tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22578035.post116483369139538525..comments2024-03-18T05:14:45.515-04:00Comments on Life on Manitoulin: Harmony in a Multicultural city???Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09251507898309184477noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22578035.post-1164989559227772972006-12-01T11:12:00.000-05:002006-12-01T11:12:00.000-05:00Wow! Thanks for commenting and sharing, Canine! I ...Wow! Thanks for commenting and sharing, Canine! I grew up in a predominantly "white" neighbourhood and most of the people who lived there spoke French (when I lived in Montreal). French is my second language and English is my mother tongue. <BR/><BR/>I know what you mean (about everything you wrote). It makes me sad to see so many filipinas going to North America (or elsewhere) to be nannies or housekeepers. Some of the ones I met were teachers or nurses in the Philippines but came abroad to make money to send back to their families. <BR/><BR/>Always great reading your comments. I enjoy your blog. It's great! :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09251507898309184477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22578035.post-1164946571878581742006-11-30T23:16:00.000-05:002006-11-30T23:16:00.000-05:00What a fkn prick!!!I remember one of my former stu...What a fkn prick!!!<BR/><BR/>I remember one of my former students of Middle Eastern descent totally treated me like dirt...He talked back to me, was rude and sullen and had a major attitude. I realized later was that in his culture, Filipinos in general (especially Filipinas) are considered low class servants, nannies there. There are a lot of Filipinos who work in the Middle East (and even in Europe) as domestics or overseas laborers. They aren't seen as professionals, even though many of them probably have college degrees. If the Philippine economy wasn't so screwed up, they wouldn't be sending their own people overseas to support their families back home.<BR/><BR/>Your stories about "You speak English so well" and "Where are you from?" are so familiar. I grew up in South San Diego where there are a lot of Mexicans, Filipinos, some blacks, a few whites, but most people in our area got along. Big change when I went to college. At SDSU, I never saw so many white people in my life. They would ask me how I knew to speak English so well, assuming, of course, that I wasn't American like they were, that maybe I just got off a plane or was a foreign exchange student. These folks would also assume that I was good in MATH!!! Ha ha! Far from it!<BR/><BR/>I remember one time someone told me, "You speak English very well" (isn't that patronizing) and I replied, "So do you!" They persisted and asked how I knew and I told them I was born here (meaning San Diego). It sucks having to "defend" yourself to ignorant jerks. <BR/><BR/>Others would ask where I was "from" and insisted on knowing where I was "really from" when I kept answering back, "I'm from San Diego, California". I consider my nationality (American) different from my ethnicity (Filipino American). I don't salute the Philippine flag! But to dumbasses like those people, anyone without blond hair, blue eyes, etc may as well be a foreigner. That kind of thinking just floors me. I don't go up to Caucasians and challenge them on their mastery of the English language or probe where they're "really from"!<BR/><BR/>I'm glad I don't have to contend with this on a daily basis. There are some parts of San Diego that are pretty open and multiculturally diverse and then there are places that I don't even want to go because it's Klan Country or redneck-ville!caninecolognehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921983679558271352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22578035.post-1164932646582925872006-11-30T19:24:00.000-05:002006-11-30T19:24:00.000-05:00Hi happilymarried :) Yeah, I know. Ridiculous. Tha...Hi happilymarried :) Yeah, I know. Ridiculous. That person's husband was a very friendly person and a very good natured person. He flirted with all of that person's friends and I think she was just insecure. I personally think it's wrong to flirt with others if you are in a relationship with someone. If you want to continue that kind of behaviour from your single days, then don't get married. Anyway, no, he never really hit on me, but he was just friendly. <BR/><BR/>Anon, I agree with you. It is sad and unfortunate that there are some pretty ignorant and arrogant people out there. Strong emotions and a weak mind make a deadly combination :(Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09251507898309184477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22578035.post-1164917587990241782006-11-30T15:13:00.000-05:002006-11-30T15:13:00.000-05:00Unfortunately there are a lot of ignorant people o...Unfortunately there are a lot of ignorant people out there. It's sad to think that some people just don't want to learn or understand different cultures or religions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22578035.post-1164916657908599422006-11-30T14:57:00.000-05:002006-11-30T14:57:00.000-05:00Maybe she was intimidated by you. Or she is probab...Maybe she was intimidated by you. Or she is probably insecure in her marriage. Has her husband ever cheated on her? Has he ever flirted with you? I've known you for years and I know you'd never do anything like that or even entertain the thought of doing something like that. You're just not that kind of person! She's got problems in the head. LOL!