Death Camp Of Intolerance

You know the drill. You are hungry. You don't want to spoil your appetite for that big lobster bisque that you have planned for supper. What do you do? Well if you are in China, you reach for a tasty box of Pocky Sticks is the newest taste sensation flavor of Mango, or if sweet just isn't on the menu, you grab Caribbean Captain Roasted Eel Fillet.

"I want taste" and "Wild from deep sea, loaded with DHA"
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So I learned a new phrase today. Wo neng bang ni mah. It means "Can I help you?" I asked a friend how to say this after getting rather fed up with people staring at me last night. Now I know that I am a little out of place here. Many people have never seen a real live Caucasian before. I am quite comfortable with the quick glance or the double take with a smile. Heck, even the constant "Hello".

All of that I am good with. It is the long, intolerant, "my-mother-never- taught-me- how-not-to-be-rude" show-down stare that I dislike. I usually just shrug it off and keep eating my Zhong Zi or Bao Zi, but last night - after six months of it - I hit my breaking point. It came after a local girl, who was desperately trying to stand out with her bleached and dyed neon orange hair and 1985 punk clothing, stopped walking and stared for a good 30 seconds. I just stared right back thinking of how rebel she was for not conforming. (Sarcasm intended - even though I was like that at age 15 as well)

That was when I texted Emily. Like a champ, she came through. She always does. Maybe I'll get her to teach me some more useful street phrases. Nothing makes a local try to pull their foot out of their mouth like a crazy Laowai (Foreigner) actually using the local language.

One final image of my main mode of transportation. While dodging crazy drivers and wild pedestrians, I managed to snap this photo of me riding home on my sweet ride.