Soo... I got a little freaked out this morning when I woke up and we discovered that all internet services for our apartment had been cut. Billy's relatives told us that all of our email is being read and we need to be aware of that... the elusive they are watching... anyways... it was so creepy! We had a wireless connection the night before, but then woke up and not only was there no connection--- it showed that their was no such network in the area!! Creepiness! Sooo... that word I said about a Communist country feeling like America... I take it back.
Yucky story of the week: so Billy and I were checking out the university that I might attend here in Shanghai (if we stay here... we are now thinking of maybe heading back to Beijing... I liked it better for living... Shanghai is overwhelmingly big, dirty and FULL of people! Plus- the weather in Shanghai is AWFUL... it has been around 100 degrees with total humidity... I sweat profusely from morning to night...I am talking about DRIPPING with sweat.. not just a little damp... DRIPPING... it is sick)... back to the story.... so we had to take the underground train to get there. The university is in a busy, downtown type area (there are many little clusters of high rises like this); where we are staying is in the south part of the city. (As a second aside: Shanghai is MASSIVE. There are 60 skyscrapers in Manhattan; there are 4,000 in Shanghai... that should give you some perspective) So as we were heading into the underground train, we took this escalator. I got separated from Billy, and as I headed down this NASTY man from above started hooting and yelling to get my attention. I looked up to see this fat, dirty, nasty man with a missing front tooth smiling at me. I turned and ignored him. As the escalator neared the bottom I felt something hit my leg (good thing I was wearing pants and not shorts!)... when we reached the bottom of the escalator I saw what it was that the nasty man threw at me.... a half-chewed, bloody chicken bone! IKKKKKKK!!! So I made my way to Billy and we were standing there waiting for the train and the nasty man actually had the nerve to come and approach me there. Thank goodness for Billy! Billy tried to look mean and yelled at the man. He eventually left. IKKKK!!! Soooooo... I had Billy teach me how to yell "Save my life" in Chinese for future reference... nastiness! So, yay for me, I survived my first nasty man encounter... I fear there will be more... it is inevitable. I am so clearly, obviously foreign, and this is intriguing to the people here. In the area where we are staying, I have not seen any person of any other race except Chinese... we have probably walked by hundreds of thousands of people. It is a bizarre feeling... and people here have no shame staring at a strange white face. They actually call out to each other to look at me as we are walking down the street, and they drop what they are doing and stare. They also get their children and bring them over to the street and point at me and stare. You'd think I were famous... :) I think it is worse when Billy and I are together, because that is VERY strange to them. They have probably only a few times in their life seen a real, live white person, and pretty for sure they have never seen a white girl with a Chinese guy. It is amusing to watch them scramble to stare at us. In central Shanghai there are a lot more Caucasians. We went there to go to the US embassy (I also got a cup of Starbucks coffee... Here's to America!... it was such a joy to drink it... tofu and seafood meal after meal can get wearing...and is. :O). But out here on the outskirts, everyone is Chinese.
Well, enough said. Hope you all enjoy the update...
tami
5 comments:
wow! so, i heard this story on npr the other day by an american living in paris who barely speaks french and he was saying that when you move to a place with a different culture and language it's kind of like being a baby again - everything is mysterious and all of your complacency with everyday life is taken away, everything is new and even doing little normal tasks becomes like a big adventure. it made me think of you guys, although an american in paris probably isn't the center of attention wherever they go! i remember it being the same way in taiwan when i went .... everyone stopping to stare at the 'megoran' (i'm sure that spelling is way off, i might even be trying to descrribe the wrong word!) anyway, it's good to hear you're safe - try to stay that way, you should have thrown that chicken bone back.
love mike (and c)
Ah, the old bloody chicken bone move. I can't remember how many times I've used it myself--- verrry smooth, the ladies go wild. It sounds like China's an adventure anyway and I suppose there's something to be said for that. From reading the newspaper it sounds like "they" are probably reading our email over here too, oh well I wasn't using my civil liberties anyway.
Love you,
d
sooooo creepy tami!!!! and i think its that you are not only white but youre blonde and blue eyes... i remember when we were little i went to disneyland with the girls across the street (both were blonde hair and blue eyes) and i rememeber some tourists asking to videotape them just because in asia they dont ever see them!
and yall wonder why i dont travel... hello!? i can get harrassed right here in my usa! haha
We've been watching the weather in Shanghi, we thought it might be a tad on the miserable side(like a hot Florida).
The chicken bone move is way over rated but the toothless grin might be in my future.
Beryl Chen asked about you last night(Wed) and will probably contact you. She just got back from Shanghi. Connie is doing very well. Serves at Mt.SAC.
Keep good notes, it sounds like an adventuresome year!
Sounds like Billy will have his hands full trying to keep you away from trouble, real or imagined. Anyway, we trust in Him and him.
Love m+d
Mike~ I am shocked that you remember the word! Yes... you remember well. They call me a "Meiguoren"-- that is American. To them, even if you are an American born Chinese, you are not American. "Meiguoren" means that you are not Chinese, and most probably white. Good memory! :) ...tami
Post a Comment