Head and Shoulders Above the Rest!

Wherever I go, people stare; it is not considered rude to do so here. They watch carefully everything I do, probably unaware that I am watching back no less closely. When I eat, people stop to watch, and their eyes get round as mine when they see BNG can use chopsticks like real people - I’d starve if I couldn’t. Several times, while walking down the sidewalk, I have had people run into me when I stopped short to look in a shop window. I sometimes look to see as many as 5 or 6 people following me down the street, gesturing at the antics of this strange apparition. They never point, which would be rude even to a ghost. I feel like the panda at the San Diego Zoo.

There’s nothing personal about this staring. Let’s face it, they are generally friendly people here, about 1.5 million of them, and there are apparently maybe 5 white westerners in all of Nanning. I am probably the only giant with a full beard in the entire country. In all of my stay, I have seen maybe 10 men with beards, and most of them were old men with wispy chin whiskers. My rather full and curly face covering is another source of amusement to these folks. I could have probably charged admission to fund my trip. When I stop to talk to my friends, I edge over to a less busy place on the bustling sidewalks, away from the street. I have already caused 2 bicycle mishaps when riders stared too long, and worry that the police may deport me as a public safety hazard.

I literally stand head and shoulders above the crowd. I have seen very few Chinese as tall as me (6’ 180 cm) except one unfortunate schoolboy at a high school. I wonder how his basketball team is doing this year. Outside courts and pick-up games are very popular in China, at least in Nanning.