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Q: A laowai in my own country?
Sitting at a Chinese restaurant a mile from my high school home and the wairess says to my wife "ni ba ni jia gei lao wai". ..... she married a "foreigner". Now I get that the word "lao wai" doesn't exactly translate to foreigner and can mean white person in general but come on! I really wanted to say something but was more interested in my lemon chicken and scorpion bowl (lol American Chinese food) than interacting with this person. She figured out later in the meal that I understood Putonghua but I doubt she'd even realize why I might take offense to being called a foreigner when I'm down the street from where I grew up. Do you resent being called a lao wai when you're not even in China? I didn't like it back when I lived in China much but at least understood it more.
Don't worry about it my fellow wai-guo-ren. Their language is my second language, so please trust me when I say this isn't a language that you can be creative with, it's very basic. English is abstract we can say or create anything we wanna say with it.
RandomGuy:
You eat yet? Go no go? Like no like? This what? etc... Very basic structure, indeed.
Don't worry about it my fellow wai-guo-ren. Their language is my second language, so please trust me when I say this isn't a language that you can be creative with, it's very basic. English is abstract we can say or create anything we wanna say with it.
RandomGuy:
You eat yet? Go no go? Like no like? This what? etc... Very basic structure, indeed.
I am kind of on the fence about it.
I understand that it is a term used to describe "foreigners" or "outsiders" and many Chinese are really just brainwashed to use it to perpetuate the "us" vs. "them" thing.
However... another part of me thinks... screw this idiot. She came to YOUR COUNTRY... and tries to use this term on you! She could have called you mei guo ren, jia na da ren, fa guo ren... or the proper term used for whereever you come from.
Instead, she uses the most ignorant term for a foreigner "lao wai". I doubt she is being malicious but perhaps she should be taught a lesson in manners instead of the old... "oh well... she doesn't know..."
When we are in their country, we can take the hits... but when they come to my country.. HELL NO!
RandomGuy:
You can just use 'huaren' (yellow person) back at them, or call them Japanese for a good laugh.
No it isn't a language thing, it is easy to say out of race, a non chinese, or just plain American!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It boils down to their ingrain racist mindset that has been drilled into them since birth. They are taught to believe that the Chinese (Han) race is special and evolved separate from non Chinese, other races are insignificant. Anyone who thinks different are ignoring the origin, culture, history and use.
ironman510:
It's more fun when they try to guess where we are from in one month I'm from England and American 80% of the time, than I'm from Canada 20% to finish the month off.
The response should be "Zhe li, wo bu shi laowai, ni shi laowai"!
Hotwater:
Lol, took me a minute to work out you were referring to me!
ironman510:
haha, we've been here too long. I actually don't like understanding what they are saying sometimes. I wanna look t them and say: What you don't know how to turn on a computer?
dongbeiren:
I really wanted to say that. At the time I just didn't feel like embarrassing this giggling waitress who basically seemed like a nice but ignorant person.
I generally rarely get offended, doesn't matter if I hear or understand what had been said.
Why would I put some manure (by being offended) into my heart?
If I can, I give reply, but I rarely take it as an offence.
ironman510:
How do you feel when you're trapped in the elevator and the kids say: mama kan, ta shi wai guo ren. lol
icnif77:
I just understand 'waigouren' out of your Chinese sentence, and I always reply 'ni shi waiguoren' accompanied with index finger pointing, it doesn't matter to whom. I told the same to a cop, when they took me out of the classroom few months ago.
Cop was a bit surprised on my 'extensive Chinese ....', but after he saw me smiling, he smiled too.
With kids in elevator, I usually show my tongue, when kid looks at me surprised as I look different. Kid will always hid her/his face to the mother's skirt, and then peek at me again after few seconds. My tongue out, kid in skirt again.... Then, we arrive to the bottom.
It's funny for mom, because she understands my joke, but kiddie is afraid.
Last Saturday, I walked DT and few (4 or 5) Primary school kids were following me, after I replied 'ni shi laowai'. They were surprised, because I don't look Chinese, but I can 'speak' Chinese. It was like bunch of kids following me in some 25m distance. Then, I passed by police van parked by the road. I turned around and kids were still behind me. I look at them and point to the cops car ...kids don't move and I pretend like I talk to the cop .... all kids run away and I continued laughing.
