The Chinese Perspective on Colored Folks

I have been travelling since I was a little girl and am quite used to getting noticed for my hair and skin color. Having lived overseas and integrated my school in Belgium as a child, I would say I am a veteran at confronting race issues abroad. Despite these experiences, nothing could prepare me for China.

Bear in mind that China is closed off from the rest of the world and as such, they don’t get many outside visitors. Don’t get me wrong; Shanghai is a rather international city so they are much more used to foreigners or Laowai as they call us. Hong Kong however, doesn’t count. The truth of the matter is that many Chinese have only ever seen Black people on television and as a result, their conceptions of us are quite skewed. They believe that all colored people are either basketball players or rappers/performers. Needless to say, the mere glimpse of a Black person can send a whole village of people into a frenzy.

From the moment I set foot on the ground at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, I knew I was in for quite a ride. I sensed my impending doom as I looked around realizing that out of the hundreds of people in line in front of me, I could only count 3 or 4 who looked like me. That night, I arrived at my hotel after spending 4 hours at the airport (I arrived during National Holiday so it was PACKED)! I was exhausted and just wanted to buy some noodles from the store downstairs. As I am getting ready to pay, the cashier suddenly leans out the front door and yells something to her friend down the street. Her friend proceeds to rush over to the store, sees me, and immediately walks over and begins to pull and tug at my Senegalese Twists all the while, yelling in my face in Mandarin. Welcome to China!

This is pretty much how things happen everywhere I go. My first week here, I could not handle it emotionally. There are the constant, awkward stares and the pointing. I often felt like a lion behind a cage at the zoo. Then, there was the issue of pictures. As a foreigner, you will inevitably end up in many Chinese family pictures and random photos. Depending on where you are, you will suddenly be rushed by a group of Chinese all attempting to take pictures of you on their phones (without asking mind you) and next thing you know, they are asking their friends to take pictures of them with you. You may even be handed a baby or two. That is not an exaggeration. Chinese people love a foreigner and many consider it good luck to have you hold their baby for a picture. The weird thing about being here in Qinhuangdao is that I am always asked about my hair and immediately told that I am beautiful which is a bit different from my experience in Shanghai where I felt ugly and insignificant.

Aside from the pointing and the staring and the pictures, you get the mobs that follow you around everywhere you go. Sometimes, a photo shoot can last for 20 minutes if someone doesn’t stop them. It happened to my friends and me as we were visiting The Bund in Shanghai. I was with a group from the Ameson Foundation and out of nowhere a guy approached a Black member of our group and asked him if he was “NBA”. He assumed because my friend was tall and Black, that he must be an NBA player. And so the photo shoot commenced and lasted quite a while. They seemed to especially love the Afros. I did notice that the girls with the natural hair actually did seem to generate more interest than me with my "fake" hair but that doesn't seem to matter in Qinhuangdao. Probably because they don't have much to choose from.

This was the original group of Ameson Peeps

This is after the mob got to us! Who are those random people in front? No Clue!

There will also inevitably be the questions: Is her but real? Can I touch your hair? Are her breasts enhanced or are those natural? Now I must say, hearing it all said in Chinese was probably the most intimidating part of all this because it sounds so harsh when they ask! I am currently wearing Senegalese Twists and everywhere I go, the middle-aged women especially will ask to touch my hair. It can be flattering at times but mostly it gets pretty annoying. My first week here I was so frustrated that I spent a lot of time crying and even considered returning to Europe. After the initial shock, it all seems quite silly really. You are basically their door to the outside world and as such, you must be prepared to teach them everything you can even if it is only through a picture.

Either way, I must say that if you are Black and travelling to China, you absolutely must spend some time mentally preparing yourself for the experience because I can guarantee you, it will be unlike anything you have ever experienced!

Celebrity Status Update: China Famous?!

