Victoria Kraus
@vkraus2Victoria Kraus is a former Web Editor for DiscoverNikkei.org. She is a half Japanese half Caucasian currently residing in the predominantly Hispanic neighborhood of Boyle Heights in Los Angeles. She graduated from Soka University of America with a Bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts.
Updated October 2008
Stories from This Author
Tamales for Christmas
Dec. 30, 2006 • Victoria Kraus
Two days before Christmas Eve, I saw a news clip on television about a popular tamale place in East Los Angeles. This restaurant was so busy and apparently so good that they had orders from customers six months in advance. Many of the customers—who were waiting for hours in line—had traveled long distances by car for these tamales. One gentleman drove from Sacramento and brought ice chests to bring the authentic Mexican tamales home, tamales that can’t be found anywhere …
Half Japanese Christmases
Dec. 22, 2006 • Victoria Kraus
Christmas before finding out the truth about Santa My father told me there was no Santa Clause when I was seven years old. I wasn’t completely surprised, though the little ounce of hope I did have that Santa Clause might exist was dispelled when he made the news official. It was the year 1990 and my parents were struggling financially. My father sat me and my brother atop the toilet seat lid in the bathroom and turned the fan on. …
To be a circle
Dec. 16, 2006 • Victoria Kraus
My mother has a circle metaphor. I don’t think the metaphor is originally hers and when I ask her where she got it from, she doesn’t remember. “That’s not the point,” she tells me when I ask her about the origins of her circle metaphor. The point, she explains, is that the metaphor for a human being becoming a circle makes sense and is a good thing. I tend to overanalyze and overdramatize things, but when she puts it that …
Which comes first - moving out or growing up?
Dec. 9, 2006 • Victoria Kraus
Paying rent is a costly way to learn to grow up. I’m left with very little disposable income and two credit cards (that I’m still paying off) screaming to be swiped. In Japan, most children live with their parents until they get married. I can only think of two reasons why: 1) there isn’t enough space in Japan for everyone over 18 to live on their own, let alone afford it, and 2) it is a longstanding tradition for Japanese …
Living in the "barrio"
Dec. 2, 2006 • Victoria Kraus
I can get away with being Hispanic or Latina without even trying. In my neighborhood, known as the “barrio” of Los Angeles for its highly concentrated Hispanic population, I am not mistaken for a Mexican. I am Mexican. Because of my brunette head and facial features—more European than Mexican I’m told—I am spoken to in Spanish everywhere I go. At every grocery store (El Super, Vallarta Supermarket, Food 4 Less), King Taco (excluding the Pasadena branch), and bus stop in …
Thanksgiving dinner with other than the traditional trimmings
Nov. 25, 2006 • Victoria Kraus
The only part of Thanksgiving I look forward to is the four-day weekend. The food is ok. Typical American Thanksgiving food makes me feel unnaturally heavy. I like turkey, mashed lumpy potatoes and gravy, and canned corn, but I refuse to eat cranberry sauce, stuffing or yams. Most of my Thanksgiving dinners, fortunately, have always involved Japanese side dishes to balance off the typical American food. The only times I’ve felt unthankful at Thanksgiving were when I had dinner with …
On hugs
Nov. 18, 2006 • Victoria Kraus
I’m generally not the hugging type. I’ll hug if I’m at a function where everybody is hugging hello and hugging goodbye, i.e. graduation ceremonies. And I’ll hug if a friend who is the hugging type wants one. What I don’t like is that most of my hugs nowadays have become half-hearted including the ones I receive. It is rare that I give or get or both give and get a genuine hearty hug to or from someone. The rare occasions …
On being half
Nov. 11, 2006 • Victoria Kraus
The "being half" experience, specifically for Japanese and white American mixes, vary. Some are more Japanese than others. Some are more white/American than others. Some are a good mix of both. I have friends who fit under each category. I’m a good mix of both and more because I grew up in Southern California in predominantly Mexican neighborhoods. I was fortunate enough to be strongly connected to the cultural traditions of my ethnic heritages including the strong Mexican culture that …
I like Enka
Nov. 4, 2006 • Victoria Kraus
I listen to enka. Mostly in the car. Enka is a traditional form of Japanese music that originated in both the Meiji (1868–1912) and Taisho (1912-1926) periods. Popular enka, what is mostly on the market today, can be likened to old American folk and country music for its themes. The term enka comes from en , which means public speech and ka , song. It began as a form of political dissent - speeches set to music to make them …
Second grade identity
Oct. 28, 2006 • Victoria Kraus
Being “half” came to my attention at seven years old. I remember in my second grade class at Geddes Elementary School, each of us shared in front of the class how we celebrated holidays. Most of my classmates, 99% of them, were second generation Christian/Catholic Mexicans. Most of their parents were from Mexico. I remember many of them saying almost the exact same thing. At Christmas, they would go to church with their family, eat their grandma’s tamales, and get …
