I was waiting in front of the Mini Post Office in 7th Mile this morning, dressed in my office wear, when a Malay lady walked up to me and asked "Kitak jual karpet ke?" (Do you sell carpets?). Kitak dari kedai XXXX ke? (Are you from XXX shop?). I was flabbergasted. I said no, I don't sell carpets, I am a lecturer at Unimas. She looked at me for a while, and then said, "Kitak sik ada kawan yang jual apa-apa ke?" (You don't have any friends who sell things do you?). She had this face of disbelief, like I lying to her that I was not selling carpets.Ha Ha Ha. Assumptions.
When I was courting my wife, her sister and the people in the village would warn her to take care against this "Tambi" (Indian).
When I was in Hamilton, I got stares and people even walked up to me and spoke Spanish.
Others were quite usual to me, Arab, Afhgan, Indian, Punjabi, some sort of Mediterranean person, and the like (depending on the length of my hair and beard at that particular time).
Even my brother (a priest at that time) got stopped at an airport after 9 11 as they thought he was an Arab (He had a beard and long hair at that time).
That's the price we have to pay for being Eurasian. I am neither European nor Asian. And it creates a lot of funny incidents...and presumptions and assumption by others. Sometimes funny, sometimes painful.
Now, please do excuse me while I go and shave... Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
Ernest
7 comments:
My children are mixed; scottish and indian. They too get mistaken for all kinds of different peoples. My daughter tells me that it's here in auckland that, for the first time, nobody seems to care much where's she's from ... interesting that!
OMG. Prof, u really make me laugh till the bottom of my belly. Good post... Well, the 'Tambi' one really good. Never though of that. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.............
Haha...I guess this mistaken "identity" is common for the mixed blood people. And, Mr Prof. I must admit that when I first saw you I too thought that you are either Northern Indian or Punjabi!!! Heheheee
Yes, I was called up by the Singapore Customs twice when I had a beard and long hair (looked like Osama long lost twice removed cousin. I find myself being called Indian nowadays more often (must be the tan Kuching is giving me) though I'm often mistaken for a Singh, Bangladeshi or a lost soul from Afghanistan. Though when I was in NZ I was called a Pakeha . . .
HAHAHALOL .. you do like some middle east block who are probably into some oil businesses minus the turban.. wait HAHAHAHAHA ROTFLOL!!
- von
ha ha ha...good one prof,fortunately she didnt ask you got "ayam texas"kah..coz very rare to have mat salleh kat sarawak lah.The one we all have here are pakistani jual carpet.salah orang tanya lah.
dick
As a mixed/multiracial person, you will be treated as what you (most) look like, depending on where you're at. That's expected because no way anyone can tell that there're two or three types of heritage running through your veins. On the bright side, a lot of people think that being mixed is fascinating.
I'm a fifth generation Sarawakian, mostly Chinese (any mixing of blood took place in my grandmother parents' generation) but because I still look kind of "mixed", people think I had plastic surgery since I was 15....but in US, I'm just another Asian from a place they've never heard of.
By the way, I read somewhere that children with special needs teach their parents about true love and faith - all the best to you and your wife.
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