Breaking Stereotypes
It would be nice to hear some of stereotypes you’ve learned throughout your hosting years or even of yourself. We can learn from each other to limit our differences.
I will start with a little background of myself, and share what are the stereotypes I had upon others.
I was born and raised in a multi-cultural country, Malaysia where equality between races is non-existent. Most of us, only hang out with those who are of the same race. I don’t have much friends from other races or nationalities back then but I do now.
The Asian value is deeply rooted in most of us. We were told to study hard, graduate, work hard, have a boyfriend, get married and have babies. That was the ideal path planted in our head and many of my friends followed through.
When I was way in my mid-20s I knew that was not the path I wanted, but did not know or have the courage to breakthrough it. It was when I started hosting, my whole world changed. I started to learn and inspired by others who are from different background, culture and colour as me. They taught me it is okay to be different from my peers.
These were some of stereotypes in my culture have upon me.
- I am 35 years old yet I am still single without any children
- I am living alone but I am hosting male guests
- I have a degree in accounting and I am a nail artist
- I am a woman but I travel alone
I would admit I have stereotypes upon others but thru my guests they proved to me I was wrong.
Indian men are scary
I met a few Indian male guests and they were really respectful of my space.
Westerners cannot handle spicy food
A guy from Missouri (born, raised and live there) told me he loves mala ‘spicy’ hotpot. I was surprised how exposed he was to the Chinese cuisine. We had a mala meal together!
Chinese people only speaks Mandarin
I have guests from China who speak and write excellent English.
Young people are irresponsible
I hosted a few young adults and I was so surprised how exposed they are to the world. They are mindful, matured in their thinking and knowing what they want in life.
Single parent cannot provide a wholesome experience for their kids
A few single parents that I met taught their kids well. They grew up fine and happy.
One thing I’ve learned being a host is to be non-judgemental. We shall never judge a person until we give our time to get to know them. Through conversation, we can eliminate any misconceptions and improve our understandings of others.
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Let’s break some of these stereotypes, shall we? #breakingstereotypes
Yuan
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