Other Foreigners

Meeting other foreigners is always an interesting experience. A lot of Americans (or possibly Eurpoeans, I don't positively know) will avoid looking at you. It's almost as if other foreigners aren't allowed to exist--they want to be the only one in China. Other people are just escaping--from what, though, I don't know. Others will notice you, let you notice them, and then ignore you. We're an odd bunch.
Yet, while I have my built in circle with CTLC, I don't want to be friends with all of them. It sounds horrid, but it's true. Many of the people are really nice, kind, funny, and smart. And then there are those I have nothing in common with besides hailing from the same country. And then there are a few I just don't like at all for various reasons.

So I was on the bus the other day, and at one stop toward the end a blonde man gets on. He's just done with work, carrying a briefcase/shoulder bag. Ooh, a white man! I'm usually the only non-Asian on my bus. Every once in a while he would look at me. Now that might not seem significant, but you need to remember, Americans here don't acknowledge each other unless they're friends.

So finally, out of curiousity, I catch his eye and give him a half smile and he smiles back. At the second to last stop before the subway a bunch of people got off and he moved from the front where he's been standing in the front to the chair right behind mine. So I comment with a hi and you must be new here or something like that. He replied, saying he's been here for a few months, and asks where I'm from, and as I'm saying, "Minneapolis, MN," it dawns on me he doesn't sound American.
He's German. This explains a lot. No wonder he didn't pretend to not see me!

We ended up taking the subway together and talking about about life in China, things we find hard, things we like, and how we're here to meet Chinese people and not just hang out with people from our respective countries.
So, at the end, he gives me his card, jokingly telling me that it's all in Chinese (it is, on one side) and then points to the email address telling me the phone number isn't ... right. I'm guessing that since he speaks no Chinese, the phone number doesn't actually go to him directly. His English is excellent, but not perfect.
I am more than happy to make an English speaking friend outside of my core group. Plus, as a non-American, I'm curious to find out how his experience has been different from mine or if people always assume he is American.

I've since been invited to his birthday party (where I can meet more Germans and their Chinese colleagues). Yea--potential new friends! He's also trying to figure out where to take his girlfriend when she visits in a few weeks, and I'm more than happy to help. Shenzhen is fun, but it's not like going to Chicago where there are the obvious places you have to see or take a visitor.

I've also made a new friend via this blog. Apparently, while NYPD serves good pizza, it isn't really New York style pizza. My deepest apologies to New York. Said commenter has since suggested "better" pizza places, emailed me maps, and suggested we get his friends and my friends together for some pizza. I'm up for it. Meet more Americans outside of my group? Sure. Since they're not all teachers like we are (some have business ventures on the side) their motives for being here are different--ie. it's not just a year off for them before grad or law school (which is the case for a number of CTLC people).

Last night I went to Shekuo with Bart. All the Nanshan-ers were going to meet up for drinks and a fun night out. Good beer, the waterfront, and a cheap cab ride home? Sure, count me in!
We never did find our group (and thus caught the last bus home at 11). We got there around 9:30pm, and since our group was still not all there, we sat down at an Irish pub and had beer. Real beer. At American prices. So I enjoyed my Stella Artois for Y45 instead of a Guiness for Y60. I'm saving that for a day post-payday. We sat outside and sipped our beers and the people watching was excellent.

Shekuo is where a large majority of the foreigners live. The white people outnumbered the Chinese 9 to 1. There were some children with their parents and I wondered what it would have been like to grow up and the Western part of a city in China. I overheard loud Aussies, Americans talking with Brits. When I went to use the WC, it was overwhelming. It was like being in an American bar, packed. But people actually said excuse me (something most Chinese don't do). I felt confused and out of my comfort zone.
And that scared the crap out of me.

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