Sometimes I wonder if my features are really that far off.... When in Phuket or Bangkok, I get mistaken as a Thai and people spoke to me in Thai. The air steward from Thai Airways even offered me Thai newspapers when I specifically asked for ENGLISH newspapers.
In Manila, I get people speaking to me in Tagalog, thinking that I'm Filippino.
In Malaysia, a vendor I was working with for an event had such a look of shock on his face when I spoke to him in Cantonese. That's because he thought I was Malay.
The only place outside of Singapore where I get correctly identified as a Chinese is in India. Ironically, this is one place where I have to spin a story to say I'm from Sikkim because otherwise, they won't allow me onstage as an usher because I'm not Indian.
Gosh.... I'm a Singaporean Chinese! And proud to be an effectively bilingual one, being able to read, write and speak in both English and Chinese. Do I really look that different??
About Me
- kittyn
- Hmm... a little tough to describe myself... think wierd is the word. Hahah... being straight-forward and someone who can't hide what she's thinking / feeling... truth and honesty in friends is highly valued. :D
2 comments:
at least u got a country whr ppl can recognise u as chinese.... unlike me *sob sob*
i understand yr frustration lah. I'm a dark-skinned malay with mixed chinese and arab blood many many generations back, so technically i'm more than 99% pure malay.
Despite that, Taxi drivers, supermarket aunties, strangers constantly mistake me for chinese everywhere I go. I have to keep repeating, "wo ma-lai ren" , to which i will always get back a response along the lines of "Eh, you malay, but look like chinese!?" That is if i'm lucky. If i'm unlucky, they will simply continue speaking in mandarin...oh! ni de malai ren?...and I dont know what.. so forth and so on.
But can't be helped, these days it can be quite hard to differentiate who's what, too many mixed marriages lead to blurring of original facial patterns.
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