As a Chinese American, if I wanna travel internationally, is it better to just say I'm American, or pretend to be a Chinese National (to hide from Anti-American sentinments)?

Submitted ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works⁩ to ⁨nostupidquestions@lemmy.world⁩

I’m talking about after going through borders and I put away the US Passport…

And people ask me “where are you from?”

Like if the place has anti-American sentinments, could I just pretend to be… not American…

cuz you know… the US has been getting a bad rap recently due to ahem a certain person in Capitol Hill…

Like most people in the world falsely assume “American” = “White” anyways…

They’d never suspect a thing… would they?

I can speak Cantonese and Mandarin… I can try faking a Chinese person’s accent when speaking English. Or pretend to be a Hong Konger (via the Cantonese). Or pretend to be Taiwanese (most people can’t tell the difference between the sound of Mainland Mandarin vs Taiwan Mandarin).

I heard that there are people who hate Chinese tourists… so is this actually gonna backfire?

But then again, I might also get hit with the double-whammy of “looking Chinese” while “acting like an American”.

So this is basically like code switching… but with national identity…

Is this morally okay? Or am I like crossing some ethical line here? Is this like the “cultural appropriation” thing where it’s inappropriate to do?

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Comments

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Rentlar@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
If you can be respectful of the local culture where you’re visiting while you’re there, you’ll be fine. Being an obnoxious American tourist is just as bad as an obnoxious Chinese tourist. Outside of unwarranted xenophobia, your behaviour matters more than your race.

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- Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
  This is the answer. For the most part nobody cares where you’re from. If you’re friendly and respectful, you won’t have any bother.
  
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Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
In most parts of the world neither Chinese nor Americans get trouble just for where they come from.

In most parts of the world people can decide very well between what governments do and what normal people do.

could I just pretend

But in most parts of the world people prefer very much if you DON’T lie to them.

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Treczoks@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
If you are american, it usually shows. There is normally no way to hide that identity.

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- IronBird@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  examples?
  
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  - Waldelfe@feddit.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Americans talk loudly and tend to be less mindful of the area around them. There’s this tendency to take up more space. Not necessarily in the sense of putting your bag on the seat but just big arm movements when talking, leaning, stretching legs. Not that every American I met did that, but enough to be noticeable. At least here in Germany people on average try to take up less space when in public.
    
    There’s just this general air of “confidently doing something without knowing what they’re doing”. Other tourists tend to be more careful, ask how to do something or show they are insecure about how things work in a foreign country.
    
    Americans just tend to take up more space. With their body language, their voice… I’ve met quite a few through language exchange groups and like 80% of the time you can tell their nationality before you talk to them.
    
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  - remon@ani.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    No inside voice.
    
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  - GarboDog@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Americans tend to lean to one side or lean onto things, they’re a lot louder than other cultures, they are usually a lot nicer, they LOOOVE to talk, kinda silly when it comes to international things esp when it’s their first time, their obvious accent and even their phrases/metaphors, honestly the list goes on.
    
    If you’re from one country or another then they’re going to know, but as an American born person 99% of the time people are chill and actually prefer you to be an American since we’re apparently nicer than Canadians. You’ll get asked “oh are you Canadian?” More than American because Canadians would be mad if you called/thought of them American and Americans would be flattered to be thought as a Canadian.
    
    That’s from our experience living in Spain at-least. People won’t pin you as a typical red republican just because you’re from America, they already know republicans never leave USA anywho haha
    
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remon@ani.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
China’s rep isn’t exactly great, either …

But if you’re from America (that’s where you grew up and live) then that’s what you should say, because that’s what matters. The obsession with “heritage” is weird.

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JohnnyCanuck@lemmy.ca ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
My opinion is don’t do it. Just be yourself. For many situations, you’re only going to see the person for a couple of minutes, at most, so who cares what they think? If the conversation goes beyond that, you might find you want to make a connection, and now you’ve started the whole thing with a lie. Not a good look, and also you won’t feel good about it.

My perspective is as a white guy who travels extensively (almost 40 countries now, 6 continents).

As others have mentioned, people don’t judge you immediately based on where you come from. In my experience, they will most likely already have judged you based on your looks. The reaction will entirely depend on where you go, and to a smaller extent how you act.

For example, in (East) Africa, you probably won’t get treated as nicely as white people do, from what I’ve heard. And white people get stared and pointed at a lot (unless you’re in the full immigrant/expat part of a big city), harassed for money, and called mzuungu constantly. Generally this is all “in a nice way” for white people (but I got tired of it and didn’t like it), but talking to other travellers, if you’re “Asian”, it isn’t so “nice.”

