As I have previously explained, one of the things that really bothers me about China is the attitude and assumptions most people have about foreigners. It isn’t everybody, though, and today I had one of those moments that reminds me why I shouldn’t let that attitude get to me when it does pop up.

I was at the grocery store stocking up on the things I eat (read: grape juice, peanut butter, chocolate) and, as usual, it was full of old Chinese people. I fought my way through the shuffling geriatric masses to the juice section and reached over a woman who looked about four hundred years old to grab a glass container of Welch’s. She was staring at the same section, pondering what to buy, and when she saw me grab my choice so quickly, she was likely shocked by my manly decisiveness.

She turned around to ask me whether it tasted good, and to her credit, she didn’t skip a beat when she saw I was a foreigner. Her eyes didn’t bug out, she didn’t run away, she didn’t even hesitate to speak Chinese, just asked me anyway just as though I was anyone else.

I probably looked a bit shocked because I’m not used to people doing that, especially not old people who are generally even less used to the idea that foreigners live in China and speak Chinese than younger folks.

Anyway, I told her the juice was good, very good, and then went on my way. I hope she bought it, and I hope she likes it because it’s pretty expensive (a full afternoon on the toilet early in my experience here convinced me it’s worth it to buy the expensive stuff because it tastes good and isn’t poison).

For her it was probably an insignificant moment, but it made me feel pretty good to be honest. I know I’m more sensitive to this stuff than most foreigners in China (and some people like to be singled out anyway), but I really enjoyed being addressed as though I were any other part of the crowd, and not some crazy foreigner.

…”I really enjoyed being addressed as though I were any other part of the crowd”…Christ, this place is turning me into a Chinese person!