Pegged as an Outsider

In reference to my previous post about wearing hijab to the mosque, I found myself on the opposite side of a situation that I initiate all the time – It’s me who is usually the one who awkwardly asks people where they’re from.

Example: At the Asian festival in Columbus, I spoke with a woman at a stall selling traditional Chinese art. I could tell by her accent that she was probably from Beijing, or at least northern China. I told her I was interested in the Chinese paper cuttings, and that I had lived in Lanzhou, Gansu. We chatted about western China for a while, and then that dreaded moment came.

“Where are you from?”

“Michigan.”

“Welcome to Ohio!” I said, and left it at that.

I find myself in this situation all the time, and I know that it’s me who is at fault. I’m genuinely curious about other languages and cultures - I’m not judging people for having an accent or different customs. But citizenship, nationality, and identity are touchy subjects for most people.

Another example: I met a woman from Uzbekistan a few weeks ago. When I first asked where she was from, her answer was "Well, I was born in Asia, then my family moved to Russia, and now I live in Cincinnati." We had been talking for about 10 minutes when I realized she must be from Kyrgyzstan or Uzbekistan, so I asked, "Which Asian country were you born in?" She was so surprised that I was familiar with her country!

So my turn came at Masjid Noor, a mosque in Dublin. I was washing my hands in the bathroom when a teenager smiled at me in the mirror. I smiled back and said hi.

“Where are you from?” she asked me.

I was completely caught off guard, not only by the words of her question, but by her unspoken assumption that I was different.

“I’m from Columbus.”

“Oh, cool. Did you come with someone today?”

“Yeah, I came with my friend. We work together.”

Being on the other side helps me to understand better. It made wonder what reasons the girl had for (correctly) guessing that I didn’t quite belong. But at the same time, I recognized her interest in me and my story for how I ended up at the conference at Masjid Noor. And then she hit me with this one:

“You look really beautiful in hijab.”

Another Foreigner

I thought I knew most of the westerners in the area, but I was wrong.

My roommate and I were out on a walk, deep in a conversation when a swarm of Chinese students came out of a building about 50 yards in front of us. Nothing unusual. But then I saw a western guy in the middle of the crowd. He was also deep in a conversation with a Chinese friend, but he saw me too.

No matter where I am in China, it's strange to see another foreigner. And to see a young western guy that I had never met, right here on campus, is extremely unusual.

As we walked toward each other we tried to pretend that we weren't staring at each other. But we kept looking up at the same time, so that didn't work too well. Finally he passed me and I turned my head once to look at him again.

Yep, he was looking back, too.

I know what he was thinking, because I was thinking the same thing. We westerners try to analyze each other and guess why we're here, what we're doing, and whether we like it here. I can't get over how much I have in common with people I don't even know just because we're westerners in the middle of China.


Two end notes: I would have said hello except that we were both in the middle of conversations. And please don't think I'm a creep- I'm writing about this because it's an example of how strange it is sometimes to be in China. Just seeing another foreigner is weird to me!

Popularity

Maybe you don't realize how lucky you are to be an American. I don't say that to insult you, but I know I didn't understand. Really, I still can't.

You've heard it all before about how rich Americans are compared to the rest of the world. You've heard about all the opportunities that Americans have. You've heard about the freedoms in America. Well, it's all true, but I don't want to write about any of that. There's so much more...

In China, I knew I would stand out because I'm a foreigner. But it's not just being Caucasian with blue eyes, light hair, and straight teeth from braces. Some of the other international students fall into those categories.

Simply because I'm an American, people think I'm awesome and want to hang out with me. I don't even have to try to make friends.

Upper-level Chinese language students want to study with me and help me learn Chinese. Sure, they want to improve their English, but because I'm from America, my English is "perfect." Most other international students can speak English, but they spent years and years of hard work studying it. Really, they're still learning. I just naturally speak it.

I had dinner with some Chinese students, and afterward I had to visit each of their dorm rooms so their roommates, floor mates, and everyone around would know that they were super-cool to have an American friend.

On the street, people I don't know say "hello" (in English) to me. In America, strangers may greet each other, especially in small towns. But in China, this is very odd; my friends always ask if I know who said hi to me. It is also unusual that strangers in China give up their seat on the bus for me. People I don't know tell me I'm pretty, or talk to my guy friends about me. It's different in China; they don't have romantic intentions. But I always think, "Just because you've only seen, like, three Caucasian girls in your lifetime..."

A friend told me that my roommate is totally thrilled to be living with an American. I have done nothing to earn her adoration. I always feel guilty about little things- she cleans the room while I'm asleep because she doesn't want me to help, for example. She has made my bed for me in the morning while I'm taking a shower. She offers me everything she has. She would do anything to help me.

I can't stand myself sometimes. Everyone thinks I'm someone I'm not. And I didn't do anything to earn any of this.