In southeast Asia it will be a mixed bag depending on what you look like. You’ll probably fly under the radar, and have to deal more with people being shocked at your lack of speaking the local language. I saw this happen to Asian-American people a few times.

In Central and South America, excluding Peru and Brazil, be prepared for outright racism. Peru and Brazil have relatively large Chinese and Japanese descendant populations, but in the rest, I believe there is a lot of anti-Asian prejudice. They’ll call you “chino”, make eye/hand gestures, etc. Not all of this is in a hostile way, but I imagine it can get tiring or worse. Some will outright ignore you in stores and restaurants or even give you scowls. I saw all of this happen to other travellers, and heard even more stories.

I don’t know if I can talk about Europe or Australia. I don’t stand out there and I haven’t really talked to anyone who does. I imagine it really varies by country and maybe even neighbourhood.

One thing to remember is that in places where English is a second language, they can’t tell where you’re from based on accent as much. You could say you’re from Australia with your American accent and they’ll full on believe you.

Oh and another one, since you were talking about using Mandarin or Cantonese with an accent… There are very few places outside of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan where people will speak any Chinese, let alone recognize the accent. Maybe Malaysia and Singapore? English is the de facto language of travel pretty much everywhere. Acting like you don’t know it won’t get you anywhere. You’d have to do a fake Chinese accent while talking English. Practice your best Uncle Roger I guess.

Final Bonus Pro Tip: the best thing you can do for yourself when travelling to countries that aren’t primarily English, is learn how to say hello and thank you in the local language. If you initiate a conversation (e.g. respond to a stare) with a local language “hello”, you will get a smile and hello back and tension will ease. The rarer the language, the bigger the smile.

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- Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world ⁨45⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago
  In Europe, trying to speak Chinese obviously won’t get you far. If you speak English you’ll be just another tourist and people will not pay you any special attention. Obviously, there are prejudices about American tourists and Chinese tourists, so you can take your pick which you want to be. Just make sure to loudly demand free tap water in every restaurant.
  
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VaalaVasaVarde@sopuli.xyz ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
You are good as long as you don’t act like you own the world, or like a Karen with a maga hat.

Most people in the world don’t hate Americans, they hate trump and his cronies.

You can expect comments or be asked about trump, ICE, the war and politics if you get recognised as an American.

I don’t know what you should do if you are going near: Iran, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Cuba…

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- Klear@quokk.au ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  
  Most people in the world don’t hate Americans, they hate trump and his cronies.
  
  Also - we’re aware that the worst idiots are not likely to travel.
  
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  - Corporal_Punishment@feddit.uk ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Except to Ireland for St Patrick’s day
    
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driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
People are going to clock that you aren’t Chinese, even if you look as one. Hard to describe, but Chinese tourists can be recognized apart from people of Chinese descendency but that growth up in other places.

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OriginEnergySux@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
I think most places would be fine. In australia people are mostly anti-trump, so as long as you dont start a convo with politics or are rude, you’re sweet as

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adespoton@lemmy.ca ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
As a Canadian… Americans pretend to be Canadians abroad all the time. As a result, everyone thinks I’m American at first, until they realize I behave differently.

I can usually spot the American in a crowd, no matter their skin colour. It’s generally in the worldview they project.

I can also usually spot the Chinese in the crowd for the same reason.

Unless you can fake the “We’re the best” attitude instead of the “nobody’s better than I can be” attitude, I wouldn’t try to fake being Chinese in many places. You’ll just come off as fake.

Better to just be yourself and hold the views and attitudes you actually hold. If you’re worried about how others will receive that, just be more private with the personal information you share.

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notsosure@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
I find questions like these more and more upsetting. I’ve posted several articles on Lemmy and other platforms that show how the USA is rapidly sliding into a fascist state, the breakdown of democracy is horrifying, and also directly affects the wellbeing and security of the countries US Americans are visiting as tourists. And all the US tourists that come over here say: well, I didn’t vote Trump (which nobody can check, can we? We just have to believe it). We all know USAmericans are not particularly blessed with vacation days, but wouldn’t they be BETTER spent in creating political initiatives in the USA? By God, man, you may be lucky you can actually re-enter the USA when you come back, and if the midterms go topsy-turvy (and rest assured that Trump will do anything to make them come out in his favor), you may well be seeking asylum in Europe or Australia in 2 years time! So, instead of thinking about what kind of silly hat to wear abroad, stay home and do something, a little thing against racism (end of rant).

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garbage_world@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Nobody is going to hate you just for being American, chill

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- yakko@feddit.uk ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  It’s true. As an American immigrant, I occasionally have to remind myself that I hate America more sincerely than anyone I’m likely to meet. Even people who talk shit about the US do so inexpertly, to my ear… But I am happy to indulge them.
  
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