Look - A Foreigner!

One thing that can be awkward or even annoying is being something of a novelty in mainland China. Because there are not many foreigners, being non-Chinese causes you to stand out in any crowd. As as result, most people will stare, point and shout at you. It is not uncommon to here people say, "Kan - wei guo ren!" (Look - a foreigner!)

Sometimes it even feels like I am a local celebrity. When walking down the street, groups of people, who are usually young, will excitedly ask to have their picture taken with you. I always wonder what they do with these photos. I imagine they post them on their QQ, which is the Chinese Facebook, with a comment declaring "I met my first foreigner today!" Once when I was with all the male teachers, a few teenage girls went into a frenzy, yelling, jumping and giggling as if I had been walking with Brad Pitt.

I am not too bothered by it, but some of the other foreign teachers find that, at times, it can make them uncomfortable. Don't come to mainland China without being prepared to receive a lot of attention - shy wallflowers will not survive! When someone is gawking, I will usually wave or shout "Ni hao!" at them, which causes them to become embarrassed and quickly look away. On a few occasions, an older man or woman (in their 70s or 80s) will approach me and just start talking up a storm. I will politely listen to them ramble for a few minutes without understanding a single word and then they just nod and walk away. Typically, however, the older folks do not come too close.

The only times that I do feel weird is when I go running on the university's track. Students will not only point, but stop and watch me. I am not sure what they are expecting to learn about Americans from the way I run. So I just turn up my music and do my best to ignore them. I tend to run later at night now in order to avoid those awkward moments.

On a few occasions, when I've been in a silly mood, I will point back at someone and shout "Kan - zhong wen!" (Look - a Chinese!) The stranger will either smile before looking away, understanding the joke, or just give a confused look.