“Kunichiwa!”

I get that a lot. Or the shopkeepers and rickshaw drivers will ask, “Where you from--Korea?” (I guess they don’t they know “hello” in Korean)

It drives me crazy, the presumption that because I’m Asian I must be Japanese, Korean or Chinese. One girl I traveled with is Japanese, and she hates it when people call out kunichiwa. Again, it’s just that assumption that because she’s Asian she must be Japanese (even if it’s a correct assumption). I don’t really get annoyed by people asking where I’m from, even if after I say “the U.S.” they respond with, “But you don’t look like you’re from the U.S.” I know not everyone understands how much diversity there is back home, and then I can explain that my family is from Vietnam.

I always appreciate it when someone puts some thought into their guess. When people asked if I was from Thailand and Indonesia, I said, “No, but good guess!” Yesterday a man called out confidently, “Vietnam,” and I whirled around and said in wonder, “How did you know?”

My sister and I spoke to an Indian guy yesterday who was curious about us being Asian-American. He asked if we ever got teased back home for our race. We said no, but explained that California is incredibly diverse, so there are many Asians. He told us that for him, it was strange to see Asian faces but hear perfect English.