But one substantial difference that most definitely continues to upset and even anger me is the isolation that comes with being a mute foreigner.

Oh…how I long for the days of being the mute foreigner. As frustrating as it was, it made life (at least for me) much, much simpler. Back then I wouldn’t have to react to all the stupid a@# comments that are made about me (being black or foreign or a black foreigner) or I wouldn’t have to suffer through the mind-numbing conversations on a train or plane or in a taxi that occasionally occur when a Chinese knows you can speak Chinese. More importantly, I would get gratuitous amounts of help and assistance from everyone and their mother in negotiating life in China. Mistakes in all aspects of life from going in the out door to (as the blogger notes here) dealing with male/femaile etiquette were simply chalked up to being a foreigner. Aiya! Those were the days. Enjoy the bliss while you can.

Isolation creeps in… at Peering into the Precipice