A few months before my son’s due date, I called my mother to ask her to help us out with our baby.

She said, “I think American babies are different than Korean babies.”

“What do you mean?”

“American people take their babies outside right away. You would never do that with a Korean baby. American babies must be built stronger. I don’t think I would know how to take care of an American baby.”

I’m not sure what it is about being a hyphenated American, but nearly every immigrant group seems to claim two qualities for themselves that set them apart from mainstream Americans.