Quote:
Originally Posted by stuck_in_chuk
I have a colleague who is second-generation Canadian of Chinese descent. She looks Chinese and has a distinctly Chinese name. However, she can't speak more than a few words of Chinese, and those words are slow and heavily Canadian-accented.
She recently traveled to China, and had lots of trouble with the Chinese customs officials because she couldn't speak the language. Meanwhile, all the whiteys on the plane had no problems without knowing a word of Chinese.
Have any of the Chinese posters here ever experienced that (or known anyone who has)?
What is the deal with superstitions based on numbers? Why am I more likely to sell a house to a Chinese person if the street address is, say, 88 than if it is 44?
My wife used to work in an office with a lot of Chinese people in it. She had low seniority, but got a nice office with a window because there was a cemetery a little ways down the street. Her Chinese coworkers avoided the window office because of spirits from the cemetery or something? Does that sound familiar?
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Yes this is an unfortunate reality in many Asian countries where they naturally assume that if you look Asian, then you should speak the language and you are frowned upon or they look at you like are ######ed if you cannot. I've definitely gotten many strange looks and a lower level of service because of this.
Caucausians/Westerners have "gaijin power" and are given the benefit of the doubt based on appearance alone.
Getting a Chinese VISA wasn't too difficult but a somewhat annoying thing for me as I had to explain my employment and educational background to the customs agent who barely spoke Cantonese and spoke no English.
Because of this, I have a bit of complex about travelling to Asian countries where I blend in (China, Japan, Korea) and feel like I need to learn a good measure of language before I even visit.