Getting Gawked

---

In Chengdu people are pretty polite about checking out the foreigners. I can occasionally (okay more than occasionally) hear the term "white foreigner" thrown around (one of the first Mandarin words I learned). However, when we decided to venture further from Chengdu the looks got less and less subtle. Normally people just stare. Perhaps point a little bit. But in this small town people followed us. When I walked out onto the street- people literally stopped and beckoned for their friends to look at this tall foreigner. We heard the word for "tall" so many times today I would be rich if I got a penny for each time. Child reactions were most epic. They would yell out "Tall!!" to their parents who would also be standing out in the street. It was quite the experience- I can't say particularly liked it.



Also, a man randomly came up to me and told me that my nose was huge (which is apparently a great complement in China- this is So the place for me.) He told me that my long&wide nose meant that I would be rich and successful...

---

Photos

Lotus flower
You can burn these for good luck.

Beutiful tea house
The sun came out for a little while!

Jasmine Tea
I made everyone move aside to take an artistic picture of the tea. I am my mother's daughter.

Comments

[Jackson]

What a beautiful place!
These pictures are amazing! Also, those little bags with the sayings on them are hilarious! That's crazy how forward the people are with foreigners - I can imagine it being quite uncomfortable! It looks like you're having tons of fun - keep it up!

[mer]

nice pitchers
hey Taryn i hope you do become rich and famous some day. i love your good shots of the flower candle things. i love you sooooooooo much. i love you more. i love you most. :D

[Jenifer Gunnink]

Thanks!
Thanks for keeping a blog, Taryn, and especially for including all your photos. I'm so glad things are going well for you and that you're adjusting well. I can't wait to read more about your experiences. Maddie's especially jealous of you; she loves anything Chinese, Japanese, or Korean, so I'll share your blog with her so that she can live vicariously through you.

[Aunt Aimee]

Somehow I missed this blog - found it just now. Laughed and laughed about your "tall" experience. It reminds me of when I was working at a hospital in Hawaii and I was easily the tallest person on my floor - I had the vague feeling of looming over my co-workers and the patients (many who were Japanese) Love the lotus flower pictures!

[Becky Su]

I hope everything goes well!
Hi, Taryn. I hope your adventure in China went well so far :) " long&wide nose meant that I would be rich and successful" this is so true!!