Interactions
I was getting my hair cut at a local barber shop. In conversing with the barber he asked how much I will be making as a teacher. I told him 3000 RMB a month. He kinda laughed and asked why I didn't just stay in America. This has taken place every time I tell someone how much I will make. Beijing is a pretty expensive city though, so its a bit skewed. Plus I won't be paying for housing. One of my fellow teacher teammates did a little research and said we'd be making about the same as a successful farmer in Henan.When bargaining in the local shops, I’ve heard it said that it helps to tell the clerks that you are a teacher and that you make a low Chinese salary. They say it helps soften them up a little. That’s good to know.
A second repeated pattern of conversation I have with Beijingers is when they compliment me on my mandarin. When I remember I am in China, I decline their compliment and tell them I'm quite bad and am still trying to learn more. That's what I'm supposed to do. Other times I stay in American mode and say 'thank you, my mom made sure I'd remember by speaking to me and making me go to Chinese School." That's not what I'm supposed to do and only shows off the fact I'm not from here.
At this point people will invariably ask what type of person I am, since I am certainly not white. I tell them I'm a Chinese with American citizenship. From here I get a wider variety of responses. The barber said that it made sense, but that I didn't look fully Chinese and chalked it up to the fact that American food I grew up with. That was an interesting theory. One taxi driver just straight up yelled at me, "Ha, so if you were born in America you're pretty much an American, not Chinese." That comment stung a little. Another taxi driver said I looked Chinese and he could tell. I wonder what the distinguishing traits are.
I’m out to dinner with my cousin Xiao Mu and his cousin (whom I’m not related to at all... I think) and her friend. Their names slip my mind. I suck at remembering Chinese names. The two of them have been spending their high school years studying in London and come back to China in the summers. It was nice to be able to use a little English here and there when I stumbled over my Mandarin and have them understand. We dined on traditional Hubei food, which I found familiar. I realized this is because my grandma is from Wuhan, Hubei. Rice covered meatballs and steamed meat slices with grains covering it were dishes Grandma use to make. I miss my Grandma. I hope she is well. Anyway, this topic of my identity came up amongst others. Xiao Mu asked me what I tell people when they ask where I’m from.
“I say I’m a Chinese with American citizenship,” I reply
“That’s a mouthful,” he says.
“Well, I mean, I guess you’re pretty much an American though right?” one of the two girls adds.
“Yea, you have that ABC look,” says the other. ABC stands for American Born Chinese by the way.
“What does an ABC look like?” I ask
“Like you,” one of the girls giggle.
“I dunno, like... half way. Some Chinese, some American,” says the other girl, “Maybe it’s in the way you walk.”
I nod my head and accept it. It’s not that big a deal. I am who I am and in the final analysis, I’m proud of it. It’s not so much an issue of I don’t know who I am as how I ought to go about being who I am. Gotta find a new niche. The Chinese American in China niche. =)
“Don’t worry, we will make you ‘honorary Chinese’,” Xiao Mu laughs. He says ‘honorary Chinese’ in English. I think that’s kind of ironic.
posted by Unknown @ 7:18 PM
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