I love overhearing discussions between Chinese people that are attempting to deduce my nationality. If they’ve heard me speaking English, the list includes Canadian, American, English and Australian, with each person sneaking glances at me and then submitting an opinion. I am frequently Canadian. Once I was even asked if I was Irish, a guess that made me smile!
The guesses are more entertaining if I have been silent or only spoken in Chinese. Then the choices are broader, including all of the nationalities previously mentioned, as well as commonly guessed German, Dutch, and Swedish.
And the nationality most often settled on? Russian. Why? No idea. To illustrate this strange occurrence, consider the most recent examples.
A conversation in Chinese while at the train station, boarding a train to Beijing:
Chinese woman: You have quite a lot of luggage.
Me: Yes, I am going to Beijing, then I 回国 (phrase literally meaning, “return country”).
Chinese woman: Russia?
Me: Um, no. USA.
Chinese woman: (pause) Oh. I thought you were Russian.
A few hours later on the train, a conversation in English between Madison and the girl sitting next to her:
Chinese student: Excuse me, where are you from?
Madison: The US. (when the girl looked confused, Madison added in Chinese, 美国)
Chinese student: Oh, at first I thought you were Russian.
???
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