IMO it's just people trying to connect with you, nothing to get angsty about. Personnally I think it's neat when people use my language when i'm abroad, even if all they can say is "how are you"
(cool blog, btw)

You mean to say that someone has a worse chinese accent then you

放松 - supposed to be "relax" ;)

but matt, i'm not abroad! i'm home! and my language is english.

Anyway, I'm pissed about the Mets losing out on Delgado.

To connect with Tien, just mention pizza. Heh.

For obvious reasons strangers don't try to start conversations with me in Chinese, but it can be irritating when someone who doesn't know you makes all sorts of assumptions about who you are based on the flimsiest bit of information they've gleaned.

see I'm French, and when I used to live in NY, I used to get the "bonjour comment allez-vous" (with the horrible accent and all) all the time, and i think that's cool, even though I'm 100% bilingual, so it's not like the person had to speak French to communicate with me.
guess I got used to it from growing up abroad.

Good Morning Tien. Do you think that the Mets will be able to get a new first-baseman with a batting average anywhere close to Carlos Delgado?? I know they're talking about getting Mientkiewicz from the Red Sox, but the Mets would have to give up a good player for him... I don't know if they can afford that!

the real question here is what did you say back

When people start speaking to me in Chinese, I wonder if they are trying to shame me for dropping out of Chinese school.

sometimes people try to speak to me with a really bad/thick wisconsin accent and all they talk about is beer and cheese and brats and the packers. that's pretty offensive too.

The only experience I have close to that is people trying to speak to me in Spanish. And me looking at them completely confused.

chirstina: mamasita mmwwaa
rachelle: yum cheese, yum colby jack, yum cheddar, i love cheese heads

gosh - i would think it's nice that people make the effort. i speak spanish and sometimes i'll use it, to say excuse me or order my food at restaurants - i would have never thought it'd be offensive though.

how to build an igloo : http://www.i4at.org/lib2/igloo.htm

I'm hispanic,latino, whatever, and that happens every now and then to me as well. You meet someone who hasn't had the latin experience and they try to bust out with a few phrases they learned in high school, like asking where the library is and how much is that burro.

all i know is "me llamo nina"

Maybe they were just wondering how you were Tien, or CJ, exactly how much that burro was.

your name is nina?

nope!

but in spanish class when we were picking our spanish name i wanted to be mercedes but some bitch before me picked it and we weren't allowed to have 2 of one spanish name in one class.

well, ill refer to you as mercedes...as you seem to still be angry

Exactly how are they (these people trying to impress you) supposed to know whether you speak Mandarin or Cantonese? (Okay, most Chinese people, from outside the US that I know, speak Mandarin, and at least a little Cantonese). Are they just guessing, or do they assume Chinese is actually the offical name of "the language"? Besides, I still have trouble telling someone of Chinese descent from someone of Japanese, Korean or Vietnamese descent unless I hear their name, and if they don't have an accent, the safe bet is -- they're American -- and probably don't even speak whatever language their ancestors spoke.

I would get a kick out of someone trying to speak Cherokee or Czechoslovakian to me, especially if it was in a bad acent. I think I'd pretend they accidentally said something really, really nasty.

"I can't believe you said that!! Where in the world did you hear that!! Do you have any idea what you just said!!"

Freak 'em out real good.

Well, High knee how, ma.

you know the beef is really when they say "oh, you're abc" in that sort-of-let-down tone...

Well I don't think these people are thinking at all. Are these complete strangers doing this? I agree that their behaviour is rude and they're making all sorts of prejudgements, however they might just be really excited to brush up on their Chinese and have forgotten their manners.

Point them towards the UN building and then give 'em a kick!

i just think it is plain weird that people strangers in nyc talk to each other (it's not VA)... haha, maybe they thought you were lost

just to be clear, this was in a social situation, where i had never met this person before and the first they they say to me is "ni hao ma?" i obviously don't think it was a great ice breaker. and how can someone assume that i speak chinese? i just think it's a pretty asinine thing to do. oh, and my reaction when i was asked? i gave a look of "what the fuck? i know what you said, but i'm not even going to answer you, jackass."

and as far as the mets go...yeah, i'm pissed off they didn't get delgado, but what can you do? at least they tried hard and it wasn't money that kept them from getting him. the fact that it wasn't money though might make it more of a stinging decision though.

I have to say I find it easier in NYC to speak to strangers than anywhere else...

I get that all the time even though I'm not chinese. The "ni hao ma" can easily translate to "HI!! HOW ARE YOU?? DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I AM TRYING TO SAY TO YOU??".

WTF is usually and should be the appropriate response. Now.... If I could just mold my face to say "please, MF-please, STFU and piss the hell off"...

Is it only wednesday today?

I appreciate the effort when people pull the "ni hao ma?" but at times it it does bug me.
But on the flip side. When I go back to Hong Kong, people speak english to me because I some how don't look like I'm from there anymore and they think I'm abc... can't win this shit...

I get that all the time too and other people may feel differently but it irritates the crap out of me too. I assumed it was just a girl thing, and guys trying to be creative in their pick up lines, but I guess not. Plus I took Mandarin in college (failed miserably) but I'm really Cantonese so it just flusters me all the more; they're trying to "connect" - in the wrong language. I'd be able to respond better in Spanish (which I actually speak). Sometimes I fantasize about responding in gibberish just to test if "ni hao ma" is the only phrase they know or if they actually are fluent. But maybe it's not about connecting or pick up lines but just the plain old desire to show off. If that's the case, feel free. Lord knows I couldn't master that damn language.

I usually just carry on the conversation with them as though as they understood and as if I know them. It really freaks them out when I demand(rather intensely) to know where the money is and where they've buried the body in Cantonese. Mind you, I only do this if they are rude, obnoxious or think that "ni hao ma?" is some kind of a punch line to a joke(come to think of it, it's like the Asian version of WASSSUP??!!). I usually find that people are just trying to be nice, even if it is kind of embarassing.

tien - on the topic of the Mets.

Last night NESN (the New England Sports Network - basically the Red Sox Channel up here) replayed "Game 6". And I got really sad. Then I got a little irate. Then I kicked my tv. Then just now I remembered that I wanted to say "f u" to you mets fans.

love,

Joel

p.s. Haha. I was just kidding on the "f u" part. But really, f u.

;)

I spent hours learning how to say "I am sorry i dont speak Cantonese" in Cantonese. Every time I try to use it, they laugh at my accent.