Pandas and Aliens

Our students call the Foreign Teacher's Dormitory "The Panda House" because foreigners in Western China are often treated like pandas: everyone watches your every move and everything you do is interesting. People shout at you to try and get your attention. They take your picture. They watch what you eat and what you buy. And trying to speak Chinese with the locals is often a lost cause because even though you can speak Chinese, you're a panda speaking Chinese. It's like a dog speaking English; maybe you can understand the English, but you can't get past the idea a dog is speaking English. Being treated like a panda can get very tiring and, at times, grating. Some days I just have to go home and close the door. Panda time over!

But here in the countryside, we're not pandas. We're aliens. I've had to ask people to please stop taking pictures after 20 flashes in a row. Lots of shouting, helicoptering attention, intent staring for minutes on end. It's not friendly curiosity, so it's been a challenge dealing with it. I keep reminding myself we are probably the first foreigners they've ever seen in real life and keep a frozen smile on my face.

When I considered the challenges I might face being in the Peace Corps, this wasn't one that crossed my mind. I didn't understand how foreigners are perceived here. (There are reasons for this perception; the history of foreigners coming to China has not always been positive. Google 'Opium Wars' if you want to know more.) But this challenge has forced me to grow a very thick skin. I worry when I come back, I'm going to be a bit more hardened than before. On the other hand, perhaps I was too sensitive before, and a thicker skin is just what I needed to learn from this experience. So if I come home and I'm all mean and stuff, now you know why.