Bing Ling Si

I went on a day-trip on Saturday with my friend Dustin from Canada. Dustin planned out the excursion: Starting in Lanzhou, we would travel to the city of Liu Jia Xi where we would take a boat to our final destination of Bing Ling Si.

Bing Ling Si is a Buddhist community southwest of Lanzhou. The main attraction is hundreds of small caves with Buddhist carvings.

Dustin and I met at 7:30 in the morning and took a bus from the university to western Lanzhou. Finding the west bus station was a journey of its own, so it was a good thing that our next bus didn't leave until 9:00.

The bus ride from Lanzhou to Liu Jia Xi was two hours. Public buses in the cities are dirty, crowded, and uncomfortable for long distances, but this bus was clean and had padded seats. The ride was quite enjoyable, especially because of the beautiful views of the county side.

Liu Jia Xi is a small city. Dustin and I think we were the only foreigners there, not to mention that few foreigners ever visit. Foreigners are more common in Lanzhou because it is the capital of the Gansu province and has several universities. We still get stares and "hellos" in Lanzhou, but in Liu Jia Xi we were met with gasps, pointing fingers, and people yelling "wai guo ren" (foreigners). A young girl even approached us with an offer for us to visit to her home. She recited some English sentences she had memorized, but it was apparent that she knew no English.

Dustin and I walked around Liu Jia Xi and had lunch. Then we took a taxi to the marina. We could have easily walked the distance, but we didn't actually know where the marina was. We had walked to the Yellow River at the south end of town but couldn't find it.

Unfortunately, Dustin and I were the only patrons of the marina on Saturday, so the boat ride was expensive. On the positive side, we had the 12 passenger boat to ourselves so we were able to take many pictures, and in my case, video.

The boat ride was one hour long and took us south on the Yellow River. The river is surrounded by mountains and is stunning.



Bing Ling Si is even more stunning. It would be an injustice to attempt to accurately describe the landscape. The mountains, the river, the walkways, the bridges, the caves, the Buddhist carvings and statues are all gorgeous. Bing Ling Si is a photographer's dream. Between the two of us, I think Dustin and I took over 300 photos.

As I previously mentioned, I brought my video camera along. I shot plenty of cover video and B roll, but the neatest tape I have taken so far in China is of Dustin and me being attacked by women and children selling jewelry and trinkets when we entered and left Bing Ling Si. The only English they know is hello, beautiful, and fifty (dollars). We spoke to them in Chinese and bargained with them for jewelry made by the Buddhist monks. (They kept saying "monkey" in English. Dustin and I know "monkey" in Chinese, so we said that back to them. Until we figured out that they meant "monk" both sides were confused about why the other would be talking about monkeys!)

We stayed at Bing Ling Si for just over an hour, and then Dustin and I took the boat back up the Yellow River to the Liu Jia Xi marina. We knew we were cutting it close on time- the last bus back to Lanzhou leaves Liu Jia Xi at 5:00. Buses are usually late, so we weren't too concerned that it was a few minutes before 5:00 by the time we docked. We speed-walked back toward town, but gave up and hitchhiked. On the way, we saw our bus to Lanzhou coming at us. The driver of our vehicle stopped in the middle of the road, honked, and waved the bus down. Luckily for us, the bus stopped to let us on.

This bus was crowded. Dustin and I didn't have actual seats, but we sat in the aisles and the front of the bus by the driver. Whereas the first bus ride seemed shorter than two hours, this one seemed longer. But we made it safely back to Lanzhou and to the university.

Because of recent events in China, traveling has been heavily restricted and is ill-advised. But because of the proximity and demographics of Bing Ling Si, Dustin and I felt it was safe to travel. Other popular destinations near Lanzhou, however, are closed to travelers. Hopefully things will calm down soon, because I'm already itching to go on some more weekend trips. Travel in China is easy and affordable because of the public buses and trains, and it would be a shame to stay in and study every weekend, especially as the temperature warms up!

Chinese Lantern Festival

Bei’s family took me to the Chinese Lantern Festival in Fugu. This celebration is part of the Spring Festival and the Chinese New Year. For the past month or so, most people have had off work and school. At the Lantern Festival, everyone from the surrounding area comes to the city and has a celebration in the streets. There is a parade, people selling food and trinkets, a maze to walk through for good luck the rest of the year, and of course, lost of Chinese lanterns. There are many types of lanterns at the festival, but the most common ones look exactly the same as the ones you might find at a Chinese restaurant in America. I was expecting more elaborate or ones of higher quality, but they are the same thin fabric or paper.

In China, almost every single person in the area comes to festivals like this. In America, in contrast, not everyone goes to the 4th of July parade or county fair. In China, there is nearly 100% participation. The streets of Fugu were so crowded and noisy and dirty.



I may have been the only foreigner there. I might even be the only foreigner that has been in the area for some time. Everyone stared at me, and many pointed and laughed. Some even came up to me and touched my face. They laughed and said the Chinese word for American, and they laughed even harder when I said hello to them in Chinese. It is strange to be in the minority!