I'm famous!

Had an interesting experience on Friday. After class, some new students wanted to take a picture with me, which is fine, I've taken many pictures with students (many of them snap me with their cell phones during my lectures...) but I agreed and awkwardly waited till they told me they wanted to take it outside. I said "okay, let's go" we get outside and they don't stop walking, we get to the edge of campus and they start walking the opposite direction of my apts campus. Seeing that I'm extremely confused they finally divulge where we are taking a picture. We went to a professional photographers suite to take the picture. With lights, set, and background. I'm not sure how much RMB they spent on getting a professional picture with their foreign teacher but at least I had put a little more work into looking presentable that day! I guess I'm kind of a big deal.

However, it is getting a bit pestering. When I first got here I wasn't used to everyone wanting to say "Hello" to me just to test their English skills. I used to say "Hi" back but now it's just getting annoying. The Chinese have no problem with staring, pointing, and I hear "laowai" (foreigner) and Meiguoren (American) quite often, which would never pass in the states, but here there is no social standard on common courtesy. We (my other foreign friends) and I are getting worse and developing bad habits too. We are so excited when we see a foreigner on the street we do the same thing! We say "laowai" and try to meet them b/c they are so few and far between in Shijiazhuang that we can't afford to not be friends with them. So it's odd how we have turned so Chinese but I'm glad to be here with very open-minded people b/c you have to be very patient and adaptable.