Being mixed and not looking like your folks

When you are a person of mixed-race, being not quite one thing or the other, there is a good possibility that you don't look much like one of both of your parents.

Take me for example. This is my mother:

While this is my father:

And this is of course my good self:

See what I mean? You can kind of see some resemblance to both, but it ain't like it jumps straight out at you.

Now I know this is not restricted to mixed-race kids; there are also plenty of you out there who are NOT mixed and who don't look much like your parents either, in which case you probably more closely resemble the milkman. But what I'm talking about here is the extra level of difference due to race.

In a multiracial society, interracial relationships are becoming more and more common, so nowadays if you're an white man carrying a small child with dark skin, onlookers might give you the benefit of the doubt rather than assuming you are some sort of sex offender.

But in a place with less racial diversity this can sometimes lead to confusion.

For example:

My Uncle Djoko is Indonesian, with brown skin, a slight build and is not overly tall. He married an Australian woman, and his adult sons Paul, John and Adam are all well-built fellows around 6ft tall, who are like me in that they don't look particularly Asian (in a stereotypical sense).

On holiday in Bali, Uncle Djoko accompanied his three sons as they went shopping. At one particular shop they made a few purchases of clothes. As they were leaving the shop, the manager unexpectedly handed him a small amount of cash.

It dawned on Uncle Djoko what was happening and he shook his head, handing it back. "No, no. These are my sons."

The manager had assumed from the start that he was in fact a tour guide. It is common practice in Indonesia for businesses to give a tip to guides or drivers who bring tourists into their shop. So seeing an Indonesian man with 3 young men who did not look Indonesian, it was an easy mistake to make.

My cousin Nesa has had a similar experience. During a brief stay in the town of Bogor, I was keen to check out the renowned botanical gardens. Nesa was less enthused, preferring the more common Indonesian activity of sitting around smoking cigarettes. After I wandered through the gate and he parked the car, one of the nearby food stall operators asked him, "So, you are a chauffeur for a bule (white person)?"

Any of y'all out there had a similar experience?