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12/11/2008

No, do you?

Jessie jots...

I was hiking at San Luis Obispo's pride, the Bishop Peaks on Thanksgiving holiday. The locals raved about it and so was the Sunset magazine. We thought, why not give it a try. The view is absolutely magnificent and the hike up was really enjoyable. It's tough, it's a challenge but overall, you feel a great sense of achievement when you complete the strenuous hike. And I crave for it!

According to the magazine, the hike can take as long as an hour for regular hikers to reach the peak, but there was so much huffing and puffing involved, I took an extra hour to get there. No joke and not funny for a beginner. Eventhough I've workout quite regularly now, I still find it quite a challenge. Some spots are dangerous as there were a lot of rocky, dry sand area where you can easily slip and fall. For a person who is afraid of height, like moi, it can be quite daunting. Thanks to Hushby constant motivating words and inspiring elderly people who went up without much problem, I did it!

I knew I reached the peak when there were a couple of benches and there were no path ahead. I was desperately looking for a place to rest and enjoy the view coz what better way to treat yourself after two hours long hike? Too bad though, all the benches were occupied with people and backpacks, so I went to sit on a rock nearby. Hushby went exploring around while I sat there trying to get some strength back before I had to go down. It was sooooo exhausting, I can't believe I made it up there.

And then some people left the benches, I quickly took a sit on it without looking who was also aiming for a seat there. Came an elderly man with a cane, who sat beside me and other two middle-aged men, walked in front of me. One of the men stood in front and block my bird's eye view. Already annoyed, I just look elsewhere and get my rest. Then as he gushed ever so loudly about how beautiful the view is from up there, he took out his camera and said "Maybe she can take a picture for us..."

I thought to myself, is he refering to me?
So I didn't say anything because...

#1, I don't know if there's other SHE behind me AND
#2, he didn't even look at me! He was looking at the camera.

And then, came the question... In my 26.... well, almost 27 years being alive, nobody ever ask me:

"Do you speak English?"

"No... do you?" Now.... thatttt would be funny.

After a second thought, I just said yes, without further humiliating him.

Hell ya I was offended. I know I look Asian but hey, we're not in Vietnam or Bhutan! How rude of him to refer to me like I'm a little bug... just "she"? I should have just take a shot of him of his crotch and left the scene, but no, I'm a nice girl and civilized.

Unlike him. Hmpf!

All in all, the hike was a lot of fun, the view was amazing and the weather was perfect. I was just a little offended by this people who thinks only WHITE PALE MALES can speak English!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

You totally should have said,"No, do you?", that would have been awesome, I would have done it! As I was reading this entry in my mind I had a mini cartoon running in my head, of you with thought bubbles of what you really wanted to say to the ignorant man...I feel the need to do an illustration of this entry for you! LOL

Jessie C said...

Jen, haha please do it! :D I wanna see!

Unknown said...

You know, I always think of California as being more diverse... and yet no one in St. Cloud ever asked you that ridiculous question! Very offensive, leaves a bad taste in my mouth. : P