The banquet was over. Everyone was leaving the room, except for several people who stayed for a little chit-chat, you know, that do-I-know-you-from-somewhere talk. I saw an elderly lady trying to unknot a balloon string from a vase. The balloon was a bright metallic blue with a nice print on it. I thought an old lady must think it nice enough to give to her grandchild.
Another lady approached one of the members of the catering staff and asked what were they going to do with the beautiful flowers in the vases.
“They must be of the hybrid kind. They stayed fresh even after the program ended,” she said. The wait staff replied, “Ma’am, they’re made of plastic.” They both laughed.
After several minutes I noticed the other lady was still trying to untie the string. I approached her and offered my help. It took me about two minutes to undo the knot. During that time her husband came over. He said, "It’s a noble thing for you to do that." I just smiled.
I gave the balloon to the little old lady.
She said, "Thank you. It was nice of you to come here all the way from China."
Oops! That made me pause for a while. I actually raised one of my eyebrows, but held on to my charming smile. I told her I am not from China, but from the Philippines. She laughed at herself, the kind one hears from someone who isn’t sure how to react. But her husband got excited. He revealed to me that they had been in the Philippines years ago. He was at a conference, teaching ministers. I didn't ask him if he's a pastor or not. He said they also visited Mindanao, but were advised to leave the place because of a threat to security. Well, yeah, I said, one way to promote tourism.
Later, when I came home I told David, my sponsor, about the incident. He laughed. But I cannot contain myself. I went to the bathroom and looked at my face in the mirror. I don't look like Chinese nor do I walk like one. David’s friends have been asking me if I could tell an Asian man is Chinese or Japanese by the way he walks. I said I can’t, but I told them that you can tell that it was me from afar by the way I walk.
I love eating at the Chinese buffet here because of the wide variety of dishes served, but that hasn't turned me into a Chinaman. Though I guess it has given me a few more pounds to carry around the campus.
Not that I don’t want to be associated with the Chinese community, I have lots of Chinese friends. However, China has dominated the world; you will see Chinese and China made products everywhere. They don’t need another chap like me. I am proud of my Filipino-Spanish lineage. Although I am the only descendant of the Rodriguez family I know who has a flat nose. As a teenager I kept on bugging my parents to tell me the truth – am I adopted? I would ask. They of course were disturbed by my question and would frown at me.
I use items here that are made in China. Well, most of the items here are made in China – you name it. It may be clothes, electronic and dry goods, China makes it. When an American finds an item that says on the bottom "Made in USA" they jump as if they found an antique object. At a recent guided tour David and I took in Buffalo, New York, the guide was telling the members of the tour about America’s economy doing well when some of the old ladies said, “Yeah, everything we see now in the US are made in China.” Recently, several items that are made in China like toothpaste and pet food were taken off the shelves in grocery stores. It was a big deal that an official in China has issued a statement defending China-made products. But that’s not my point here. I am trying to figure out why I am being linked as Chinese.
After several thoughts I figured out that I am the biggest fan of kung fu movies. My favorite movies are Kung Fu Hustle and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I like
Jet Li, who is Chinese, when he showcased his wushu, long fist, empty-hand techniques in his Wong Fei Hong movies.
I maybe the next Karate kid. What do you think?
[published in Sun.Star Bacolod, August 1, 2007under my column, The Mago Generation]
On the same date one of the pictures I submitted for consideration was published online. However, the caption was wrong (though I provided the correct captions for each pictures). The little castle is not Boldt Castle but its storage house for the castle's generator. It would have been nice if the SSB people submitted the picture I took of the Boldt Castle and not the powerhouse. Sigh (as in "a neverending sigh").
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