"You know you're Asian if . . . "
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Forwarded to me from Paik HaYong (hypaik@wam.umd.edu).
1. your mother has a short-haired, curly perm
2. your dad is some sort of engineer
3. your parents still tried to get you into places half-price saying you
were 12 when you were really 15
4. you ask your parents help on one math problem and 2 hours later they're
still lecturing
>>>5. you have a 40 lb. bag of rice in your pantry
>>>6. you shop 99 Ranch
>>>7. everyone thinks you're "Chinese" no matter what part of Asia your
ancestors were from
>>>8. you've had a bowl haircut at one point in your life.
>>>9. your parents enjoy comparing you to their friends' kids.
>>>10. you've had to sit through karaoke videos with scantily clad, ugly Asian
women attempting to dance and walk around a temple, forest or library.
>>>11. your parents say, "Don't forget your heritage."
>>>12. you drive mostly Japanese cars.
>>>13. you've learned to keep bargaining even if the prices are rock bottom.
>>>14. you've had to eat parts of animals they don't even put in hot dogs.
>>>15. at least once, you've started a joke with "Confucius say . . . "
>>>16. you know what bok choy is
>>>17. you've ever gotten little red envelopes around February.
>>>18. piles of shoes tend to make it hard to open the front, back and closet
doors.
>>>19. you hear (your name + eee (optional) + yah!) every time someone calls
you. (e.g., Jean- ee - yah! or Mary - yah!).
>>>20. you have NO eyelashes.
>>>21. idiot people try to impress you with pathetic imitation Asian languages,
like the ever-so-popular: ching chong woo bok chi, etc . . .
>>>22. your parents say leaving rice in your bowl is a sin.
>>>23. the Bio lectures on marine life (seaweed, sea cucumbers, octopii)
was last night's dinner
>>>24. your ancestors 1000 generations back invented the back scratcher.
>>>25. at least one family member wears black wire/plastic frame glasses
>>>26. your parents hover over your tired, caffeine-drugged body at 12 midnight
to say, "In Korea (or other native country), we studied even more."
>>>27. your parents expect you'll be best friends with any one off the street
in any given area as long as they are Asian.
>>>28. an Asian woman comes on campus and people ask: "Is that your mother?
Well then, is it your sister?"
>>>29. your relatives' houses smell like incense, mothballs or both
>>>30. your parents say, "Calculus? I took calculus in 8th grade!!"
>>>31. everyone thinks you're good at math.
>>>32. your parents' vocabulary is filled with "Ai-yahs and Wah's"
>>>33. you like $1.75 movies
>>>34. you like $1.50 movies even more.
>>>35. your aunts and uncles bring you back adorable clothing from Asia with
fuzzy bunnies, vinyl ducks and English words that make no sense, in
great colors like yellow, pink, magenta, orange and the ever popular lime
green.
>>>36. your parents insist you marry within your race.
>>>37. you never order chop suey, sweet and sour pork, or any other imitation
oriental food.
>>>38. you either really, really want to go to UCI or really, really want to
stay away from it.
>>>39. your parents have never kissed you
>>>40. your parents have never kissed each other
>>>41. you learned about the birds and the bees from someone other than your
parents
>>>42. "You want a stereo!" When I was your age, I didn't even have shoes!!"
>>>43. people see a bunch of scribbles on a chopstick and ask you to translate.
>>>44. you have to call just about all your parent's friends "Auntie and Uncle."
>>>45. you have 12+ aunts and uncles
>>>46. at expensive restaurants, you order a delicious glass of water for your
beverage and NEVER order dessert.
>>>47. your parents simply cut the green/black part off the bread and say "Eat
it anyway. It's still good."
>>>48. the vast majority of the people related to you wear glasses. Thick
glasses.
>>>49. you will most likely be taller than your parents.
>>>50. your parents have either made you play the piano, the violin or both.
>>>51. you get nothing if you do well in school, but crapped on if you don't
>>>52. when going to other peoples' houses, you always have to bring a gift.
>>>53. your dad still pulls his socks up to his knees, you know, the ones with
the blue and pink stripes at the top.
>>>54. your family owns a tennis racquet, golf clubs, or both.
>>>55. your family always cheers for the Asian athlete on TV (i.e., Michael
Chang)
>>>56. the furniture in your house never matches the wallpaper, the carpet, the
decorations or any of the rest of the furniture.
>>>57. you have rocks, sticks, leaves and strange-smelling, unknown substances
in your pantry for use as medicine.
>>>58. you own a rice cooker or two
>>>59. you buy soy sauce by the gallon.
>>>60. your family owns butcher knives bigger than your head.
>>>61. your parents tell you about how long it took for them to get to school,
how horrible the weather was in their native country, and how much they
still appreciated going.
>>>62. your parents buy you clothes and shoes many sizes too big so you can
"grow into it" and wear it for years to come."
(
geocities.com/tokyo)