I always get smile out of them with my re: 'ni shi laowai'. Always!
I turn it into the humour and some (you) are offended!
I was screaming 'Ni shi laowai' unprovoked at Chinese in Italy few years ago.... LOL
icnif77:
We differ! It makes me happy, when I can see other people smile, doesn't matter the nationality.
icnif77:
Maybe I am, but for different reasons than you think. It's all about me .....
i.e. 'why would I hurt myself, because of the other people's action?'
Would I gain anything, if I would say: 'mastards Chinese are cheating all the time with the Contract?'
I'd rather dial SAFEA (where's 'expat-wife'?) and sort the matter in my benefit. It's also more practical, I'd say.
BTW, I used one of your advices at my present School. I cannot openly write which one, because rep. is reading the Board.
'School was late with holidays salary and even told me I am not entitled for it.'
So, I told them my 'request' from your reply, and holiday's salary was posted in 2 days.
That really works, but they are ignoring me, and I will repeat my request next week for the 3rd time.
My guess is that mentally she is still in China. The U.S. is still so foreign to her that she doesn't picture herself being a part of the American society, so as a result in her own mind all non-Chinese people around her are foreigners. Another point is that many Chinese people (it shouldn't come as a surprise to you) take foreigners for idiots and can't imagine that anyone except for them can learn a foreign language, especially the Chinese, that is so special.
Chinese sometimes call their father/mother "laoba" instead of "baba", "laoma" in stead of "mama" to show intimateness. Cozy oral expression.
Laowai is a neuter. Here now, more uses to call foreigners 歪果仁 istead of 外国人. This one has some joke inside, not offensive though. 歪 means "askew"，果仁 means "nutlet/nut". It's kinda funny, as nut means stupid? No ... not at all.
ironman510:
Also for dad: Ba-bi.. I always think they are saying Barbie. lol
it means you are white if you are chinese they call you geilianbuyaolian and monitor your sleep as part of the factory/company's $300 weekly salary requirements
What I don't get about this - and don't get why Iron didn't really crack the shits - is this waitress gets into his wife's face about choosing to marry a non-Chinese person.
Now, as an Aussie, I'm used to having brief chats with shop staff - they're people, after all,. But you do NOT get to cast aspersions on me or mine! You do not get to basically insult me or mine, or cast judgements.
Not to mention the complete stupidity of being in a country (obviously, moving to a country) that has a fairly good idea of multiculturalism - where it's no big deal to marry people from other ethnicities.
That is.... bringing one's willful ignorance with them, and then having the hide to make such comments in public in a nation that embraces diversity (as long as you're not Muslim).
She deserved to be chewed out loudly!!! And seriously embarrassed (if not fired).
dongbeiren:
I totally hear you and she was unprofessional and ignorant. However I'd rather take the high road and realize I'm dealing with an ignorant child and just brush it off. I still tipped 15 percent, went about my day and thanked The good lord I don't live in China anymore and don't have to deal with Neanderthals every day.
bumping this back to make sure it stays on the front page for awhile longer.
I actually got annoyed today for the first time ever when being referred to as a Laowai.
Went to pay the management fees for our office in the CBD and as I walked to the cashiers deak she looked at her colleague walking past me and muttered some including laowai. I continued to pay the fees and then asked her nicely (in Chinese) if she spoke English. No....
So I asked her colleague and she spoke English. I then told her to tell the other one that to refer to someone as a laowai basically to their face is impolite and asked her how she would feel if I looked at her and then said to my friend, look a Chinese!
She got the point I was making eventually.
Why did I let it annoy me? Tiredness basically and expected better of someone who works in a buliding where foreigners are regularly there.
Englteachted:
It's easy to get worn down, tonight I lost it at a large group of college students who were talking about me like I'm an idiot and yelling out what little English they know. 10 minutes later one of them realized that I understood what they were doing. God these people are so fucking stupid.
