A recent post in the English-language China blogosphere has prompted me to take a closer look at my behavior as an expat in regards to integrating in the culture and making Chinese friends. Those of you who know me know that I am, among other things, painfully shy. Which probably explains why I have very few close friends and why I have become, essentially, a hermit. No, I joke, I’m not a hermit. After all, I venture out of my Hedong cave at least once a week to sit in People’s Square and pose for pictures with small children.
This past Saturday, from my usual perch at the front of McDonald’s, where I have an excellent view of the street and one of Linyi’s busiest intersections, I experienced a little intercultural bonding with a Chinese couple, and so I thought I would share it as evidence of my non-hermitage.
I had just finished my sausage egg McMuffin, which used to be my secret Saturday morning indulgence until I decided to share it just now, (I love those greasy, cheesy sandwiches), and was sipping my coffee when I saw a young Western couple walking up the sidewalk carrying a tiny baby. I have to admit that although I get a little queasy when Chinese strangers point at me and call out excitedly, “Laowai!,” my initial reaction was to think, “Oh, wow, those laowai have a baby!” Just as quickly as I thought that, the couple at the table next to me exclaimed to one another, “Oh, wow, those laowai have a baby!” We shared a knowing glance, a little laugh and looked on together amazed.
There you have it, folks. Cultural interaction – shared amazement at the laowai couple. Of course, later I sat with that friendly American couple, and had a nice 45 minute chat about life in Linyi with a four month old baby. My social skills completely depleted, I made a run to the supermarket and returned to my cave.
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
One of the more recent times people exclaimed in amazement at the fact that there were “laowai” to be seen, Josh jumped to attention and asked “Where are they?” in perfect Mandarin.
I LOVE this story! It’s priceless!
Interesting post. I’ve been living a hermit-like life for the past two months in my cave. Ha,ha…
Hang’s last blog post..Thank you very much for buying our Chinese competitors!
Hermit’s unite! (If we can manage to get out of our caves!)
Hello GG,
I got a kick out of your post. Have had similar experiences in other places. I remember coming home to Holland once for a visit while living in Ghana, West Africa. Walking the streets in my small provincial town, I saw a black man coming toward me. I turned around after he passed me and looked at him. Wow, a black man! I thought. As if I didn’t see black people every day of my life for years on end. It made think!
Although I’ve lived in a number of exotic spots, I’m shamefully ignorant about China. It’s time for me to learn a bit more, so I’ve subscribed to your blog to get the expat view!
Happy writing,
Miss Footloose
Miss Footloose’s last blog post..EXPAT FOODIE: HAVING SOMETHING TO EAT GHANA STYLE
LOL I do know the feeling! Thanks for stopping by! I’ve subscribed to your blog as well ’cause it is right up my alley – I love expat blogs. And I know nothing about Ghana!
Hi! i don’t think I’ve commented before (woops, sorry! I’m a RSS feed hermit..) But this made me laugh! In January or so my then-husband & I & our ~2month old baby will be moving to Harbin (most likely, somewhere in China definitely), so I totally saw myself in their place, hehhee. I wish I could have talked to them! I’m having such a hard time finding info on living in China with a baby. Not a whole lot of people in that situation seem to blog or anything, unfortunately! I guess I’ll have to be the one that fixes that once I get over there
Hi Ameya! Thanks for commenting! Most of my blog reading happens through RSS, so I know what you mean. Wow – Harbin in January with a 2 month old baby! All I can say is wow! It’ll be so cold, but I guess you know that!
Let me suggest a blog I just started reading: Ambrose-a-Rama. I haven’t added her to my blog list yet, but she is an American mom with two kids living just north of Beijing. She was pregnant in Shenzhen and had a baby in Hong Kong. Now she is dealing with raising her baby and young son in the north. I think you would particularly find this post interesting: http://jenambrose.blogspot.com/2009/04/american-parent-in-china.html Evidently, you will be getting lots of unsolicited advice from Chinese women.
China’s an adventure!
Thank you so much for the link!
Yeah, I’m pretty nervous about the advice & such, when i’m annoyed, you can tell, but I don’t want to look like a jerk! Haha, Something i’ll have to work on!
& Yes, FREEZING! Already requesting the warmest baby clothes everyone can find. heh!
Ameya, I’m raising 4 kids in China. 5,4, 1 1/2, and 4 months. Two of them have been born here… One in the North and one in the south. If you want to “talk”, feel free to shoot me an email. froggielaureate at gmail dot com
Elizabeth
Thanks for volunteering to help Ameya out! I think you must be quite an expert in raising kids in China!
Guess I do need to start my own blog… The last one served it’s purpose, but I never really blogged, so it died. That site was blocked too often to be feasible anyway… To be frank, I don’t have time to look for another place (that’s free and designed for someone as computer-clumsy as I am), so I wait.
Any suggestions would be most appreciated.
I’d love to see you blog again! You have a great voice. As for blogging sites, I think Wordpress is the best as it is very user-friendly, but since it is often blocked in China it is not a good choice. Blogger (www.blogger.com) is probably the widest used and it is easy enough to make an account, choose a blog template and start blogging. There are options for upgrading the look of it, too, if you are interested. Blogger blogs (with urls like this: blabla.blogspot.com) have been unblocked in China for quite some time. I think it is safe to use. Anyone else have suggestions?
Will have to wait until after the move. What’s the point in starting a blog if I won’t have computer access for the next several months?
Whatever… It will work out in time.
Thanks for the tips though… May ask again, later, when I actually plan on actively writing.