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Chinese secret
Monday, March 8, 2010

So I was showing a new friend around my hometown of Fort Myers today, and I learned a new phrase that you're going to love.

He's white but is married to a Chinese woman, and I noticed he already had the name of the only good Chinese restaurant in town.

"Yeah, it's good," I said, "And it's filled with Chinese, so I know it's good. But let me tell you what: I don't get the same food that they do. Their food always looks better than mine. I mean, I tell them that I want authentic Chinese, the real stuff, but they never listen to me. They give me that same slop that I get at every Chinese takeout in every strip center. And the Chinese eaters in the restaurant? They're served beautiful steaming platters of the stuff that I want."

My friend said this: "That's because you're Lo Fan.

Evidently, Lo Fan means WHITE RICE! It's the pejorative Chinese use to describe white folk. Don't you love that? I compare this to what the black kids called my daughter in her urban grade school: white cracker.

I'm just totally loving this new knowledge. Next time I go to a Chinese restaurant I'm going to try saying, "I'm NOT Lo Fan, so please bring me the authentic stuff."

3 Comments:

Book Club Cheerleader said...: Ad: I've been to China, and I'm not sure you want the "real stuff." Handsome Hubby did, however. He ate duck bill soup (featuring duck feet as well); fried scorpions--oh, and my favorite, some kind of special liquor infused with snake blood. I ate something that tasted like Cashew Chicken...; March 8, 2010 5:31 PM
Josephine said...: I never knew Haley was called that as well. Grace didn't tell me for a long time because she had no idea it was derogatory. She thought it was an endearing term. Oh the innocence of a second grader.; March 8, 2010 5:44 PM
Jenny Gardiner said...: love that! when we traveled in Zaire they called the non-locals Mandele---sort of same thing. Cracker, African style LOL; March 8, 2010 5:54 PM