Hey, folks! I'm on vacation, taking a much-needed blog break. Some batteries need recharging. But don't worry -- I've enlisted the generous help of some great guest bloggers to keep things fresh around here while I'm gone. Here's Dorcas Cheng-Tozun with a step-by-step guide to being mistaken for a prostitute in China.
Step 1: Marry a white man.
When I was a senior in college, a Chinese American student wrote a scathing op-ed in the school newspaper about the bane of white men dating Asian women on campus. He blamed the men for poaching Asian women; he blamed the women for not giving their Asian brethren a chance; he blamed all parties for perpetuating nasty stereotypes. His column ignited a vigorous debate on campus.
The paper did a follow-up article on just who these outrageous white-Asian couples were. My then-boyfriend -- now husband -- and I were interviewed for the article. (Ned is technically half-Turkish and half-Jewish, but in this context, that didn't matter. He's white enough.) We talked about the challenges of cross-cultural romance and how we tried to be sensitive to one another's heritage. But we were confident we could find a way to make it work. And we did.
We married four years after graduating and enjoyed copious amounts of marital bliss. See? I wanted to tell that guy from college. Asian-white relationships can be a beautiful thing.
Three years later, we moved to China -- and I realized I had no idea what I was talking about.
