I start worrying more about losing face than feeling guilty afterwards…
I start having faith in the Chinese system. For 1 time out of every 1000 something actually works the Chinese way, it amazingly increases my confidence in the Chinese system….
…but I did feel guilty afterward.
…But since they still get it wrong 999 times, I continue to have a very healthy skepticism.
Guess I’m not Chinese yet.
When in a situation where you’re being stared at constantly or being photographed simply because your hair is a different color and you have a ‘da bizi’ (big nose), try this perfect antidote: pull out your camera and seek revenge through the lens. The Chinese don’t like having their picture taken by people they don’t know anymore than we do, so they’ll quickly turn away. You can try staring back at them, but garaunteed they’ve long out practiced you at staring contests. Therefore the only sure fire away to alleviate the long hard gaze or many furtive clicks is to have your camera at the ready and shoot away should they continue to be persistent.
Watch out, Italy, here she comes!
But at least I know my roommate is smart enough to avoid this situation:
Ms. Liu, who taught in Bulgaria, says she had no idea that the Chinese were considered loud until she and her colleagues drew disapproving looks at restaurants in Sofia. “Many of the shortcomings of our culture and the way we carry ourselves, it’s magnified when you go abroad,” she says.
This morning while at the airport, this was shouted about me. A woman standing about 10ft away kept saying to her son, ‘look, look! A foreigner, look. Say hello.’ I’m not a monkey in a cage! This is not the zoo. I’m not a spectacle! I can understand what you’re saying and find it degrading and disrespectful. I don’t walk through the airport shouting at you ‘look, look, a woman wearing a green shirt. Lets ask her if she only has green shirts.’ No, I may not be Chinese (which I’m glad of) but I am also certainly not an animal in a zoo to be mocked either! Furthermore, the fact that this woman showed so little respect while at the airport, a place that implies a certain level of wealth and a certain level of contact with the greater world, stunned me. I expect this in the countryside in China, in remote places that rarely see foreigners, but not at a provincial capital airport. At least her son was far more intuitive than she and took interest in the planes and the airport rather than just another passenger waiting for their plane. Unbelievable.
Rock climbing in Yangshuo was awesome! We used a company called Karst Climb and though I’d frequently eaten at the associated restaurant, Karst Cafe and Pizzeria, I had never seriously considered going rock climbing. Then some of my group got excited about going and compared the prices and reputation of the three main rock climbing companies in Yangshuo: China Climb, Spiderman, and eventually chose Karst Climb.
We met the manager, a great local girl named Echo and the climbing instructor, an Aussie named Simon and then set out at 9am fully equipped with shoes, helmets, harnesses, ropes, chalk, etc. It happened to be raining that morning so we thought that would put a dampener on our plans but they had been through this situation before and knew where they could take beginners that would be sheltered from the rain and sun. Brilliant! We didn’t need to cancel our plans. These rocks had obviously been climbed before because they had rings screwed into them for attaching caribeners.
As the first beginner to give it a go for the day, I had to summon the courage to find my footing, stretch my arms and push myself up. After that initial hoist, it got easier and quickly I developed the confidence and felt capable of reaching the top! Exciting! What a sense of accomplishment! After I repelled back down, I thanked Simon for starting us out on an easy section so we could build confidence and faith in our ability before moving on to more difficult sections.
Everyone easily made it to the top of the first section and most people mastered the second as well. It was a great half day and definitely one of the best activities I’ve done in Yangshuo. I highly recommend climbing with Karst Climb and I look forward to the next time I can go rock climbing!
Cultural & Business Insights, Experiences, Observations
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