I had come to visit my Ma in Newcastle, my home of 12 years before I moved to Sydney. We ordered what was her first Uber and shortly after, a Toyota Camry (of course) arrives. She’s excited. Before you know it, like a typical Nanay, she’d already found an opportunity to tell tales of our family and tedious migration process. I find myself tuning out until I hear him say, “So are you guys from China? Where are you from?”.
I could feel my face burning. I’ve heard this so many times before, this assumption that ‘Asia’ is just some hazy place full of identical people. Somehow it still feels like I’m stuck in time every time I go back.