(for GZ only!) Shall we play a game?

[MoonCarolCafe]

Howdy all. I'm done with the business side of my trip to GZ. Now it is time for the fun and games.

 

Let's play... Spot the Negro!

 

Rules: Approach me and say the phrase "Moon Carol Cafe ma?" and I'll treat you to dinner at the Moon Carol Cafe. The game is in play until 19:00 on November 15th.

 

Even though I am an unrepentant "double-stuff oreo" it should still be easy to spot the hei-sede skinned chap running around GZ for the next few days, right?

 

Game on!

[Patrick & Li]

LMAO, WTF is a "Double stuff oreo"?

 

I bet you are an attraction in China!

Sheeit, I am 6'6" tall and weigh in at about 275lbs. I was the main attraction everywhere i went. I got to the point where i'd start staring them down. I even started talking at them, "wtf you looking at"! LMAO!

I even saw cartoon type stuff, A guy walked into a wall because he forgot he was still looking at me and walking at the same time!

 

Patrick

[Bobby]

..

 

I'm white, 5'8" and 145 lbs.. I was the hit everywhere I went when I was in ShenZhen... I can't wait to go to some of the outlying villages (my plan for the next trip)..

 

I'm sorry I'll miss out on the free meal .. That's ok, I've been trying to explain to CaiYun that she'll be an extreme rarity down in the lowcountry of South Carolina

[Guest blsqueaky]

Aw jeez, I am going to miss I free dinner since I do not arrive till the 19th of December.

 

I remember all of the looks when I was walking around the last time, always dresses in Western style shirts with either cowboy boots or sneakers. Have to admit tho, lots of time people would stop and talk, just so that they could use their english, what little that they could speak, and many times people said "hello", and many times ladies would wink.

[PJ]

MoonCarolCafe,

 

Hehe, I couldn't stop laughing after I read your post, you've got a great sense of humor about about being able to stand out in China.

 

Actually, I'm always amused to hear friends on Candle like Patrick and Bobby talk about how much attention they draw in China.

 

My experience in Foshan/Guangzhou was completely the opposite. I never

felt so ... hmm ... part of the crowd in my whole life.

 

I'm about 5', of Chinese heritage. Yep, as you all can imagine, I blended in quite well there, especially when speaking Cantonese. My strange American accent? No problem ... there are so many non-native Cantonese speakers that have picked up the language (people from the villages, Mandarin speakers up north), that I actually heard many people with *worse* accents trying to speak Cantonese than my own.

 

The downside to blending in is people sort of expected me to understand the language and the culture, and know what I was doing/where I was going. I didn't really get the sort of "let's give him a break, he's a foreigner".

 

P.J.

[se_lang]

Let's play...  Spot the Negro!

Ok is this like "where's Waldo"?

[warpedbored]

Interesting perspective. It always strikes me as odd how people of

Asian decent are percieved as foreign in the US regardless of where they were born or whether or not they are naturalzed citizens. I have been with American friends of Asian decent when they were asked "where are you from". A few years ago here in the Portland area there was a man of Korean decent that is a naturalized citizen running for congress. He was commenting in a newspaper article how one man at a campaign stop told him, "I would only vote for an American" . When he pointed out that he is an American citizen the man repeated, "I would only vote for an American". I think his accent did him in. He didn't win the election yet we had one woman named Elizibeth Furst who was born in England serve in congress. One of our present representitives is David Wu who was born in Taiwan. He came here as a small child but he speaks perfect english. I suppose there will never be any shortage of fools and bigots but lets hope that thing will continue to improve. I suppose when you consider that only 50 years ago Asians couldnt even own property in a couple of states, we have come a long ways.

[Mick]

..

 

I'm white, 5'8" and 145 lbs.. I was the hit everywhere I went when I was in ShenZhen...  I can't wait to go to some of the outlying villages (my plan for the next trip)..

 

I'm sorry I'll miss out on the free meal ..  That's ok, I've been trying to explain to CaiYun that she'll be an extreme rarity down in the lowcountry of South Carolina

In our booming metropolis of Ardmore, Tennessee there are a total of four Chinese.

 

Down in Huntsville, Alabama, about twenty miles south, there are several thousand. Much larger city.

 

I spent fifteen years in Miami (1983-1998). Now if you want to talk about cultural diversity.....this is the place to go.

