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!

Normal

Since my American classmates have come, I've realized how much I've gotten used to China without even realizing it. It's actually strange to hang out with them. I had forgotten all about college humor, I forget that I don't have to speak English slowly to them, and I hadn't even realized that some things in China seem strange to them.

They often make fun of me, but I certainly deserve it. I have forgotten many English words and my grammar is unusual. I often word sentences oddly and end up saying something I didn't mean.

I wonder if I'll ever be "normal" again...

Westerners

I have met two other western students. One of them is Tracy from New York. She is in an intermediate-level Chinese class, but I met her because she stopped by my room to say hi. We went to dinner and grocery shopping together and talked about studying abroad and funny things we've noticed about China. Tracy has been here for seven months and she said she wished she had written more of her thoughts and impressions down.

I write several times per day. I'm filling up a notebook very quickly, and sometimes I wonder why I write so much. As I'm writing, I feel that much of what I'm recording is mundane. Tracy says to keep writing! I know she is right- when I get back to America, I will want to remember the everyday things about life in China. I hope that as the semester moves along, I will still write as much as I do now.

Anyway, the other westerner I have met is named Dustin, from Winnipeg. He is in all of my classes.

Usually conversations with international students begin with "What's your name?" in Chinese. We all have Chinese in common, so after that we can easily figure out each other’s native languages. The next question is "What country are you from?" and I am always asked what state. Not many foreigners know about Ohio, though. (Is it near California?) When I met Dustin, our conversation went like this:
“I'm from Winnipeg. You?"
“Columbus, Ohio.”
“Awesome.”
“How'd you end up at Lanzhou?”

I find it interesting that three westerners are at Lanzhou University. The first thing we wanted to know about each other, other than names and where we are from, is how we got to Lanzhou. Tracy was randomly placed here. She received a scholarship from the Chinese government and they decided she would study at Lanzhou. Dustin and I are both exchange students.

I have heard that there are one or two more American students who haven't come back from break yet. I wonder if I will be able to pick them out easily and I am curious as to how they came to Lanzhou.