The art of Chinese staring

Actually, there is no art. Chinese people have no shame in giving you a good head-to-toe stare down. Oh the wonders of travelling through a country in which you could never pass for a local. Whether it be on the street, train (I've found these particularly painful given that when entering a train car nearly everyone stops what they are doing to look at what shoes I'm wearing), or even in the bathroom, people seem to simply be fascinated with the strange foreigner visiting their country. Even the babies do it!

Its always a great feeling when Adam and I walk into a small restaurants. The scene that usually follows is one in which the entire place goes dead silent while everyone watches as we painfully try to order something on the menu (that of course we can't read) all while keeping our fingers crossed that we didn't order dog or some other crazy food. I must say though, we've gotten pretty good at doing a quick survey at what other patrons are eating and subsequently order by pointing at dishes that look appetizing. Between ordering and being served our food, people tend to forget about us, but that quickly subsides once the food arrives. The prospect of watching a foreigner fumble with chopsticks usually proves to be too appealing. Slowly we're getting used to the attention...baby steps.