 

When I was in China I was constantly stared at, especially when I lived in Hefei. Not too many foreigners there. After a while, I pretty much got used to it. But I must admit there were times that I felt like a zoo attraction.

 

MoonCarolCafe: I imagine you are not too hard to spot my friend. I recall once when I was living in Hefei, a team of retired NBA players came to town to play a Chinese team. I happened to be eating in the hotel where they were staying when they arrived. The shortest of these guys came in around six feet five. They drew a crowd like you wouldn't believe.

[TimD]

LMAF:D So funny!!!!

 

Here in Shanghai I think we'd all blend in since there is such a huge expat community here, but in Nanjing it was a bit different. Was spot the "Big Nosed Whitey". While we were living in Nanjing I had a prefence for cheap Chinese restuarants. Many of which I am sure never had an expat customer. At one place the cooks came out of the kitchen to watch me eat. My wife over heard them saying that I was really good with the chop sticks. Another time my wife was giving a taxi driver a hard time for something and he got mad back at her and said she is nicer to expats than she is to country men.

 

It's a good experience for us all to be taken out of our comfort zones and enter a society in which we are considered different, Moon Carol has the right approach, take it all with a big ole American smile and a good sense of American humor!!!

 

-Tim

[MoonCarolCafe]

:-)

 

Today I ate lunch at a smallish cafe in south-central GZ. At first everything looks strange, but if you look carefully things here are much like they would be in the USA. The restaurant was near a residential area, it had an open grill area, patio for outside dining... cashier near the door... just like some of the places I eat at in Los Angeles.

 

Loads of fun, except the argument the missus and I had over the purchase of a new space heater

[Robert S.]

MCC, You are such a cool guy!!! I lived in south Atlanta for six years in a 90% black neighborhood and knew a few other "people of color" (what does that mean?) who had gone beyond their cultural limitations, especially some of the ladies at the transcription company I worked at. They would tell me how some of their neighbors would tell them they they did not "talk black" or "think black" they way they were "supposed" to do, but they did not feel a need to give in to the demands for conformity. It is possible to understand how the black awareness advocates think, though, and there have been times when I could look at some white-bread guy and see how he was too white for his own good. I know you are using the "oreo" term in a sarcastic way, (unrepentant!!!) and it could never hurt you like it would somebody who did not really know who he is.

 

As for me, I also was a sight to see while I was in China. Little children would run up to me and rub my big belly!

 

Stand your ground on that heater disagreement. There is no need to try to be a Spartan the way so many Chinese people believe they must do.

 

Could you tell us a little more about the cafe itself?

[PJ]

MCC,

 

Lemmie guess. You wanted to buy a space heater and she didn't want you to spend the money?

 

I agree with Robert, there does seem to be a tendency for many people in China to be *very* financially conservative.

 

Usually if you can put a purchase in terms of the long-run benefit, then they will accept it. Something like "honey, a heater will keep us warm and can be used for a long time."

 

Now, if you want a REAL challenge, try justifying the purchase of an Xbox or Playstation video game system. I get into a lot of trouble about my video game hobby.

 

P.J.

[Bobby]

Now, if you want a REAL challenge, try justifying the purchase of an Xbox or Playstation video game system.

See, I've already got a plan here.. I still don't have a PS2.. I figure if I decide to get one once she's here, I'll disguise it as a toaster.. I just have to figure out how to keep her from shoving bread in to the DVD player..

[tonyontherock]

Another time my wife was giving a taxi driver a hard time for something and he got mad back at her and said she is nicer to expats than she is to country men.

 

-Tim

Well, she better be! If she treats all men alike, that would be a problem.

[tonyontherock]

I agree with Robert, there does seem to be a tendency for many people in China to be *very* financially conservative. 

 

hum, I wonder what happens when they have been here for a while. After my ex moved out, she left behind 8 cardboard boxes of clothing, more than half still with tags on and a few boxes of shoes. sHe did not have place for them in her apartment and told me to give to the salvation army. She did manage to take 12 boxes of clothing with her. I guess it all depends on the person. When I was in China, I was surprised by how some of them spend. Two guys go play golf each day after work in Beijing. They all seem to drive better cars than I do. The fancist restraurants were always fully booked each night. They always seem to have a problem on how to spend the money. The friends in real estate were even more snorbish.

On the other hand, there are those that can not even afford food.

There is such a huge economic gap. it is sickening sometimes. I am afraid one day it will blow up.