Back in China

                After roughly five weeks of traveling around South East Asia, I was not sure how I would feel being back in China, a country I had not left in over four months. As I grabbed my carry on and made my way through customs in the Guangzhou airport I still did not feel like I was back in the strange land of smog, dumplings, and the horrific rice liquor. It only took one word to rip me back down to the reality of my stay in China, “HELLLUOHHH” a small boy yelled at me as I waited for my connecting flight. Ah yes, there it is. I am back. I am a novelty, a foreigner, a waigouren (foreigner in Chinese). Ni hao, I replied. It is very common for people to just see a white person on the street and yell to them, “Hellooo!”

In River Town by Peter Hessler, he says that in the town he lived in one general term for a foreigner was “a hello.” It’s clearly China’s lack of diversity and exposure to the outside world which creates the idea that this is acceptable, but I can’t help but think, what if I saw an Asian in Raleigh and as we passed on the street I yelled, “NI HAOOO!” I will add that most likely they would not speak Chinese, and could also be many other things other than Chinese - Chinese American, Thai, Vietnamese, etc.… but none the less this is per usual in China.

 I am rare in China whereas Asians or Asian-Americans are not rare in America. I believe that the number one reason that I am here from a pragmatic Chinese perspective is because I am a novelty, a status symbol for the college where  I teach. My students pay much more than students at nearby comparable colleges mostly because Henan Institute of Education has foreign teachers and is connected to an American University, Marshall. Like one of the many disturbing couples of older white men and young Thai women I saw in Thailand, we both get something out of our relationship. I get to come to China, study the language and culture and see some of this part of the world. They get to use my white face for publicity.

 I have heard of companies paying people like me to come to ribbon cutting ceremonies and pose as a “western contact.” It’s even better if this person doesn’t speak any Chinese. Like so many things in China this can be tied back to the concept of face, or saving face. Outward appearance is vitally important in this culture. There is even a club here where foreigners get free beers because it is free publicity for the club. It’s interesting coming back to China now because I do know something about the culture and people. I’m not trying to get my bearings; I am in familiar territory.