Japon! Japon! Japon! Japon! Philippines?

Since I am about to go to Paris, I thought I'd get my very last piece of travel writing from my last trip to Tunisia out today! I have traveled to countries where I hardly see any Asian people but Tunisia was sufficiently off the beaten track where the locals were so intrigued at the sight of me they would stare. It got annoying and irritating after a while and the worst part is that they assume that I don't speak French or Arabic, so they can talk about me right in front of me. Well, I am fluent in French and speak basic Arabic, so I instantly knew when people were talking about me.

Limpeh at Uitque

So for example, when I was on the bus from Tunis to Utique, the two women sitting in front of me were talking about me, assuming that I couldn't understand their conversation in a mix of Tunisian Arabic and French - one thought I was Japanese, the other thought I was Chinese and they were turning around, pretending to look out of the window when they were actually looking at me. What should I do then? Introduce myself, tell them where I am from? Or should I just pretend I don't understand them because I don't really want to talk to them in the first place? I chose to ignore them.

And then there were those who just stared at me. Good grief. They were not subtle, it wasn't menacing but it wasn't subtle either. This usually happened at train stations or on trains - where we're all just trapped in the same place for a while. I would usually stare right back at them, straight into their eyes and it would be a staring showdown: let's see who's going to make whom feel more uncomfortable first and Limpeh is not going to back down. Like by all means, come and say hello and talk to me, but don't stare at me like I am some kinda green alien with two heads.

Limpeh at Monastir beach

You see, I am not used to all this - I live in London, one of the most cosmopolitan and international cities in the world. Walk down the street in London and you will see black, white and Asian people - it is very mixed;  nobody bats an eyelid or takes  a second glance at me in London This is quite unlike Tunisia which was so homogeneous, practically everyone was Tunisian. Sure they do come across white tourists from Europe from time to time (and Tunisia is an ex-French colony), but Asian people like me were extremely rare. So I can understand their fascination with someone like me, particularly when I traveled to rural areas, away from the big cities but good grief. What pissed me off was the way they approached me - good grief. They were not subtle at all. Oh no.

They seemed to want to play this game called, "I am gonna guess what country you're from whether you are interested in telling me or not." I have had kids run up to me in the street shouting, "Japon, Japon, Japon!" That's French for Japan and they seem to use that word rather than the Arabic word for Japan "Delyaban" I would usually ignore them but if they were persistent I would tell them to go away and leave me alone - in French, then in Arabic, but the moment they know that I speak their language, they would then try to engage me in conversation. Groan. It's not that I am unfriendly but I just hate the way they were practically interrogating me about where I am from.

Limpeh in Tunis, the capital

Once after this kid badgered me for like a full minute, I told this kid in French, "Je ne suis pas Japanais, Laissez moi tranquille!" (I am not Japanese. Leave me alone!) He then persisted and kept asking if I was from Japan and I snapped and I asked him what language they spoke in Japan? I am speaking to you in French and Arabic, do people from Japan speak French and Arabic the way I do, like you Tunisians? Do you not have geography lessons in your school? Clearly not, they speak Japanese in Japan and maybe some English but no they do not speak French and Arabic. I am speaking to you in French and Arabic, so use your brain and think for a moment - could I be Japanese? Do they speak French and Arabic in Tokyo? Clearly not.

I think my outburst must have scared him a bit as he turned and ran away. Perhaps I was a bit mean to him, but every shop I walked into - despite my ability to speak Arabic and French, the shopkeepers would greet me with "Japon? Japon? Japon?" And sometimes, "China? Philippines? Korea?" What makes you think I am more likely to buy anything in your shop if you manage to actually name the country I am from? I am going to buy something if I see something I like and badgering me like that is only going to make me turn around and leave your shop.Maybe they are doing this to try to establish some kind of rapport with me, but their social skills are pretty shit. Maybe that's just their culture, maybe they don't know how to be subtle in their culture but it's a pretty poor reflection on their culture in that case.

Limpeh in El Jem with my camel

There was once this kid (who was about 12) who said to me, "Nihao Japon!" And I just had to correct him - in my school teacher-like manner, explaining to him (in French) that nihao is Mandarin and that the equivalent in Japanese would be Konichiwa. The kid then asked if I spoke Chinese and I said yes - he then bombarding me with facts that he knew about China, as if I would be impressed. "En Chine on mange du riz!" (In China they eat rice!) And I was like, yeah, so...? "En Chine on fait du Kungfu!"(In China they du Kungfu!) I was like good grief, what does this kid expect me to say or do? When he said, "En Chine, il y a des Pandas!" (In China there are Pandas!)  So I told him that Pandas are like pets that all Chinese families keep, there are Panda pet shops in all Chinese cities where you can buy Pandas. I have a baby Panda named Bui who sleeps in my bed and has been in a movie with me. I was half wondering if this kid was going to believe my Panda stories but guess what? He believed every word I said and at no point, did this kid question why this 'Chinese man who has a panda' can give me this lecture in fluent French. The Tunisian education system leaves much to be desired when it comes to educating their students about the world outside Tunisia!

The most ridiculous man however, has got to be the fruit seller on the route to Korbous - you see, we were driving to Korbous and had arrived at a rather confusing junction. There were no signs indicating which turning we should take for Korbous and so I decided to ask a fruit seller which turning I should take for Korbous. I spoke to him in both French and Arabic and you know what he said to me? "Ong Bak, Ong Bak!" I paused for a moment - was that a word in colloquial Tunisian Arabic that I didn't understand, or was he referring to the 2003 Thai action film featuring Tony Jaa? The fruit seller than made a kungfu pose and threw some punches in the air - he was attracting a lot of attention from the locals with his impromptu display of Kungfu. And there I was by the roadside thinking, I just wanna know which turning I should take for Korbous... I'm not even Thai.  Did he even care to verify if I was indeed from Thailand?

It was also quite by accident that I have watched Ong Bak. Some years back, when I was at a friend's house in Clapham, he told me, "I've downloaded this Thai martial arts film - I think you might like it, let me burn you a copy." If not for my friend, I would not have ever seen Ong Bak and would have been totally puzzled at what this fruit seller was doing. I told him that I have seen the film Ong Bak and yes, it was a good film, but could you please tell me which road to take for Korbous? The fruit seller asked me if I did any kungfu - I thought if I said yes, I would never get out of there, so I lied and said no, I don't. He looked disappointed, but finally he told me which road I needed.

Don't get me wrong - not all Tunisians were as weird as that fruit seller. Some showed little or no interest in the fact that I was a foreigner, whilst some others were able to talk to me about Singapore. Apparently Tunisia did play Singapore in a football match some years ago according to a young man I spoke to whilst waiting for the train in Sousse. But then there were also those who have never ever heard of Singapore but were at least able to ask me intelligent questions about the country where I was born. Mind you, I have been to Morocco before which is also in North Africa, but Tunisians seemed a lot more curious about me than the Moroccans. It was weird at first but eventually, I got used to it. I guess it would be the same thing if some pale North European tourist ventured into deepest darkest China or India and the locals would probably react in much the same way as the Tunisians did.

Have you ever been to a country where the locals were genuinely fascinated with you? How did you cope with unwanted attention? Let me know what your experiences are, please do leave a comment below. Thanks for reading.