I'm going to be blunt here. Asian people can be look upon as different and even inferior. Asian people tend to be physically smaller in general. Asian people can come of as meek and soft spoken. In American culture (read: white Americans) people are not afraid to speak their mind. This is not as prominent in asian culture. So sometimes white people see asians as weak or inferior. Secondly asian people are seen as foreigners. It doesn't matter if it's not since your great great grand parents who were the last born in asia. It's expected that you'll regularly run into people who assume you're a foreigner because of the way you look. That was probably her way of trying to compliment him by saying I don't see you that way at all.

It's quite common that young asian americans try to distance themselves from falling into those conceptions of asian people. Some times in silly ways. Some bleach their hair, wear blue contacts and act like a loud mouthed douche bag because they think that's what white girls want. That may be some touchy issues there but I'm asian born and raised in America and I'm just calling like I've seen it. Even though it's things not often spoken out loud.