ONE BAD MOMENT

I shouldn’t even mention it, but it really does annoy me so!  But since its not the best part of the trip, I will go ahead and start with this and get it out of the way.  I was walking around a couple of days ago and some slip of a girl in front of me looked directly back at me and then all of a sudden sped up her pace.  I was following behind her, but she took it to mean I was following her.  I was so annoyed, I wanted to throw my shoe at that heifer.  It was BROAD day light, in the middle of Tianjin.  Even if I was following her, at what possible moment could I jump with so many people around.  So annoying.  OK -- on to the good stuff!

STARING….

This is really a funny one.  It really didn’t bother me at all – (except when I was having my girl moment, and usually during that time I’m just generally evil).  Quite frankly, once you live in Maine, you learn to be oblivious to staring.  Nothing like white people staring at you.  In the U.S. it comes off more ominous because you know damn well they have heard of or at least seen black people on tv.  I never could figure out why they stared at me there…..but it was creepy.  China was not at all like visiting Maine.  Definitely staring, but mostly amazement and surprise, especially when they heard me say ni hao!….

TRAFFIC

LMAO.  Let the sign be your guide. 

Straight like walking in NYC.  If you value your life, you’ll move your ass or kiss it good bye.  OK, but what really kills me is not the crazy driving cars.  FORGET the cars!  Its those damn bikes that are the silent killers.  NYC definitely didn’t prepare me for that one.  Those suckers come right up on you before you realize its there.  In fact that sign should change from a car to a bicycle.  There are no traffic laws, and I mean none, that bicycle riders obey.  EXCEPT one.  The laws of physics – it takes energy to move an object.  In other words, pedal to move your bike.  That’s the only law they obey.  Light red, light green, car coming, car stopped, person walking, person standing, bird perching, bird flying – those bikes continue unabated by NOTHING.  If ya’ll here I was in a traffic accident while I was in China, its cause a bicycle hit me.

I’M SO HOOD!

So many aspects of walking around Tianjin reminded me of walking in Harlem – Chinese style.  People sitting out on the stoop (or really sidewalk---), just straight chillun’ and fanning themselves since it’s hotter than the blue blazes here.  A good portion of the folks speak and say a hello or ni hao, when you walk by…..stuff like that.  It was really really interesting and very familiar. 

My favorite hood moment was when I was in the park near Tianjin Foreign Studies University.  There I was sitting in the park studying my homework from my first intensive language class when a couple of old men started to gather.  The next thing I know, they were all coming up to me and teasing me (I couldn’t understand, but you know when you’re being teased) about me learning my numbers.  Right after that, they started playing instruments and they were soon joined by this woman who just started belting out a song.  It was crazy cool.  It reminded me of Marcus Garvey park in Harlem, where the drummers come together.  All of a sudden, there’s African drums going, dancing, and just general creative expression (at least until white folks moved in to Harlem next to the park and started to call the police.  Poor things, they didn’t know YOU people had impromptu African festivals in the park.  Hehehehehehehe).