Anecdote

China is a country that makes absolutely no sense, and therefore everything that takes place within it makes no sense. You know when you get on the plane that you are headed to a country where you do not speak the language and their language isn't even written with letters, so you have to realize that there is going to be an overwhelming mix of isolation and miscommunication. Luckily with an English speaking program most people around you speak English, and you will end up with a roommate that speaks English. So you accept that you won't be lacking someone to connect with or bond over this exciting adventure. However, the isolation is a major part of the transition that you not only have to recognize but overcome.

Not wanting to leave your apartment because you know that outside the door, on the street you will not be able to ask for what you need, won't be able to tell someone what you feel. The smallest detail like buying a bottle of water becomes an epic game of charades, a game that will consume a large part of your life for at least the next month while you wait, hoping one day to find that the mumblings and sounds around you have worked themselves out to become something comprehensible.

In the beginning your mind hears noises and grunts and sounds so different than what you are used to hearing as common speech that it is impossible to distinguish one from another. So the busying street becomes an overwhelming cacophony of horn honking, bus squealing and indistinguishable conversation. But you make yourself walk out of the door, look people in the eye and use your dramatic hand gestures to get what you need or explain what you want. Each moment becoming a little bit easier than the last, each step more casually enthusiastic.

China is a country of people who are very proud and very settled, they have no desire to reach out and experience other places in life, and they don't have the inherent desire for travel or global knowledge. Their life cycle ends, most likely, where it began, same province, same city. Tourist cites around the city are flocked with Chinese people who have travelled from one part of the country to another. That is the extent of their interest. Of course this is the rule, there are exceptions, but in general the Chinese are happy here, they are not worried about over there. Knowing this as a fundamental fact of the Chinese mindset helps you when you are a foreigner living here. Because they have no desire to go see your country, they never quite understand why you have a desire to see theirs.

In the beginning of the process of moving to China it is explained that you must expect a great deal of attention to be paid to you, at all times. You can try to accept that concept before you set foot in the middle country, but you will never truly be prepared. Being a foreigner in this country makes one able to relate, on a certain level, with the famous people who are always noticed, watched and studied. It is exhilarating at times to feel the interested eyes of those around you, taking notice in the little nuances of your life. It is easy to see how many people could fall in love with this feeling, of feeling different, important and interesting. Many people leave their home countries where they are just like the person that stands next to them, maybe always wishing they were a bit changed or stood out a little more. Then they come to China and that exotic difference is instantly granted, and one can feel that they have become a little bit better of a person, naturally, organically.


The burden of a country’s interest can weigh heavily at times on the back of these foreigners. At first the interest is exciting and welcomed, eventually though you can start to distinguish between the many different attitudes with which you are being watched. There are the ones who will stop you and ask for a picture with you, a nice person who helps you pick the best laundry detergent out of a whole aisle of confusing labels, but there are others who are not so interested in seeing you walking through their streets. In general the feeling is pleasant and respectful, but there are many who stare at you with disgust, disdain or complete abhorrence of your penetration into their world.

A country known throughout history as being xenophobic, still has an under tow of people who think that you should stay on your side of the line and leave their country out of your thoughts. There are the young kids who don't feel this way but can look at you and laugh in a way that will make you feel like a kid standing in a school yard exposed with someone throwing sand in your face.

These nasty laughs and disregard are the exception to the rule. A rule that will become blazingly apparent the longer you are in this energetic country. People here want to help you; they want you to know that they are glad you are here. Your interest swells their national breast with the pride that they have always known but are glad to have a reminder that comes in the form of a young American walking through their streets and coexisting with their ways.