In case you hadn't figured it out by now, a laowai or 老外 literally meaning "old out" is the slang Chinese term for foreigner. Naturally, the locals immediately apply the term to anyone who doesn't look like them.
Being someone of Asian heritage has given me an interesting perspective that non-Asian laowais don't have.
“。。。你没有黄头发” （"...but you don't have yellow hair..."）
In my interactings with locals, be it in a taxi or a massage place, at some point a discussion of where I'm from comes up. "Ni shi nali ren?" (Where are you from?), to which I promptly reply "wo shi meiguo ren" (I'm American). A stunned look, a snicker, and/or the following comment follows. "ni meiyou huang toufa!" (you don't have yellow hair!). If I had 1 RMB for every time someone had told me that, I wouldn't have to teach to make a living.
Needless to say, most Chinese people, notably those who only see white-looking foreigners on television, cannot seem to grasp the concept of a foreigner looking like them. I guess they were never taught that their ancestors have migrated in droves to other parts of the world, including America. In any case, I always find myself having to explain my entire family history for them to understand how I could be an American "without yellow hair.".
“你日本/韩国/新加坡人吗？” （"Are you Japanese/Korean/Singaporean?"）
A related question comes up when I talk to locals, especially when I'm ordering street food. My terrible Chinese pronunciation probably gives it away, and they immediately assume I'm from Japan, Korea, or some other Asian country. Even after I speak some Chicago-accented English, they never guess that I'm American. And even when I finally tell them, most don't believe me.
“他不是美国人！” ("He's not American!")
There has been a few cases where looking like a local had caused some major misunderstandings, notably at work. Shortly after I started my teaching job here, I had an evaluation from my line manager. I had asked him what the parents thought of the classes I was providing their children. What was both reassuring and disheartening at the same was that the only complaints I got were shortly after I had arrived. The teacher from whom I had inherited my classes was what you would call your all-American girl: tall, white and thin, qualities which I could not have, inasmuch as I could have tried. Luckily for me, I had won the parents over after a few months of teaching. Well...most parents, anyway.
There was an incident in which my physical appearance directly affected the opening of a new class. Last year, I was told that I would be teaching a new group of 4-year olds, and my manager wanted me to conduct a course orientation with him. My manager, who is white Australian, did most of the presentation as I hadn't done a course orientation before. The parents naturally assumed that my manager was going to be their international teacher. So when my manager presented me to the parents as their foreign teacher, every face in the world turned with overwhelming disapproval. Even after one parent asked for me to speak to the students, they were not amused. One man, looking like Chairman Mao's doppelganger and fanning himself a la Karl Lagerfield, openly denounced me in Chinese, declaring that I wasn't American. The other parents soon chimed in, all causing a ruckus with their condemnation of me as a foreign teacher, all because I wasn't what a foreigner was supposed to look like to them. The parents insisted that my manager be their teacher instead of me. Fortunately for me and something I will always be grateful for, my boss refused to give into their demands, and if they did not want me as their teacher, they should request a refund.
All those parents asked for their money back, instead of trying out one class with me.
There is a silver lining to all of this. Somehow this turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the following week a new group of preschoolers replaced the ones whose parents decided to drop out. These students are currently my favorite class of preschoolers. Had it not been for this incident, I wouldn't have been blessed with the group of students I have now.
卧底老外 （Stealthy Laowai）
All misunderstandings aside, being Asian-looking in China does have some amusing advantages. For instance, I get stared at less when out in public (something that happened quite often when I lived in Spain). As you can imagine, if you don't have slanty eyes with yellow skin, chances are good you'll be the object of many a stare. The only times I have gotten stared at is when I'm speaking in English or Spanish. At those times I get the look of "how did you do that? what language is he speaking? why isn't he speaking Chinese?" Worst-case scenario, if there ever were to be a round-up of foreigners, I have a feeling I could escape undetected...just as long as I kept my laowai mouth shut.