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22578035.post-1164916149061030532006-11-30T14:49:00.000-05:002006-11-30T14:49:00.000-05:00CuriosityKiller, this is so funny...I promise I wo...CuriosityKiller, this is so funny...I promise I won't rant anymore after this comment :) This one woman I know told me once, "I hear Asian women are wild in the sack." I was like, "Uhhhh...okay. I don't know." Then she kept spewing all these generalizations and assumptions she had concerning Asian women. It was actually a bit uncomfortable. I joke around with close friends, but with this person it was just weird. She just thought that Asian women were "kinky" and had these weird ideas. She was also hinting that her husband was off limits. OMG..."Duhhhh" I'm married! (I wasn't married at the time, but I still would NEVER EVER have a relationship with a married man...plus, her husband wasn't even attractive. People are just weird sometimes. Stupid people really, REALLY get on my nerves! LOL!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09251507898309184477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22578035.post-1164912366869416712006-11-30T13:46:00.000-05:002006-11-30T13:46:00.000-05:00Oh, don't even get me started on the shit that dru...Oh, don't even get me started on the shit that drunk people dish out!! LOL<BR/><BR/>I was in university (UNIVERSITY)of Toronto. My classmates were throwing an exhibition. I saw my classmate and said hi to her when her mom gave me this horrific look -- you know -- couldn't believe an asian person was capable of speaking English, let alone fluency.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22578035.post-1164908807313014652006-11-30T12:46:00.000-05:002006-11-30T12:46:00.000-05:00That is SO annoying! How awful to just "assume" so...That is SO annoying! How awful to just "assume" something like that. When I was overseas teaching English in Japan, I was in a bar with some teacher friends who were all from Canada, the US, Australia, England and New Zealand, when this one girl comes up to me (she was a teacher from another town near the one I taught in, and she was from England AND VERY drunk at the time) and she said, "What's your name?" speaking VERY slowly! LOL! We started chit chatting and she suddenly said, "Wow! You speak very good English!" OMG! "Well, I hope so! I'm Canadian!" She still didn't seem to get it and continued to talk to me like "So, d-o y-o-u like J-a-p-a-n? How l-o-n-g h-a-v-e y-o-u b-e-e-n s-p-e-a-k-i-n-g E-n-g-l-i-s-h?" LOL! I was thinking, is this chick serious? I graduated in English Lit and minored in Linguistics and have my ESL certification for Canada and Ontario. What planet is this girl from? Anyway, she was fun. I played along for a while but the next day when she was sober and at a brunch at one of my friends' apartments and saw me, she was embarrassed.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09251507898309184477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22578035.post-1164868230131725922006-11-30T01:30:00.000-05:002006-11-30T01:30:00.000-05:00I've had several encounters similar to yours. Alo...I've had several encounters similar to yours. Alot of people assumed I'm a certain way because I'm chinese, and it bugs the shit out of me. Imagine what it's like in other cities where ignorance and stereotypes are stronger than just a few impressions and comments. <BR/><BR/>There's one time in Toronto, I was playing pool with my boyfriend when this woman with puffy hair approached and started chatting away. We were all having a good time when she suddenly asked me what my name is. <BR/><BR/>So I told her. Then she said, no no - your REAL Chinese name. I said my name IS my real name, and has been since I was TWO WEEKS OLD. And she told me, "I'm a social worker, I know how to pronounce the weird chinese names."<BR/><BR/>By then, I didn't know what to say except I was getting seriously annoyed -- whatever ignorance makes her think I'm mainland chinese with a phonetic name pretending to be canadianized. <BR/><BR/>The worst part is that she's a social worker!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com