
When you look at me, what do you see?
A young professional, or a brown girl who speaks surprisingly good English considering she "is not from here"?
I am an immigrant. A proud immigrant with a long-spanning history and bloodline of humble, honest, and hardworking Indian men and women.
Side note: Amanda Fotheringham shares the awkward questions she gets asked as a young Aboriginal woman. Post continues below.
I was born in South Africa. However, my forefathers hailed from Tamil Nadu in India. They were brought to South Africa as indentured labourers to work in the sugarcane fields.
Sadly, I have never been to India; and it may surprise you to know that I do not speak an Indian language. In fact, my parents grew up in South Africa speaking Afrikaans and Zulu - Afrikaans is a West Germanic language that evolved during the 17th century under colonialism and Zulu is a language native to South Africa.
Unfortunately, because my parents spent much of their time learning the language of their oppressor, they were never able to master their own mother tongue - something they both deeply regret.
To clarify, because you ask me so many thoughtful questions, I do not eat butter chicken for dinner every evening and my parents do not shake their heads when they speak; nor does my mother wear her hair in a long braid that reaches her lower back.
I am sorry to disappoint, but by father does not work in IT, nor is he an Uber driver.
In fact, he has an MBA from Melbourne Business School. No, my younger sister does not have a profile on an Indian matchmaking site, she is a passionate, strong, and courageous young woman who aspires to become a lawyer.
My brother is not about to leave home with his subservient new Indian bride. He has been too busy finishing his studies at Stanford University, working for our local MP and mastering his French studies to focus on finding a wife.
Lastly, my mother - my intelligent, patient and unbelievably talented mother - doesn't stand barefoot in the kitchen all day cooking curry whilst wiping sweat from her forehead with her dupatta. She is in fact a teacher studying toward her PhD.