was for a long time the only girl with parents from abroad. “I felt exotic. The older students would touch my hair and say it looked like threads,” she recalls. Years later, however, another Chinese girl arrived, whom she “felt close to” and “was very eager to meet.”

Born in Figueres, Law, 41, spent her early childhood in Roses and at the age of four moved with her parents to Girona, the city where she still lives with her partner and their two children. Her Asian appearance has never made her feel excluded or conditioned her, but it has been present in certain situations: for example, when she first entered to do a substitute teaching at a school in Girona, the principal thought the English teacher had arrived... A teacher, yes, but not precisely of English.

Law, who discovered her vocation over the years, has recently worked at the Draga school in Banyoles (Pla de l'Estany), as a support teacher for I3, I4, and I5 and teaching a drama workshop, where students learned to express themselves through either words or emotions. This center has a total of 366 students and significant multiculturalism: Gambian, Colombian, Chinese students... “Diversity, nowadays, is a given and the classroom is a reflection of society. It is increasingly common in schools, so there is a lot of work to be done,” she comments. “Not only in relation to origin, but also on other issues such as the profile of parents: many children have two fathers, two mothers, or a single mother... And everything needs to be integrated,” she admits. To improve the educational system, the word that comes to mind is “inclusion,” but to make it possible “resources are lacking,” meaning “more teachers to better support students and for the management to request aid for students with specific educational support needs to be more agile.”

From shame to dialogue

As a young woman, she did not suffer from racism. With her friends, however, she felt "a certain embarrassment" when they told some jokes about Chinese people during monologue sessions. That was the only thing. Over the years, however, she has seen that racism is a reality among students. "When racist comments appear, we work through dialogue: we answer their questions and let them express themselves".

As an interim teacher in the different centers where she has worked –currently, she works at the Sant Roc school in Olot (Garrotxa), where she is a tutor for I4–, she has found herself immersed in what she defines as “inappropriate moments”. “The children, when they see my eyes, ask me if I am Chinese, but they don't do it in a derogatory way but out of curiosity”. Deep down, it doesn't bother her. “I take it with the attitude of addressing the issue and learning from multiculturalism”. From this perspective, Law is in favor of a greater presence of teachers from diverse backgrounds, as this enriches the educational community. “I only met a Moroccan teacher a few years ago in a school in Figueres. It would be good to see this diversity also in other professions”, she emphasizes.

A very local family

Law's mother is from Taiwan and his father – who died a few years ago – was from Hong Kong. They both met in Catalonia, where they had arrived as young people with their respective families. Here they started a family: Law's middle brother is called Jordi and the youngest, Cecilia. “My parents had a local mentality, and that's why they gave us Catalan names. Even so, we keep our Chinese names.” Hers is Pin Pin, which means “educated and smart.” “We have always placed great importance on having friends, activities, and making connections in the place where you live. It's an important part of integration, although at the time I admit it wasn't the most common thing.” When her parents opened a restaurant in Girona, they invited the whole class with their teachers. “I have a good memory,” highlights Law, who states that since she was little she thinks in Catalan and not in Chinese. In fact, she admits: “I don't feel Chinese; sometimes I forget that I am.”

She speaks Mandarin with her mother – a language she struggles to master fluently –, while with her two children and her husband, who is of Catalan origin, she always speaks in Catalan. So, on special days, like Christmas, he is the one who becomes the “different one”. “At first, my husband felt strange seeing so many Chinese people in the photo because when my whole family gets together, we reach about thirty,” describes Law. Over the years, however, he is no longer the only one: both her brother Jordi and her sister Cecilia have non-Chinese partners. A living example of this diversity also within the family.