Week of Weird Identity Incidents

I'm used to random mistaken/incorrent identity incidents here and there, but this past week, I feel like I had more than my share in close succession and a couple of particularly strange ones...

1) On Tuesday, I had the first class of my language planning and policy course. The room was packed and there were about 50 students in the overflowing classroom. We all went around and said our names, programs and what languages we speak, and the prof notably went around and impressively managed to remember almost everyone's name. Almost, I say, because she couldn't remember mine. No big deal, it's a lot of students and I understand. What was weird though was the whole conversation around it.

Prof: Ok, the last few of you. I honestly have no clue.
Me and another girl she can't remember (trying to be helpful): Well we have the same name...
[Prof still looks puzzled]
Me: It's Christine.
Prof: Oh. Christine. Of course. As I said, I can't remember the easy names. (She had previously forgotten names like Beth and Erica)
[Prof chuckles]
Prof (to me): Well that's what you get for taking an American name. You should've stuck with your Korean name.
[I give her a confused look]
Prof: You know... choosing an American name.
[I still look confused]
Prof: Is it Korean?
Me (what she's saying is slowly sinking in): Uh, it's Chinese.
[A few awkward moments pass, and all I can think is "Did she REALLY just say that?"]
Prof: Oh, of course. I should've known. You said you speak Cantonese.
[I look up, flustered, and across the room, I see my friend with a puzzled look, going "She's not even American." And then I think, yeah! I'm not! and mutter to myself "Yeah... I'm Canadian." The prof stops what she's saying and looks at me.]
Prof: What?
Me: I just said I'm not actually American either. I'm Canadian.
[Class laughs]
Prof: Oh! Canadian. We'll be talking about that.

I must say, this is one of the strangest encounters I've ever had. I just didn't know what to think. It was so... surreal. I got so distracted trying to figure out what she had said that I totally lost what was going on in the class for the next while. The more I thought about it though, the more offended I was. I mean, the way she said it was like she was joking and I really didn't expect anything like it, but really... What the hell!?! Aside from the fact that I'm neither Korean nor American, I wish I had had the chance to point out that Christine IS my name. I didn't TAKE it or CHOOSE it. In fact, I probably had it first; plus, no one even calls me by my Chinese name. And how did she know I even had one!? Also, she's a bilingual/bicultural education prof... Shouldn't she, of all people, know better?

I wondered at first if I was overreacting, but since then, what's even stranger is the number of people from the class that I either know, or who I've just randomly talked to at other times this week, who have mentioned it and how weird/offensive it was.

2) On Wednesday, we went to visit another school in central Harlem. To get there, I needed to take the 3 line all the way to the end, so I'm on the subway, minding my own business. Then at the 135th St stop, the entire train empties. Every single person in my car gets out except for me -- and from what I can see, the same is true in the cars on either side. A woman steps onto the train, and looks at me, puzzled. I'm starting to wonder if I screwed up and this is the last stop...

She asks, "Where are you going?"

As I'm about to respond, the conductor pops his head in and asks the same, "Miss, where are you trying to go?"

By this point, I'm so confused. "Um... 148th St?"

"Oh. Ok." And we continue on our way.

So strange. Turns out, the lady was going there too. What puzzles me is why they were so confused by ME.

3) When I arrive at the school, we all have to sign in with a lady in the principal's office who writes down our names. A bunch of people go in before me, and then it's my turn. She writes down my name, and then asks if I'm bilingual. "Uh... not really," I say, not knowing what she means. Later, I relay this to my friend Joanne who also came to the school and she said that the lady asked her and all the other Asian people the same thing. So odd. Particularly so since all the bilingual/ELL (English-language learner) classrooms I passed were bilingual English/Spanish.