Lieber Nikki,
Hui and I walked into a Doner - Berlin Turkish kebab shop this evening. The queue was long. Finally I reached to the food bar. The guy behind the counter asked me in not so eloquent English: "You, Japanese?"
"No" I smiled and shook my head.
"Ugh? Where you from?"
"Australia"
"Australia?! No. No. Where are you really from?"
I became silent. Again, I was seeking for a clever answer and approperiate response to the question and assertion regarding to my nation/cultural identity that I had given many times in my life. Surprisingly till now, I still hadn't had an immediate answer.
I looked at him without a word. His naivety seeped through his confused and smiling face. He probably wouldn't give a second thought on the meaning of the words, such as, Japanese, Australian and Germany, although he was eager to use one on me - a stranger.
"I", he pointed with his hands to himself. "from Turkey. Now living in Berlin. You?"
He was waiting.
I need my food. I should give my approval of his denial of my Australian identity. "Ok. My family is from China."
"China? Not Japanese?"
"No."
He looked seemingly more satisfied and passed my food to me.
The drifting feeling was retrieved from my heart again.
Missing home!
Siying Zhou
Berlin
