叫んでも聞こえないこの声

Strange compliments

I was at the hospital geting my hand checked out today (martial arts injury, not something you gutter-minded people are imagining), and was talking to the doctor's assistant. He was a middle-aged Chinese guy from Hong Kong, and we were talking about martial arts and whatnot while he was walking me to the X-ray room. Along the way, he commented that I was big for a Chinese person, and that I was a good looking, handsome Chinese boy.

And like many other times in my life, I had a Keanu Reeves moment and said "...thanks?"

There seems to be something about me that makes old Asian people want to tell me I look good. This happened a few years back when I was getting my hair cut at this Korean place, when the lady who was cutting my hair was going to hook me up with her daughter until she heard I was 20, which made me a bit too young.

I'm not sure what it is that causes this sort of response from middle-aged Asian people (and only middle-aged Asian people). I'd like to believe what they say, but after years of schoolyard ridicule and conditioning I've developed a neurosis to discount any compliment on how I look and only focus on the negative. I have a big enough ego as it is (that's tragically unfulfilled), so letting these things get to my head can only lead to more trouble.

Now if only beautiful women between the ages of 14 and 35 would tell me I look good and they want to jump my bones...!

Posted by aoshi at January 26, 2006 12:54 AM | TrackBack