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anonymous
Q: Why think I am American?
I am black, an African. The moment they see me, a lot of Chinese know I am African. That's not surprising. But what surprises me is: I have heard some Chinese, especially in small cities, say ' he must be a Mei Guo ren'. I have heard this several times, making me wonder - is Africa not the first place all Chinese think of when they see a black person like me? I have had to correct some, to say hey, I am from Africa. Although I am sure this is not common it just puzzles me somehow. In China, is every foreigner American? Silly part of my question, right? But the essence of it all is - why first think of America not Africa when they see me ( because that seems to be how things are supposed to be)?
Didn't you know? There are only two countries, China and 美日韩. You only think different because your Obama country president lie to you, say there are many countries.
Didn't you know? There are only two countries, China and 美日韩. You only think different because your Obama country president lie to you, say there are many countries.
Many places act the same way. In Puerto Rico, most assume that anyone who is Asian comes from China. They rarely describe someone as "Asiatico" but will say "Chino" or "China".
This seems a common preconception here... foreigner = westerner = American. It's a little annoying sometimes.
Knowledge of Africa in particular seems quite patchy, to say the least. I actually had a someone ask me just the other week: "I want to go to Africa soon, what type of money do they use in this country?"
Yesterday a girl at a supermarket- stared at me for 2 minutes, and finally said
are you American?
I said - mei you, wo shi yin duo ren
She - wow, so far...
Me - far?
She- yea it's somewhere close to Africa. so far... how long it takes to come China?
Me ...
True story 
Sorry, to dig out old post... any latest experiences worth sharing?
DrMonkey:
The notion of geography in most people I met in China baffled me, along with cultural awareness. My favorite one is a English language major fresh out of university being genuinely surprised that Italian people speaks Italian, not English : yep, such a thing as Italian language. I used to think it's due to the education system, lack of curiosity, and insular culture. But then, outside of Asia, how many people I met who couldn't quite tell what's the difference between Koreans, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese...
Karma101:
The notion of geography was my real concern, we are neighbors… well unless if you start to go east first... then yes, yes… we are far far away. Also against the popular belief of mei guo ren being either obama or tom cruise… I am brown.
Waitress: Are you a White Russian?
me: no why?
waitress: you look Russian and your skin is very white
If I wear one particular jacket then I'm Russian. If I wear more sporty attire then I'm American. If I wear a shirt then I'm English.
