"Here," I answered.
"No, like, before..." she pressed.
"Here. I grew up here, and I went to high school here." I answered, thinking I've answered her question.
"No, your ancestry. Are you Chinese?"
I roll my eyes. Yes, my hair is black, my eyes are dark. My skin has yellow undertones, I tan easily, I am small. It is quite obvious I am Asian.
However, my eyes do not slant, I don't have "sunken eyelids" and they are wide. My face is not round. My skin is not pale. It is equally obvious that I am not Chinese. So, why is that the first ethnicity people guess?
It's not that I find the assumption of being Chinese insulting. I don't. It's the presumption that bothers me.
The girl who asked is also Asian. No, she wasn't Chinese. She tells me she is often asked that question too. I look at her. She has pink undertones. Her hair is a dark brown, almost black. Her eyes are wide, her eyes are a warm chocolate brown, her smile is warm and wide and she is relatively tall. This girl looks Asian, but she is definately not Chinese.
I don't get it. Asia is comprised of many nations. Not just China. But why is that the first nation to come spewing out of someone's mouth?
The Chinese and Japanese are often mistaken for one another. Yes, there are similarities, but if you carefully look at a Chinese woman and a Japanese woman, you can definately see a difference. The Maylay look very different. They are very much a multicultural island nation.
I never guess someone's ethnicity. I don't know why. I don't like to guess. Some people find it offensive and intrusive.
Looks can also be deceiving. I have a friend that looks Chinese, but his family is from Singapore. I have a friend that looks Chinese, but her family is from Mauritius. Another friend is half Korean, half Thai. Another friend is Vietnamiese. The list goes on.
It's the same when someone asks what my nationality is. "Canadian," I answer. I'm a Canadian citizen, I was born and raised here. As Molson's commercials say, "I...am...Canadian." Do you have any idea how many people respond with, "No. Reeeeeeeally. What's your nationality?"
My cousin is a teacher. She teaches grades 8, 9 and 10. One student asked, "are you an Eskimo?"
I volunteered at a science camp. One year, a camper (she was 11 at the time) asked me, "What's your nationality?" This girl was caucasian. I asked her to guess. "Chinese?" was the first word that came from her mouth. I said no; she then continuted to guess, "Japanese? Taiwanese? Thai? Vietnamese? North Korean? Srilankan?..." She didn't guess correctly. She asked this guy who was also volunteering to guess my ethnicity. He looked to be 20 years old and he was caucasian. He looked at me and guessed. He only needed one guess. I'm quite surprised and impressed. I smiled at him.
I look at the girl in my sociology class. "Filipino," I tell her.
She points to herself and says, "Indonesian."
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