Perhaps being Asian has got a lot to deal with in terms of socialising, communicating with some races.

Yesterday and a week before, I had felt I have been demoralized and discriminated for being Asian...or maybe thats just how I felt. But - really, I felt I just had gotten a racist remark. I initially thought of it as nothing, actually, but it played in my mind for a while and I realized I was mocked.

You know the feeling when a group of people speak in their tongue and then asks you "where are you from?" to which you would proudly reply "...from the Philippines!" and then they bagan to speak in their language again and burst out a devilish giggle. That's just exactly what happened yesterday.

I know its something mundane in a multicultural country that "where are you from?" questions be asked in any given day.

What happened yesterday was different. The customer I assisted with yesterday are one lady who sloppily wears her "abaya" and one arabic looking guy in normal clothes, who I thought at first were a couple. The Arab guy (I think they're Levant or maybe one of those mixed races of the middle east) politely asked me "where are you from?" with his super 'close-up' commercial smile (he's cute, yeah) and I told him "I'm from the Philippines, sir." The lady with a sloppily worn abaya began to talk in arabic with a giggle and they both sneered.

"Why? Do I look Chinese?" I asked.
"I thought you are Vietnamese." she answered.

I told her, "Yea, we're all the same. Chinese, Malaysian, Thailander, we look the same." After which, they spoke in arabic language with a snicker.

She then asked me, "who cut your hair?" but what I heard was "look at your hair?" or something like that. I dont know exactly what I answered her but what i remembered is that i told her, "its funky".

Is that a _&_(the brand I'm working for) hairstyle?" she asked.

"No." I replied. "Sometimes I wear them polished." raising my hand on top of my head for a gesture.
"Why dont you wear it like that sometimes." she remarked.
"I do. I like having different hairstyles. But if I work for ----- & -------, the first line, I have to keep my hair polished all the time."

She began talking in arabic again combined with an insulting laugh. At that moment, I didn't entertain the idea that they are mocking me. So after doing the transaction with them, i politely said "Thank you, have a good day!" with my smile flashing from ear to ear.

After that moment it all sank in. Shankar, our stockroom guy who was standing a few feet away from the counter, witnessed the whole scene and told me, "they we're laughing at you hair." So i checked myself in the mirror walls we have in the shop. My hair looked fine. It was finger-combed but it looks ok.

Then I realised maybe that's why she thinks I'm from Vietnam because of my spikey, almost unruly hair. I mean it looks ok and I'm sure there's nothing wrong the way my hair was fixed. Maybe it lacks shine but it is ok overall. Vietnamese people, from stereotype, have chinky eyes and spikey hair covered by that native hat of which I don't know what to call. Maybe thats where it came from why she said, "I thought your vietnamese." My hair was spikey alright, and I have been mistaken several times as chinese because, maybe, I have chinky eyes. But whats wrong with my hair?

There's nothing racist about the whole English conversation but who knows, maybe in between those arabic words they are saying something bad about me...and my hair. I actually do not get offended when a group of people speak their tongue. But that was different. Its called gut feeling, I believe. You know, you got to trust that feeling when you suspect something bad is actually going on. I got that feeling. When I get it, it's always correct.

I do not know for sure if i got a racist remark, but I feel inside that I did

I think I have to clean my ears...

Similarly, last week, A lady who looked respectable and all that raised her voice on me saying, "You dont listen to customers, do you?"

Excuse me? I hear you alright madam. i am just verifying the spelling of your name in order not to confuse the system with your arabic name that seems to be taken by everyone else of your kind! I got the spelling of your name, yes. But for verification I have to repeat it. Thats how you do it, in case you do not know.

The thing is, i asked her if she's registered in our sytem or with ---- -th A---- (the store where which we belong). She said she doesnt know and said,

"try it under my name,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _." she said providing me with the spelling.

We normally asks for number when looking up for previous registrations, since pulling up names would normally result to a number of names, if not, none. So I proceded typing in her name and verifying at the same time. 'ENTER'.

I was right, her name pulled up a lot of results. I told her,

"its coming under a lot of names. let me verify the spelling again madam."

To my disbelief she said, "You dont listen to customers, do you?" in a tone a little higher than her normal voice previously. That shook me! Rattled my brain! Am i not listening carefully? i asked myself. Confused, feeling the blood raised to my face, I continued.

"Let me search under your mobile number".

"050-------"

"ahh, Ms ---- T----"

"Yes."

"it was registered in a different spelling madam, thats why we couldn't pull it up the first time. Let me update it for you." I said in my very angelic way.

"I know I must have been registered because I receive letters from your mailing list". She replied in her normal tone.

I didnt understand what she meant by mailing lists.

After that transaction, still having that embarassment of thinking my listening skills have gone poor, heavy burden in my heart being ridiculed because she thinks I dont have good customer service, I bade her good bye in my most polite and sincere way.

You see, she is nice actually but i dont know what gotten into her. maybe she doesnt like to repeat her self three times. So, my bad. But to ridicule me with the tone she had when she said "You dont listen to customers, do you?" is so out of hand. i know she, too, felt ashamed raising her voice on me. Because i was indeed listening to her. And i want to give her prompt service. It's just that, whoever registered her on our system did not input her details very well.

Some of this Arab people think we asians are stupid or something. That we are low-class people. But as my Russian colleague said a few times, "these people who think we are shit are actually those people who are shit themselves." Just because we are working in a customer service industry where we have to follow orders from our customers doesnt mean we are lowly people. We are in fact the people who have more. More patience, more understanding, more knowledge about all of you people. And the fact that most of us working in this country happen to be Asian: southeast, subcontinent or just Asians doesnt mean we are poor laborers. We give our share in making this country better, right? We are of service to locals and to people they invite to visit this country. So we must be treated well, too. You be Asian, African or whatever.

It's a cliche. "Respect begets respect." It's all that simple. And I wish the people living in this country (not necessary locals, but mostly to expats) will realize we need to give that in order to get it.