Sasa, the China Face

In Madagascar, I am known as Sasa, which also happens to be a form of the Malagasy verb “to wash” and, when shouted, sounds very much like vazaha (which means foreigner). This is because most Malagasy people, much like some young American children, cannot pronounce the “sh” sound. I actually somewhat prefer Sasa to the other name that I am often called: China Face (tarehy chinois). As many of you know, I am half Korean (my mom came to the U.S. from Seoul for college) and half American (my dad’s heritage is English and Irish). Despite having lived in the U.S. for the entirety of my life, and even referring to myself as a “twinkie” (yellow on the outside, white on the inside), the Malagasy people cannot seem to see past my Asian features. A typical conversation, especially in rural Madagascar, goes a little something like this:

random Malagasy: “Are you Chinese?”
me: “No, I’m American.”
random Malagasy: “So you speak Chinese?”

It is somewhat frustrating to be denied your identity from the start. Also frustrating is the fact that I’m afraid to do kickboxing to stay in shape (one of my favorite workouts back home), fearing that it will be mistaken for kung fu and then no one will ever believe that I’m American. All kidding aside, not looking like a “typical” American has provided me with great opportunities to explain what America is like to people here in Madagascar. Many people are very surprised to learn that there are many different types of people in America and eager to learn more. And I am more than willing to share.