Don't classify me!

My parents invited me to dinner one night this summer. My mom told me they we grilling out, and said I should stop and get a nice watermelon from the farmer's market for dessert.

That night, I was driving home from work, and decided that I'd stop at the grocery store on my way. My drive from work is close to an hour and a half, and I didn't know if the farmer's market would still be open. As I drive, I think about the location of this grocery store. It's out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by farm country.

Wait a minute! There are no black people in this area. I'm going to have to walk into a store packed with white people and buy just a watermelon.

There is no fucking way. None.

I don't even order fried chicken when I go out to eat, no matter how much I may want to. That shit is eaten in the privacy of my home. Even though I'm a rock n' roll kind of girl, I like the occasional hip hop. I still feel like an ass blasting Mos Def in my car. Especially since it's all dented up on the side. Typical...black girl in a hooptie listening to rap!

I went home and told my boyfriend, who is white, that he has to buy the watermelon. Or at the very least, carry the watermelon, which I will then pay for.

Of course this leads me to wonder if other people feel this way. I can't be the only person worried about reinforcing some stupid stereotype? Am I?

Tales of a Chinese Girl in Canada

So I've been in America Junior twice now in the past month. Little weird, I know. But at least, I haven't been detained yet. I've specifically been to Montreal, where the francophone population is higher there than anywhere else in North America, yes this includes Restaurant Row, people! Just becuase you can order "escargot" does not make you a francophone.

I know a little French. I mean at least enough to get me through a simple transaction. So its been handy the past couple of times I've been up there. I can order poutine with the best of them now!

But on to my point. I'm Chinese. To some, I'd be considered a banana. Yellow on the outside, white on the inside. I was adopted into an American family and raised with all the values and morals that coincide with the American Dream. I am in essence a full blown banana!

I just got back from a trip up there yesterday. An amazing city and I love it. What I love even more though, is that I love getting hit on no matter what the language barrier!!

I was relegated to shopping by myself on Friday afternoon, while my friend who I was staying with worked on a paper for school. This was fine. I know Montreal well enough now, to navigate it like a true Montrealer.....okay maybe not that well, but point me in the direction of a mall and I'm all over that like butter on bread.

So I go shopping and am heading back to the Metro to go back to my friends place and as I'm waiting for the train, I notice a group of rowdy boys, probably no older than 18 or 19. I don't pay them much mind until they come and talk to me. One of them starts talking to me in French and I tell them I can't understand them and I don't speak enough French to converse with them. His friend starts translating then for him. The conversation goes pretty much like this:

Friend: My friend thinks you're hot
Me: Tell him I said Thank you
Friend: He wants to know if you want to go out with him sometime?
Me: Tell him Thanks, but I don't live in Montreal
Friend: He wants to know if he can have your number?
Me: I look straight at him and tell him NO, (the one word that is understandable in both English and French)

Thankfully the train comes then and I make it back to my friends' place without issue. But as I'm thinking about it, getting hit on in French is pretty cool. Especially since I'm Chinese.

But it leads me to this question: Because I look so "Americanized", so "white" to put it loosely, does this cause one to look at me and not recognize that I am in fact Asian? In the world that we live in, do we as "bananas" get lumped into that category that is the same as the white folk?

Because if so, I don't want that. I'm proud to be Asian, but also proud to be Americanized (is that even a word), but if push came to shove, I'm happy being a minority. I happy knowing that I'm different and knowing that my skin is yellow, even if I may not look good in green. (This kinda screws me on St. Patty's Day, but thats a totally different story!)


*Edit*

I was talking about this blog post with someone who's opinion I value greatly (don't tell him that, it'll go to his head) and he pointed out that he felt that I didn't tie my points together very well. So I'm going to explain what I meant. And why being a minority is so important in this instance.

Have you ever been to another country where English probably isn't their first language? They may be able to speak it, but it still is not their predominant language? I have that experience when I go up to Montreal. And lately, I've been there A LOT. I should probably shell out the $200 for the Berlitz Total Immersion course in French and suck it up, but I digress.

If you're reading this and you know me and have seen what I look like, you KNOW that English is probably the only language I can speak well (and that is arguable at times). I for all intents and purposes look WHITE. I look like I had the whole fucking American Dream wrapped up and placed on my doorstep (look being the keyword here people).

You'll notice that in each culture people dress differently. I've noticed that people in Montreal tend to be very "artsy". Almost punky, but in a cool way. I almost wish I could pull it off. Then Asians dress....how did my friend put this......."trashy Asian". Basically, you dress like you have a lot a money and want people to know it. But its trashy because they completely overkill it. I can see this.

You'll also notice that when you see a native Montrealer, you can probably safely assume that they speak French. When you see a "trashy Asian", you can probably guess they speak some Asian language and possibly French.

This is NOT the case with me. I don't wear trashy Asian, I don't speak one speck of Chinese (well, I can say Happy New Year), and I don't speak French all that well (those 5 years of French classes didn't sink in so well).

And the thing is.....I LOOK IT. I look like a poster child for a Tommy Hilfiger America ad. And looking like you speak a certain language is important.....especially if the country isn't your own.

Basically, the whole point of this post, was, because I LOOK like I only speak English, I found it humorous that I would get hit on in French. They didn't even attempt English on me. Of course, they translated, but still. Does looking a certain way cause people to assume that you may or may not speak their first language?

And because I look very American, does this cause people to just lump me with the white folk?

This post in essence was two parts. Two questions. I hope I've answsered them and if I haven't (you know who you are), just ask.