07/10/2025
When I first came to China, my company branded me as an American. They told me that if anyone asked, I should say I was from the USA. It was a big trend at the time, and companies made massive money from it. (Lay people eyeball was closed dah time) 😂
I told them, "As long as no one asks me directly, I won’t lie. " A few times, people did ask, and I’d say, "Nope, I’m from Liberia." They’d respond, "Liberia? Is that in America?” and I’d explain, “No, it’s in West Africa."
I knew why they asked. They said I was a great performer, so they assumed I must have trained in the USA. They even claimed my slim body was "admirable" because, in their words, "many Africans are big-bodied." They said I was "too pretty" ,like they had no idea who actually lives in Africa! My English was excellent, clear and easy to understand, but I made sure they knew: "All of this is from Liberia. Have I visited the USA? Yes. Lived there? No." I wasn’t letting anyone take credit for what was Liberia’s. 😂
This caused some problems for my company later. A club owner had paid them extra for an "American," but they sent an African instead, me! 😂 I didn’t even realize I was talking to the club owner. My company warned me afterward, and I played it cool, but I took those questions as digs, not compliments.
One time, an Australian guy was surprised when I said, "It’s drizzling" instead of "It’s raining" during light rain. He asked, "Where did you go to school?" I said, "Liberia." He followed up, "And after that?" I repeated, "Liberia, sir." 😂😹 He was impressed and said, "Wow! You all must speak really good English in your country." That left him with something to think about.
I take every little chance to sell my country, whether dah lay markay hall or not. Most people know nothing about us, so we have to tell our own story. Now, if you’ll excuse me, let me go practice some of JNB’s proper Liberian English, yah!
