I just got back from a month-long trip to the USA. Great food, great friends, and more of those cringe-worthy "So where do you live?" interactions. You know that feeling you get - maybe you're out shopping and the cashier wants your zip code, or maybe you're introduced by a friend as "visiting from out of town", and you desperately try to avoid saying it, but as soon as you're forced to utter the words "I live in Hong Kong" you get that sinking feeling in your stomach and you know what's coming.
Actual comments I've gotten:
- Ooh! Do you speak Japanese? No. NO.
- You must be really sick of sushi! again - nope.
- Do they have cars in Hong Kong? no. We use rickshaws and domesticated dragons.
- (Upon learning my husband doesn't eat meat) - Wow! Hong Kong must be a great place to be vegetarian! um, no.
- OMG - how do you LIVE without Facebook?? sigh.
- I heard it's illegal to drink alcohol there. what?? NO! How the hell would I still be here?
- Do you ever worry you'll accidentally cross the border into North Korea and get arrested? I... I don't even...
But then again, I got to spend a month eating Tex-Mex (one of the few cuisines still unavailable here) so I can't complain.
Now it's time to get back to watching anime, eating endangered species, buying used panties out of vending machines, and plotting the overthrow of capitalist pigs.
Oh ignorance...good fun
ReplyDeleteI'm not trying to explicitly mock anyone - I actually have a lot of interesting conversations with people who're interested in Hong Kong or who've visited here. These are just some of the highlights.
ReplyDeleteJust finally read this post - reminds me so much of the reactions I got when I went to high school in NC!
ReplyDelete- So, do you have electricity in your country?
(we invented the CD. You know that company Philips? Dutch) Erm, no, we don't. We're still in the dark ages.
- Holland! Isn't that the capital of Denmark?
Right on the money. So where are you going to college?
- do you all wear wooden shoes and live in windmills?
Yes, we have 16 million people living in windmills. And wooden shoes are great for driving your horse and buggy to school.
Hilde
And your national food is tulips, right?
ReplyDelete