Traveling While Asian: Navigating Stereotypes

“Mira, un chinito.” I heard a señora whisper. “Look, a Chinese kid.”

As with many Asian and Asian American travelers, I’ve grown incredibly frustrated at being reduced to my facial features and skin color while traveling abroad, especially in places where people haven’t interacted much with people of Asian descent. While walking on the street, I’ve gotten used to a couple of nihaos to konichiwas by people who most likely do not know these languages.

In the past, my response would have been 1) to stay silent and walk away in shame, pretending I didn’t hear anything 2) to scream back and shame them, sometimes with not so kind words.

Then, I remembered that it was a privilege for me to have grown up and traveled to so many places, which allowed me to cultivate my love for languages and cultures.

I took a look at the group. They were just a family of ordinary Mexicans on a weekend trip. They were insensitive, but probably didn’t mean harm. I might even be the first Chinese person they’ve seen.

I decided to try a different approach to make her think about what she said.

I turned around, smiled, and said in a joking tone:

“Pos sí! Aquí estoy, cien por ciento chino norteño!”

Yep you bet, here I am, 100% northern Chinese!

She froze. Her cheeks flushed and turned red. She certainly did not expect me to respond in fluent Spanish with such confidence. I can tell that she regrets putting herself in such an awkward situation.

“Y ustedes? De qué parte de la república son? Quieren que les tome una foto?”

And What about you guys? Whereabouts in Mexico are you from? Would you like me to take a picture for you?

Somehow, this broke the ice. We helped each other take pictures and slowly warned up to each other. I learned that they came from different parts of Mexico: Chiapas, Michoacán, Guerrero, and Oaxaca. They were surprised that I had traveled to so many parts of Mexico and spoke Spanish fluently.

At the end, they asked whether they could take a picture with me. I happily agreed.

I could have chosen to respond with anger. I could have assumed that they are racists. However, life has taught me to avoid black and white thinking. By learning to remain calm and confident, friendly but assertive, I hope to continue to use love to challenge stereotypes (including my own) and build friendships with “strangers”.