Chapter 3 - The Case of Mistaken Identity

Back in the U.S., Jeff was used to getting asked questions like “Where are you from?” or “What are you?” And when he would answer that he was from Chicago and that he was pretty sure that he was a human-being, in the back of his mind, he knew they were referring to his ethnicity. Sometimes a little offensive, sometimes just inquisitive, these types of questions were actually fairly common. He just didn’t expect to get asked this so often from his Chinese co-workers at the CDC. People here were a little more straightforward and some might consider blunt with their questions, but this was something he prepared himself for… as best as he could.

For the first half of his 12-week internship, Jeff would be in the Institute of HIV/AIDS/STI Control and Prevention. His main interpreters were Dr. Cheng and Dr. Liu. Dr. Liu was actually supposed to go to UM in the summer as one of the Chinese exchange scholars, but for one reason or another, his VISA was postponed. The two of them introduced Jeff to a new program at the TJCDC in which they were targeting high-risk groups, specifically MSM (men who have sex with men) and what they refer to as MB’s or Money Boys. In 2007, there were 156 cases of HIV/AIDS found in Tianjin. Although the prevalence of HIV/AIDS is fairly low in the city as a whole, the government along with the help of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, have funded this project (all throughout China) to focus on this previously ignored group.

Diving head-first into his new job, Jeff spent the first week learning about the “Four Frees and One Care” policy that China had started at the end of 2003 to help fight the stigma and discrimination around HIV/AIDS infected individuals. This policy would allow for free antiretroviral drugs, free voluntary testing and counseling (VCT), free prevention of mother-to-child transmission, free schooling for children orphaned because of AIDS, and government assistance to those living with HIV/AIDS. In 2005, Tianjin was the first city to provide free testing to everyone, and Jeff was able to witness part of this procedure the first day of work. In the afternoon, Dr. Cheng translated some of the surveys for him and they sat in on an interview being given to an MSM college student. Somewhat uncomfortably standing in the corner of the small room, Jeff listened in on the survey and watched the young man give a blood sample. They then proceeded to urge Jeff to “Go ahead, ask him a question, he speaks a little English!” Not sure what to say, he asked the student if he had any prior sexual education in the past, which the man replied “No.” After another awkward minute of silence, Jeff headed back to the office.

While he was learning a lot about how China was currently dealing with HIV/AIDS, many of his Chinese co-workers were more interested in practicing their English and talking about life in the U.S. One afternoon, they called him into their department and sat him down. Slowly, one by one, the other people in the HIV/AIDS department began to rise out of their cubicles and unintentionally surround him. They explained that they also liked to take breaks to talk about things other than work and proceeded to bombard him with questions. One of the questions that caught him off guard was, “Are you Asian?” Dr. Cheng began to explain that Jeff looked like he came from the Xinjiang Province, an area in Western China with ethnic minorities. It was a part of the country near Tibet known for people who had ‘mixed’ with many of the European nations. Jeff politely smiled and hoped that it was a compliment rather than an insult. He explained that his family was originally from the Philippines but that he was born in America, more specifically Chicago. This elicited some nods of understanding, along with a barrage of even more questions. Jeff was glad though, because it changed the topic of their previous conversation in which he had spent 20 minutes explaining that Americans are not exactly like the characters in the movie American Pie – which he surprisingly found is a favorite movie for many Chinese.

A few weeks later, Kellie joined Jeff in the Institute of HIV/AIDS/STIs. They took a tour of the STI laboratory, and for one reason or another, they thought it would be a great idea to show the Americans what a crab looked like under the microscope. However, they failed to mention what they were going to show them until after they looked at the slide, so Jeff and Kellie were a little surprised to say the least. The rest of the week thankfully didn’t include any more crabs, but it did include a trip on the high- speed train to the local CDC in the Tanggu District. But it wouldn’t be complete unless Jeff was asked about his background at least one more time before the weekend. On the elevator ride home Friday night, Kellie and Jeff bumped into one of Kellie’s co-workers from a previous department. Kellie introduced Jeff to the woman, who said hello and immediately asked him, “What is your blood?” Although taken aback a little, Jeff did have to give the woman credit, and mentally awarded her the blue ribbon for the most creative way to ask if he was Chinese. Bravo indeed!

At end of her two weeks in the department, Kellie and Jeff were scheduled to deliver some presentations on the afternoon of May 30th. Kellie was asked to talk about HIV/AIDS in the US, and Jeff was asked to discuss the educational system in the US as well as the MPH program at UM. They were told not to worry about the presentations, and that it would just be a small gathering of people… that is until an office-wide announcement was made the day before, and the two students found themselves walking into a crowded conference room complete with the Vice Director of the CDC in attendance. Don’t be nervous, they said! It’s just our department, they said! It was a good thing they had over-prepared their presentations just in case. Once Jeff and Kellie were finally done presenting, it was time for the all-important question and answer portion… which would soon be followed by the swimsuit, evening gown, and talent competitions. One man in the very back of the room raised his hand, “Excuse me, I have a question for the young man who did his presentation on the educational system.” Sitting at the edge of his seat, Jeff anxiously awaited what he believed to be a very serious question from this man who spoke very good English. “Yes?” Jeff replied. “I think…” the man hesitated… “I think that you look Asian to me.” While not exactly the direction he thought the conversation would turn, and not even sure if his statement was technically a question, Jeff proceeded to re-tell his “back-story” yet again, knowing that this wouldn’t be the last time he would have to say it.