So I totally had to share this one...
Day two of teaching and I do my usual introduction: Here are all the places I've traveled to, here is what I majored in, these are my hobbies, etc. This time however, things went a little bit differently than they had in previous classes. This is my Freshman class, my 7:00 pm - 8:50 pm class comprised of 50 or so eager beavers who are giggly and excited and talkative. When I start to write my hobbies on the board, I write the word s-i-n-g-i-n-g and immediately hear an echo of "oohh" and "aahhh" followed by the voice of one of the young males in the class who demands "teacher, sing a song". This of course is followed by thunderous applause so after a few seconds of this, I reluctantly agree and proceed to sing the main chorus of Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" and next thing you know, phones are pointed in my direction and the flashing of lights overwhelms me. 5 minutes later, I am being told to pose this way and that way and videos are being recorded; students are having their friends take pictures with me as others are posting videos of my 30 second performance on the Chinese equivalent of YouTube. Luckily, the bell rang to announce that class was to start again and I was able to usher them back into their seats. By the end of class, I had taken more than 25 photos and all of the students had asked for my phone number and my QQ id (their equivalent of Skype) and already as I type this, many of the students have added me to their QQ contact list. Not many people can say that they were celebrities abroad but I do believe this certainly qualifies. If there is one thing I truly look forward to this year, it is spending time with the amazing, sweet, and spirited students I am teaching this year. Such a different experience from the adults who make me feel like a zoo animal and glare at me (yes, one guy on the train actually scowled) for being Black. Moral of the story: don't tell Chinese kids you have a talent because they will ask you to demonstrate. They asked me to do a traditional Haitian dance as well but I told them that the dance was for another time!

This was the first time I saw the City Skyline at The Bund in Shanghai
Just added this pic because I want to perform here sometime and maybe now I can!

My First After-School Activity

After a very long day of lying in bed with a sore throat, swollen lips, and an aching body, I assumed that things could only get worse from here. I saw today as my body's way of telling me to get out of China, fast! I realized that of all the medications I brought with me, I completely forgot to bring cough/sore throat medicine (for any of you who really love me, here's your cue to prove it)! Thankfully, one of the other foreign teachers in my building brought me some natural herbal supplements that were absolutely disgusting but did the trick. Either way, I spent all of last night and today in bed so I never imagined I could end the night on such a positive note.

My University hosts a weekly after-school event called The English Corner where students meet to practice speaking and pronunciation in English along with all 5 of the foreign teachers at the school. That now includes me. I did not believe I would be able to stay the whole time but 5 minutes into the class, I forgot that I was sick and realized that I was in complete shock and awe of these students. There must have been about 55 students there and they were the most eager kids I had ever seen. They were respectful and kind and most importantly, engaged. They repeated every phrase with diligence, they remained focused throughout the hour and a half, even though it was 7 pm when we started. 

The most amazing part for me was walking around the room and listening to their responses to the discussion questions posed. Tonight's topic revolved around Beauty-inner beauty, outer beauty, definitions of beauty, etc. These students all believed that what made someone beautiful had nothing to do with physical attributes and everything to do with personality which is an interesting notion considering Asia is the hub of plastic surgery and skin whiteners. I was so impressed with not only their language skills but also with their level of thinking and I saw hope for the future of women everywhere when I listened to these kids. The best part of the night was when one girl stated: "Teacher, when I think of the word beautiful, I think of you. You are very beautiful." I nearly lost it and I had to do my best not to cry because the other girls in the class repeated the same thing to me as I walk around the room. Many of the girls wanted to have me as their new English teacher and I was absolutely overwhelmed by all the love. Before I left, 4 of the girls asked me for my phone number and promised to take me out to dinner sometime soon.

I have had a very tough time adjusting to the Chinese culture. I have felt like a zoo animal from the beginning. Knowing that many of the Chinese (as well as Japanese and Korean women) prefer lighter skin and a more European look, I came here already very self-conscious which was not at all aided by the constant pointing and ceaseless staring but tonight, I recognized that there is a group of more educated women who are starting to understand that they look gorgeous just the way they are and I now realize that I have a lot more to learn from them than they do from me.

These girls stayed after class to talk to me. It was adorableee:)