I still get mistaken as a foreigner. Despite being dark skinned, some think I am a Japanese, or a Chinese, or a Korean.
I have Chinese in my blood. My grandfather is Chinese. But I never met him.
Taxi drivers, security guards, cashiers, sales people and others would talk to me in English. There were times I play along and talk to them in English as well. But it gives them a sense of relief when I answer back in a local dialect.
It’s fun.
What isn’t fun is when they charge me extra than the usual because they think I’m a foreigner.
I smile back at them and talk in Filipino to end their scheme.
