Asian Faces
ALL LOOK SAME is an online test that gives you pictures of 18 Asian faces and you must decide whether they are Chinese, Japanese or, Korean. I scored 8 correct answers (the average of 1.3 million test-takes was 7), yet my score was described by the site as "Bad."
In 1996, while teaching ESL to university undergraduates, fashion and style helped to distinguish the three main Asian groups we taught, Koreans, Japanese, and Chinese (mostly ROC, not PRC), following these rules:
I also knew quite a number of Vietnamese folks in my community (who, along with Cubans and Iraqis, are the most hospitable people I've ever had the honor of knowing). For the Vietnamese youth, fashion and style could be used as a gauge to determine how long someone had been in the USA:
My system wasn't perfect, but it was better than the one used by the characters from King of the Hill on an episode in which a new Asian neighbor moves into the neighborhood. The exchange went something like this:
Well, this gweilo should shut up before he attracts the attention of the Brownshirts* of Identity Politics.
[link to test via eclexys]
* (c) 2004, Mark Shea of Catholic and Enjoying It!
ALL LOOK SAME is an online test that gives you pictures of 18 Asian faces and you must decide whether they are Chinese, Japanese or, Korean. I scored 8 correct answers (the average of 1.3 million test-takes was 7), yet my score was described by the site as "Bad."
In 1996, while teaching ESL to university undergraduates, fashion and style helped to distinguish the three main Asian groups we taught, Koreans, Japanese, and Chinese (mostly ROC, not PRC), following these rules:
- Koreans: Small glasses, clean-cut American preppy style (Polo), perfect teeth. Men, short hair parted on the side. Women, immaculate make-up.
Japanese: British prep-school style (shirts untucked and wrinkled), not-so perfect teeth. Men, in need of a comb. Women, hard to pinpoint one style.
Chinese (ROC): Either of the above styles. Easily distinguishable because always cheerful.
Chinese (PRC): Older (mostly grad students). Practical no-nonsense clothing and hair (like me, on days off).
I also knew quite a number of Vietnamese folks in my community (who, along with Cubans and Iraqis, are the most hospitable people I've ever had the honor of knowing). For the Vietnamese youth, fashion and style could be used as a gauge to determine how long someone had been in the USA:
- Vietnamese Newcomer (<1 yr.): Timeless and classic style. Men, shirts and slacks, suits for formal occasions, short, neat hair. Women, hand-made dresses, ao dais, evening dresses, or gowns for formal occasions, long natural hair. (Going to the community's Têt Nguyên Dán celebration was like being transported back to 1920s Paris, 1930s Shanghai, or 1940s Hollywood!)
Vietnamese-American (>1 yr.): Da illest and phatest stylez outta da 'hood, y'all, 'specially da honeyz (translation: Hip-hop fashion, especially among women).
My system wasn't perfect, but it was better than the one used by the characters from King of the Hill on an episode in which a new Asian neighbor moves into the neighborhood. The exchange went something like this:
- "Do you think he's Chinese or Japanese?"
"Chinese. Japanese guys wear glasses and ties and stuff."
...
"I'm Khan. I'm from Laos, but I've lived here 26 years."
"So, are you Chinese or Japanese?"
Well, this gweilo should shut up before he attracts the attention of the Brownshirts* of Identity Politics.
[link to test via eclexys]
* (c) 2004, Mark Shea of Catholic and Enjoying It!
Redeemed by Our Savior, I work out my salvation with fear and trembling in Pohang, South Korea, where I live with my wife, daughter, and son and teach English at a science and technology university. Baptized a Methodist and raised a Missouri Synod Lutheran in Buffalo, NY, I spent six years as a guest of the Anglican Communion before being received by the Grace of God into the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church on the Feast of Saint Andrew, my patron, anno domini 2002.
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