I have it on good authority (Wikipedia) that Americans are scarce in Chengde. It’s small by Chinese standards (3-400,000) and known primarily as a mountain resort for emperors in eras past. Quaint, not well known or inundated with tourists who look like me. Our program coordinator has been upfront: You will be an oddity. People will stare.
In addition to this, anecdotal evidence suggests that my Midwestern relatives and friends are, by and large, quite uneasy about me spending a year in China. This is a topic for another post, but to foreshadow a bit, I’ve been “warned” about facing such tribulations as squatting to use the toilet, eating nothing but rice, acquiring slanty eyes (I wish I was kidding) and being nuked by North Korea. My loved ones are staring—cheering me on, or at the very least hoping I manage to survive the trials and tribulations of, to quote a very well meaning old woman, “That bad place.”
Finally, I always listen to this song (pardon the TMNT) when faced with new situations. The refrain goes something like this: “Paloma you wonder if you’ll miss the thunder and everyone’s staring but no one is caring for you now.” I first heard the song as a freshman at Drake, when “no one is caring for you now” seemed an especially apt description of my newfound adult freedoms. While I was studying in Ireland, I listened to it over and over again while fretting about “missing the thunder” of Drake happenings while I was away.
Now, as I anticipate living in a “small” (hailing from a town of 90-some people, I choke every time I’m forced to describe a city of hundreds of thousands as “small”) Chinese city where eyes are literally on me every minute, and knowing that everyone back home is watching just as intently from afar, the “everyone’s staring” line couldn’t be more accurate.
So, that’s that. Everyone’s staring. I hope everyone’s reading!
