I came across a white old dude at a museum at Einbeck the other day. He saw me, and decided to summon up his courage and say to me “Sayonara”.
I’m like, wow, dude, really? Then I said “not Japanese, Chinese”. I think he was ashamed for one second and ready to walk away from his awkwardness. But then he decided to come back (with his walking chair) and have a meaningless conversation with me for five more minutes.
I would like to point out two of his mistakes:
First, sayonara means Goodbye in Japanese. It’s like saying tschüs when you see me.
Second, Asians, just like Europeans, are heterogenous classes. When you don’t have that kind of knowledge, be humble and don’t assume anything. This is called being polite.