From a NYTimes article titled China’s Financial Industry Recruits Abroad: Despite the swelling number of unemployed financial service employees, those qualified to work for Chinese firms is extremely small. Mr. Leggett’s background in Chinese — he studied Mandarin for four years as an undergraduate student at Columbia — made his move feasible. He has shocked many recruiters with his Chinese ability: “They see a tall, white guy and they’ve got low expectations. When they find out I can say a lot more than ‘hello,’ in Chinese, they begin to take me seriously.” Oh that’s great. But when they see an average-height Asian girl they have different expectations. Every time I speak to a Chinese person, they expect me to be completely fluent. Here are five different circumstances I find myself in: 1. I tell them I am Chinese (or Chinese-American). Laughter. Okay, seriously, what am I? Proceed to point out certain superficial features that lend then to believe that I am of a different race. Conclusion: I speak Chinese, but I look Korean or Japanese. Therefore, I am Korean or Japanese. 2. I tell them I am Chinese-American. Disappointment. Believe that as a descendent of Chinese people, my Chinese should be
Posts Tagged ‘ Korean? ’
Thinking Outside the Box
Today I wanted to make sandwiches for dinner, and since it’s not convenient to purchased sliced meat nearby, I went to a few places that sell 肉夹馍 (rou jia mo, meat sandwiched between steamed bread) to buy some meat. I asked them if they sold their meat separately. Me: Do you sell your meat separately? Supermarket woman: This meat is expensive and hard to cook. Me: Okay, can I buy some? How much would 10RMB buy? SW: 3 pieces Me: 3 pieces? You put more than that in one 肉夹馍, and those only cost 3 RMB. SW: This meat is tasty! It is hard to cook! I spent a lot of time making it! Me: Fuck you. (walks away) I try another place that sells the meat outside the supermarket. Me: Do you sell your meat separately? Meat man: No, this meat is expensive. Me: Why can’t you just cut some off like you were making a 肉夹馍 and just give me the meat equivalent and I will pay for it like it was a regular 肉夹馍? MM: Why do you just want the meat? Me: I want to make a sandwich: MM: Then you can bring your bread slices
I’m Not Dying!
Around this time last year, I unknowingly developed an allergy to dust. My nose was constantly stuffed and I had an intense and loogie-filled cough. By springtime I was so uncomfortable that I went to health services at Brown, but the doctors there couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me. She suggested I see an allergist, but I never did. Things got worse, and persisted through the summer, long after hayfever season. After finally visiting an allergist this summer, I found out that I had developed an allergy to dust. I took antibiotics that cleared up my nose, but I still had a phlegm issue that often left me short of breath. It was hard to figure out what was going on, primarily because I was moving around so much. By the time I went to the doctor at Brown, I had a few months left before going to New York for the summer, then home for two weeks, and then off to China. I went to the hospital at Harbin Institute of Technology, and getting any help from the doctors was impossible. The doctor asked what was wrong, I started to explain, but before I got into my