Yesterday I decided to get up a bit earlier to the lab, the make a quick stopover at a nasi lemak stall on the way. One of my colleagues had recommended it; I tried a bite and it wasn't too bad. A few days ago I wanted to try it but unfortunately it was sold out.
Well, I was in luck this time - it was almost finished and she was gonna close shop already. As she was dishing out the rice and condiments, we made conversation like whether I'm studying and where I'm heading. And then suddenly she she popped this question.
"Adik ni Melayu ke Cina?"
I was practically stunned. This was totally a first for me and out of nowhere. So I was like, "Huh? Apa dia?
"Adik ni, bangsa Cina atau bangsa Melayu?"
I managed to get my head back, and decided to play along. "Kak rasa saya ni nampak macam Cina ke atau Melayu?"
"Cina ada, Melayu pun ada." She answered shyly. I gotta admit, I was practically laughing my ass out inside. As she was packing up the nasi lemak, I told her that I was really Chinese, aesthetically at least.
My colleague and I had a good laugh about it later. What made this incident hilarious was that this was the first time I've ever been asked this question.
I recalled how during uni where 99.99% of the time, a Chinese dude will strike up a conversation with me in Mandarin, if they happen to be a complete stranger or don't know me well enough. Or the time when I mentioned that I've never went to a Chinese school, they looked aghast and shocked beyond words. Which is probably not too far from how most of our politicians looked when they saw the results of the recent General Election.
When I mentioned this to my friend, he said that's because I have a, to put it crudely, a typical Chinese. With slit eyes and rather fair skin and all. Hehe, I guess the kakak above would disagree with him.
This incident happened to you is really a good joke of the day, i mean it in a good way =) For tonnes of times i was asked if I'm a Malay, I started to get interested when someone suggested I come from East Malaysia. Maybe it's time I claim my Bumi priviledges.
ReplyDeleteEnjoying a good joke,
Cher Linn
Yup, it is really a great joke. For me you doesn't look like malay. Innocent face got la. haha...
ReplyDeleteFor your info, I am shore based not working on board. I think that having a blog on food is more appealing as everyone needs to eat & I like to eat too. Funny is that I won't fat even eat a lot. Maybe I am being influenced by big names such as kyspeaks.com & masak-masak.
hahaha... I could emphatise.
ReplyDeleteI've been called banana for exactly the same (but opposite) reason. I look like i came out of english school. And if I speak chinese or any dialects at all, they'll all be like... U know chinese??
:) maybe its a good thing, not having a typical look. We are naturally un-stereotypable.
cheers
w2
And i thought i'm the only one that face this problem.. congrats man. u joined the club
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments guys.
ReplyDeleteCher Linn: I could imagine how people can somewhat mistaken you for some East Malaysian, origin... And I don't think Bumi privileges could be claimeed just like that like a coupon.
Boon Chuan: You're adding to the number of people who thinks I've an innocent face... Damn. Well, food blogs are interesting and your pictures look tantalising too - I should not visit your blog when I'm hungry.
Wey Wen: I guess I'm the opposite. Typical chinese who's actually a semi-banana. My poor mandarin would be a giveaway, though I can speak regular Cantonese. I probably get the same weird looks as you do when I speak English as when you speak Mandarin. Oh well, guess you're right on the bright side thing.
Au Yong: Wasn't aware there's a club for it. Do you get mistaken a lot of times? This was my first, and hopefully the last. ; P