Dresses really do make the person.
I'm not saying that dressing up nicely makes a person look better; if that simple fact required writing a blog entry I probably would have to question my intelligence. I guess my realization is slightly different, but still related to dress regardless.
Robert, Andrew, and I went to the Manna Korean food store to buy stuff. While we were walking up and down the aisles we were (obviously) conversing in English, oohing and aahing over products and me telling what all the moonspeak in the funky items indicated.
After all the shopping was done, I went to the cashier and said hello to the lady in Korean because, well, I was Korean, and I thought it would be nice to be extra friendly.
Me:Ahnnyeonghaseyo!
Lady: Hello- ahnnyeonghaseyo.
*I take stuff out of the basket - I go crazy at Korean stores and buy a shit-ton of food*
Me: (In Korean) Ahaha, I bought a lot.
*Lady rings up price without a word*
Lady: (Korean) It is (English) $46. 49 (She says the $46.49 part in English; forty six forty nine)
*I pay by card*
Me: (In Korean) Thank you, goodbye!
Lady: (Korean) Thank you, goodbye, (switches to English) Goodbye!
I was a little puzzled by her insistence on using English to me. Was it because I was hanging out with two "Western" guys, talking to them in English? Does that not make me seem like I can speak Korean? (I am always
I initially thought being with Robert and Andrew was the reason the lady spoke to me in English, but later I remember that the last time I was here with Matt and Heidi, two very White-looking people, I talked to the lady in Korean and she responded in Korean without switching every word back into English. I am confused, but I let it pass.
Later, after all the shopping-cooking-eating adventure was over and I chat with Robert while walking him to his car, I realize something.
I am not stick-thin, I was wearing contacts, my hair was unstyled and hanging loose, I had on a huge black hooded jacket with beige shorts, and sneakers.
In short, my fashion attire was that of a thoroughly Americanized Asian American, or in cruder terms, like that of a "whitewashed" Asian American or a "Banana" or a "Twinkie", you get the picture.
As I point this out to Robert, he says, "Oooooh, that's why the lady kept on talking to you in English, it all makes sense now."
...Ooooooh.
Not to defend my choice or wardrobe or anything, but my fashion choice of the day was largely affected by my laundry and the still-cold May weather. I unfortunately had no more long pants to wear as they were either in the laundry bag or still drying from the hanger, so I had to resort to shorts. Since it was cold out, I wore my black hooded jacket. I wore sneakers because that's what I always wear, I kind of hate shoes with heels.
Oddly enough the combination created that look of an Asian American who prefers playing volleyball with her Asian sorority sisters and likes jogging in the sunlight and takes yoga classes at the CCRB and who probably can't speak a lick of their ancestrors' language; in my case, Korean.
With that amusing little encounter in mind, I resolve myself that I should dress better. It's not that I'm offended by being thought of as Asian American, it's just that as a Korean-Korean (...), it felt really weird to be branded as someone who can't speak Korean. Also, this has made me paranoid about what my attire suggests about me in other times and places as I'm not bothred with how I dress and just kind of wear whatever is in the drawer. WHAT STEREOTYPICAL IMAGE AM I INADVERTENTLY DISPLAYING ONTO ALL THE STRANGERS???
