Tuesday, September 9, 2008

.: Manifestation :.


A case of mistaken identity.

Has there ever been a time when someone insinuates your race, religion or creed base on your appearances? Over the years, I encountered several comical instances. *still ongoing* Chronologically, the question marks were:
  • .. "Are you a Muslim? And are you Malay?" ..
  • Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. To think that someone asked me that when I was in primary school. *perhaps it's because I failed terribly in those papers.*

  • .. "Are you Bosnian?" ..
  • I doubt I look Bosnian at all.

  • .. "Are you a Malay?" ..
  • Got this twice in college. *don't I look Malay?*

  • .. "Are you a student?" ..
  • Countless times. I even got ticked off by a cab driver because he thought I was playing truant.

  • .. "Are you twins?" ..
  • This happens whenever I go out with my sister. She's 6 years my senior and whenever we get this remark, she'll strike a chord at me on how young she looks and how old I appear. On the contrary, I'll constantly remind her that I look mature, we are after all sisters and surely it is normal for us to look alike.

  • .. "Are you Indian?" ..
  • Happened when my sister and I were buying dates and nougats from an Indian shop in Mecca. The shopkeeper was awfully generous with our purchase though.

  • .. "Are you Chinese?" ..
  • Indeed there is a touch of Chinese blood in me however I always thought that at most, I only have a droplet of Chinese blood and that is mirrored purely on my ability to grasp the language.
People generally deduce you are so and so base on what you're wearing or how you look. Bluntly put, purely on your facade. It's not that bad. Until they start speaking in a language that is totally alien to you and expects an answer from it. Should there be a change in the mindset or is it because of the multi-racial community?

In a nutshell, I had been identified as the 3 main races in Malaysia; Malay, Chinese and Indian which plainly makes me a bona fide Malaysian then. ^^

What's next?

10.40am Malaysian Time.

16 comments:

cloud said...

good blog...
im new in here...and i like see your blog... :)

i dont care bout what your country...all i know, you is my brother..hehehe..moslem..

im still learn n learn bout this blog..hehehehee..

Hajar Alwi said...

Hi! Thanks for the kind comments. ^^ Funny you should say that since I'm actually your sister. *do I write like a guy? aih... another misconception.* -lol- Anyhow, welcome to the blogging realm. :)

amira said...

assalamualaikum hajar..
thanks 4 leaving ur comment on my page.really appreciate it..actually i created this blog this evening..just a part of my class activity..only took about 1 hour to complete this assignment..thats why its look so new :)

Hajar Alwi said...

W'salam Amira,

You are most welcome. For starters, completing it within 1 hour is seemingly laudable. Am expecting more entries from you and hope that the assignment doesn't end there. :)

PS: Heaps of gratitude for leaving a comment here.

Orca said...

Woah, txs...
U r into Old Navy stuff too??

Hajar Alwi said...

Not exactly. Figured that on top of the $7 shipping fee, seems that you got a good deal from it and I presume you are contented with your purchases.

PS: Thanks for popping over to my blog. :)

Orca said...

No prob...
Anyway, ur blog is very interesting.
so, r u truly a Malaysian or u r born elsewhere and brought up in Malaysia. Cos ur english is excellent. I dare say its better than mine... U have a wide vocab and all ur post r like newspaper article using the rite vocab for the rite event...

Hajar Alwi said...

Hey, thanks! Mostly consist of random ramblings though.

Uhh... quite perplexing. Cutting a long story short, born elsewhere & presently carries the Malaysian citizenship.

Loads of thanks for the compliments. For the record, you're not too bad yourself. :)

24ing said...

hello ,thank you for have some words in my blog ,so i got to your blog to have a look ,that is a good blog .

Solace In Islam said...

If I had a dollar for each time I was mistaken for something I am not.... hehehe... interesting post.

Hajar Alwi said...

24ing: Thanks for dropping by. :)

Solace: a rather tempting notion there. *lol*

Sketched Soul said...

As-salaamu'alaykum wa Rahmatu Llahi wa Barakatuhu my dearest sister,

Lovely blog, tabarak'Allah.. I look foward to reading more.

LOL.. interesting post! Welcome to my world. I've had a guy follow me through half a year of College, until he found out I'm NOT Greek.. urgh.

I suppose there is a plus side to the mistaken identity. :D Sad.. but people treat you nicer when they think you are 'like them'.

Take care my dear bona fide Malaysian :)

Wa'alaykum as-salaam
Love Farhana

Ms.Unique said...

Assalamualikum Sister,

Just came across your blog Masha Allah very interesting though .... and yes I've been asked this question of nationality many times too ... ppl first think I'm an Egyptian or else Syrian or else Palestinian or else Saudi or else Pakistani and only once or twice American but most of the time I'm thought as an Egyptian but never the country I really belong to and they are sooooo surprised when I reveal to them my actual identity ..... huh (sigh) ..... Anyways I too have blogs on blogger pls do visit them .... I wanted to add your blog to mine if you don't mind .... and could you pls add mine to your's too ..... Jazak Allah Khairan ....

Hajar Alwi said...

W'salam Farhana,

Thank you so much for coming by to my humble blog. You are too kind. :)

Imagine that. Wonder if it had ripped his heart apart...

I believe so. There is a difference. I used to play along but by the end of the day, I'll have this pang of guilt inside thus I stopped doing it.

Take care!
-----------------------------------

W'salam Sister,

Welcome! :) Thank you for the kind words. LoL. The stunned look of disbelief is certainly priceless. By all means, I'll really appreciate the gesture and I'll do yours too. ^

Take care!

Orca said...

hey, orca here...

mind if i add ur blog to my bloghop link?? ur blog r very interesting to read....

txs, btw in advance...
hehe....
:)

Hajar Alwi said...

Sure, why not? :)