stoney creek is different than toronto

Someone told me that I was their most ethnic friend the other day. Funny, eh? Just to be clear, when I'm in Stoney Creek, I don't go around wearing traditional Korean dresses, speak with an accent, or even mention my "ethnicity". The difference? Well, it's really just Stoney Creek, where my parents were once proud convenience store owners serving hundreds of people who thought we were Chinese.

I'm not really bitter. It's just a different place, right? I remember in my first year in Toronto, I went out with a bunch of Asians and I thought to myself, "Wow. I'm the only white person here." Once, my friend and I were counting the number of white girls in my class and, lo and behold, he inadvertently counted me amongst them. So it seems like one of the great differences between Toronto and Stoney Creek is that in Toronto, I'm pretty much white and in Stoney Creek, I'm pretty much anything but.

And, again, it's not me that's changing -- It's the people around me. In both Stoney Creek and Toronto, my friends are primarily white, but in Toronto, it seems that there were so many Asians that I was free to distinguish myself, and in Stoney Creek, I'm already distinguished. I'm not saying my friends are racist or anything. I'm even sure that they have "ethnic" friends at university. It's just the environment that makes me stand out I suppose. I usually like to stand out, but instead of me sliding into the spotlight with my arms outstretched in a ta-da formation, it's more like I didn't know I was on stage and the curtain opens and people are seeing something that I didn't mean to show.

That's the grandest thing. I forget how people see me, so it always comes as a shock when someone points out that I'm Asian. I can forget that I'm not white, but some people can't.

I don't really understand the difference. Like, in Toronto, I make mildly racist jokes with my friends but usually there are other Asians there. Maybe that's the difference. Maybe it is me, being uncomfortable with my lack of back-up.

I guess I'd better get used to it. Looks like I'll be Stoney Creeking for a while.