It is another beautiful Sunday. I start my day with a cup of Starbucks’ Guatemala Casi Cielo coffee. I have stop drinking espresso since I relocated here simply because I have yet to get an espresso maker. This is rather a long-awaited weekend after a rough working week. I wanted to start working on an acrylic painting that I have plan for a long time. However, my sore arms (after hitting 100 balls at a driving range yesterday) might delay the plan, again. Talking about plan, I was planning to renew my passport through Malaysia Embassy on this coming week. A phone call I made to inquire about Malaysia Embassy’s business hour at Washington DC turned out to be a joke of the week. My call was answered by a Malay lady and I easily get the information that I needed. Before I hang up the phone, I curiously asked “Did you guys close during Christmas week? I called but nobody answer.” And, this question hit the nerve of the receptionist but she remained her unattractive tone and said, “We are not GUYS, we are EMBASSY. And yes, we closed during Christmas week.” I was stunned and didn’t quite get it when she said that. Within seconds, I recalled I said “you guys” and I supposed that offended her. After I hang up the phone, I laughed out loud. I couldn’t believe her refusal to accept the fact that “you guys” is just a common way to address someone and no way to be offensive. It is rather typical for many Asians who came to US and refuse to adapt to or accept the cultural differences. Or maybe my language was too rude for her arrogance as embassy’s receptionist. I have to confess that I am not proud to be a “Malaysian” because I have never been treated as a “Malaysian” by Malaysians. I always had been treated as a Chinese who was born in Malaysia. It is not that I forget my root being raised in Malaysia, but I was bothered by the inequality treatment in Malaysia (at least when I was there). The only benefit as a Malaysian is that I am multilingual and I learned Malay language which has no usefulness except to understand when police officer offers a choice of violation ticket or $50 bribe. Of course, there are many way one can be proud to be a Malaysian because if you flip through the Guinness book of world record, you’ll find Malaysia built the tallest building in the world (this record is no longer hold by Malaysia), the largest moon cake in the world, the biggest flag in the world, and a lot more tallest-biggest-highest. This is how Malaysians prove their patriotism and to get attention from the world. I care less about this kind of fame that can be easily overtaken. Please understand this is only my personal opinion and it doesn’t represent all other proud-Malaysians. If any of this raving offended you, too bad, because you are not suppose to read my blog at the first place. I feel better now.
