Translating for Parents Means Growing Up Fast

Many immigrants come to depend on their children because they can’t understand the language of the country which they moved to. However, there is a downside to this custom. When children are their parents’ interpreters, the dynamics of the typical family become inverted and the duties can bring very big strain to these children. I have never experienced such a situation which parent’s and child’s roles are reversed. Yet, these days, I felt kind of a same feeling as these children. Last weekend, my parents came to see me. I introduced them to a friend who came from America. He can’t understand Japanese yet and my parents can’t understand English well. So, at the moment, I was an interpreter and I felt I was not a small daughter who is controlled everything by my parents anymore.