i prefer asian

while revelling in the fact that i earned an A in my calculus III exam, i was stopped by an elderly man at the library who inquired, "Are you Korean?"
"No, I'm Malaysian."
"Yes ... I see. Professors like Orientals. If you look at the number of Orientals in engineering departments across the country, you'll see that there are many of them. It's because engineers are the brightest students. Your parents see that you prize education and have discipline from a young age."
I smile, courteously, but quite stunned that I had been called an Oriental.
"So which part of Asia are you from then?"
"Malaysia. It's south of Thailand."
"Ah, I see. Yes, I've travelled to East Europe but I've never got around to that region. Now I don't suppose I will because of the tsunami."
At this point, Mike my benevolent supervisor interjects, "You should go now. They need you there."
I hastily make my getaway.

this episode is very troubling. first, asian instead of oriental. second, no matter how much I take pride in the achievements of people who are of the same race as I am, I do not see them as representative of the entire race, i.e. we're not all conniving brainiacs.