A tip for all you ignorant people...yeah that means you, so you might want to listen up.

I've been interning in Washington, DC for a good 9 weeks now, and one of the (many) things that I can't stand about the city is the all too apparent dearth of Filipinos and Asians in general. What this equates to is far too much quasi-fetishizing from complete strangers. I once had a bouncer - a complete stranger - tell me he had a things for Asians and look at me practically licking his lips. Needless to say, I've never experienced this kind of blatant orientalism on the West coast, which makes me feel privileged to go to a school where race happens to be hyper-polarized. It used to bother me that race is so prominent at Berkeley, until I came here and realized what a blessing it is.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about: I can't even get my daily dose of caffeine without being accosted about my nationality. A random man today in Bagels and Baguettes, where I get the usual (regular mocha frappacccino, no whip) every week day before work, felt compelled to ask me a question: "Where are you from."

Oh the well-meaning, curiousity-laden "Where are you from." Clearly, he isn't asking me where I'm actually from - it's rare that someone asking that question the way this man asked me (which is often how it's asked for the most part) is interested in my address. Oh no, no no. What this man, and countless people before him, wants to know is what my ethncity I am. But apparently because I am not white, that must mean I must be from somewhere else, not here. That is the implication. If I were to answer this man's question literally, I would have said, "Well sir, I'm from Washington State, approximately 20 minutes north of the fair city of Seattle." But then we would have had to go through the "Oh, no no, that's not what I mean. Where are you FROM."

I really don't mind fielding inquiries about my nationality. I'm proud to be filipino and to tell people that I am. But - and here's the tip for all of you people in DC who have never seen an Asian person before - if you want to know what I am, then ask THAT. "What are you?" "Why, I'm filipino! How refreshing for someone to say what they mean.!" Or even "What ethnicity are you." It's okay to ask, just don't show how sheltered you are when you ask.

Plus, asking is much better than guessing. Much better.