How old are you?

High school student?
No?
Middle school?


I thought it was only in America that people confuse me for being 5-6 years younger than I am. You know it's bad when you're in Asia, surrounded by people who look similar to you, and they still underestimate your age...

In Japan, even though I was speaking fluent English with my friend and wearing sweatpants and my crew jacket (NOT Japanese style), two Japanese girls standing near us couldn't tell I wasn't Japanese: "Oh, I just thought you were Japanese and could speak fluent English!" >< Then again, most KG girls aren't exactly the brightest... (no offense)

But in Korea, it's not any better. At an English club meeting one of my students invited me to, one of the Korean members confused me for a Korean so she asked me in Korean, "Are you a high school student?" I answered no (in Korean), but before I could elaborate, she guessed again: "Are you a middle school student?" -_- After she figured out I wasn't Korean, I had to explain that actually, I am neither a high school student nor a middle school student. I graduated from university last year and am working as an English teacher...

Several of my students' moms have told me I look like the elementary school students I teach. One of them straight up told me I looked like I was 12! My 6th grade students are at least 13! :P As I get older, people seem to guess younger...

Ironically, in Korea, I'm now 24 years old. According to the Korean system, when you're born, you're already 1 year old because they count the 10 months in the womb. Then, on January 1 of the new year, everyone adds another year to their age. So even though I'm 22 in the U.S., I say I'm 24 in Korea. Man, it makes me feel old... even though people guess that I'm half my age... So confusing... I can't even keep track of how old I am anymore.