TER General Board
I recently spent 4 months in Chengdu, China (because I'm a Chinese major) and overall it was a fun, enlightening experience, but I did encounter some bizarre things, if I'm putting it lightly. I would love to hear about some notable experiences any of you have had in foreign countries (or in the U.S if this is a foreign country to you). People, food, locations...tell all!
I'll start!
Context- I'm African American, and I had really long braids done before I left, just to make doing my hair more manageable. So I was getting some cash out of an ATM on campus and I happen to look behind me and notice there are 2 Tibetan women standing there. They were whispering to themselves and looking at me pointing. After I'd finished at the ATM, they motioned for me to come over, and so I do. As soon as I am within arm's reach, they both proceed to stroke my hair and tell me "Ni de tou fa fei chang piao liang" which means "Your hair is very pretty". I tell them thank you, but I had to stand there for about 5 minutes while they examined my hair and skin, which they rubbed to make sure I wasn't wearing some kind of tanning make-up, commented on how big my eyes and lips are, and how I'm not exactly skinny by Chinese standards (which I think they thought was a good thing). Then they said thank you and I was free to go!
Later in the semester I had taken my braids down and was left with my Afro. I was in a cab in the front seat and the cab driver (female) asked me if my hair was real. I told her yes, so just to make sure I wasn't lying she tugs at my curls really hard, and just laughs and laughs, saying it feels like (direct translation here) "the inside of a pillow".
Another day, I was walking down the street, and a car screeches to a halt beside me and the person in the passenger seat rolls down their window, points and hisses "Hei ren. Hei ren!" at me and they drive off. Hei ren means black person lol.
So I suppose they don't see very many foreigners in the flesh over in Chengdu! I can't tell you how many times my friends and I were stopped on the street for people to take selfies with. You'd figure we got used to it after 4 months, but it was still surprising every time.
Your turn!
Kisses,
Marley Blair
Why thank you! That's such a nice thing to say...I am certainly very flattered. But your experience in Bali sounds so beautiful! I got massages all the time when I was in China, nothing like that you've just told us about, but they were also too cheap not to go; 100 kuai for 2 hours (about $30 USD). I went with a few friends, and first they soaked our feet in scalding hot water, I would imagine as some sort of detox routine. Then they spent about 30 minutes on feet alone, which was heavenly. When my masseuse got to my back and legs though, I was laughing the entire time it just tickled so much for some reason. It was kind of awkward, but still a fun experience she got a laugh out of it too
It's couples or single women only. Attractive and fun people. We hooked up with two other couples, who we were surprised were interested in us. A six sum can get confusing. Who belongs to what 
Fun dancing area, good music, drinks a little expensive. Had an outside area, that was fun.