Ghost Man

At one point in my life, while I was living in Asia, I learned to say “white guy” in a bunch of languages. This was an important skill as it allowed me to understand when someone was talking about me. An important skill, especially when I was the only Bule, Gaijin or Haole in sight.

My favorite was Ghost Man.

• Gaijin – Japanese meaning foreigner
• Gweilo - Cantonese term that means foreign devil or foreign ghost
• Yang gui zi – North China meaning ocean ghosts
• Da bidze – China meaning big nose
• Gringo in Mexico
• Haole - Hawaii meaning white pig
• Waiguoren - Chinese Mandarin means foreign country person
• Farangs - Thai - slang for foreigners
• Ay Hua Daeng - Thai - literally "Red Head".
• orang-puteh - malay – “white person” ie. caucasian
• mat-salleh - malay - "mad sailor"
• Bule – Indonesian - literally “Blonde”
• Joganosh - American Indian - Caucasian or any non-native person
• Mat Salleh - Malaysia & Singapore - derived from mad sailor
• Soap - Sub-Saharan Black Africans - unflattering term for Caucasians
• Ah Tuo Gah – Taiwan - literally means "pointed nose."

You learn a lot about yourself when you are a minority.