Fountain of Youth

In America, if a stranger sat by you on the bus, struck up a short conversation, then invited you to come to his house the next day for dinner, you would probably tell him to go to hell. In China, this is a common occurrence. To be fair, I can’t say Chinese people are always this hospitable and open towards each other. These invitations are extended to me, because I’m a foreigner (and I accept, because I’m naive). Students grow up being told by their teachers that if they want to improve their English, they need to befriend foreigners and approach them whenever possible, regardless if they look busy.

The man who sat by me on the bus a few nights ago, however, clearly didn’t need to practice English. He already spoke very well and never bothered to play the “my English is so poor, please help me” card. It’s nice to meet people who are genuinely interested in getting to know you, even if that interest still stems from the fact that you stick out like a dinosaur in a chorus line. The next day, the two of us went to the gym, played pool, ate a home-cooked meal from his mother, and went to the park to watch a nightly fountain show. I had no idea that fountain show was even there. Eleven months here, and Changzhou is still full of surprises.

23 May 2009 | China | Comments | Home
tags: attractions, expat life, manners

• < Next Post
• Previous Post >