The first time I realised I had a superpower was when I was living in Australia.

I was at a party where there were mostly Malaysians and Australians, and a lady from China was there. She could only speak Mandarin, so I spoke to her in my not-so-good Mandarin, apologising for my subpar command of the language. She reassured me in the polite way Chinese people do when you’re trying your best but not hitting the mark.

Then, a friend from Malaysia came over, and I responded to her in a mix of Malay and English – Manglish, to most of us.

Then another person came over to talk to me, and I joked with her in Hokkien and then switched to English when her Aussie spouse came over.

When I returned to the lady from China, she remarked, “You Malaysians are so amazing!”

At first, I was confused, because I was just doing what many Malaysians do and take for granted – context-switching and adjusting my language to the person I’m speaking to.

Then she said, “You can speak Mandarin, you can speak English. I’m amazed that Malaysians can do this.”

This may sound like I’m humble bragging, but this was not the first time people said this to me. I’ve travelled around the world when I was younger, and I heard this often.

Once, in Japan, the guide and translator who accompanied us said that the Japanese people were intrigued by Malaysians due to our linguistic abilities. I had the same remark about Koreans from another tour guide when I visited Seoul.

I’m not sure if they’re flattering us Malaysians, but since both tour guides were originally Malaysians, maybe they were speaking the truth.

And I think, due to this flexibility, a lot of people are confused by Malaysians.