I decided to share some awkward race-related conversations I've had with people after reading this post from fellow blogger, High Riser.
Awkward Conversation # 1 (during a hospital visit):
Nurse (looking at me and my shaved head): "Are you a monk?"
Me: "Ummm...no, I'm catholic".
Awkward conversation # 2 (at friend's engagement party):
My friend's future father-in-law (a South African): "Look , it's not the black people's fault that they are not as intelligent as us. They just haven't had the same opportunities. I don't have an problems with black people....but I just wouldn't want my daughter to marry one" [good thing my friend is a red-head then].
Awkward conversation # 3 (in North Queensland asking farmer's permission to carry out research on their property)"
Farmer 1 (asking me): "So can you eat these fish?"
Farmer2 (answering on my behalf): "The japanese will eat anything" [thanks love but I'm not Japanese].
Awkward conversation # 4 (at the gym talking to the friend of a friend when I was still at Uni)"
Friend of a friend: "So...Are you flying back home for the semester break?"
Me: (looking perplexed)
Friend of a friend: "You're an international student right?" [WRONG]
4 comments:
1/ Must have been because of your thick dark curls.
2/ Offensive
3/ Downright offensive
4/ You had a good English teacher back where you came from. An Aussie accent is very hard to teach.
People should keep their traps shut, until they know differently.
I was travelling in Japan with my ex partner and some of his friends. One of his friends, whom we'll refer to as Mrs M, said one night at a restaurant, "I guess that japanese people have to dress in such weird outfits because otherwise they'd have trouble telling eachother apart".
I'm not even kidding here.
And this was not the first time I'd heard her say something so racially ridiculous. My blood boils just thinking about her.
Sounds like Mrs M would do poorly on the race recognition test on alllooksame.com
In all seriousness though, I think Australia as a whole is heaps better than most other countries. I am proud of the fact that we are such a racially diverse country and all the benefits that come with living in such a society (e.g. food).
I have looks that confuse people. Many assume I am from the Middle East or perhaps Turkish (both incorrect) and in younger days when I sunbathed a lot and became very tanned I was actually referred to by a client as 'that West Indian' (also wrong).
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