I am Mickey Mouse

Imagine you are walking down the street of your hometown and you see Mickey Mouse coming toward you. As you watch, Mickey stops at a street vendor to buy an afterschool snack. He’s just doing everyday, normal things. You don’t worry about staring at the mouse, because it’s not rude, right? He’s the one wearing a huge Mickey Mouse costume and you don’t see that every day, so you might as well get a good look while you can. If you’re with a small child you more than likely point out the large mouse to them. You’ll probably encourage your child to say hello and they’ll have one of two reactions. The child will either become rather frightened or stare with large, excited eyes at Mickey. You might ask to if your child, or you for that matter, could get a quick picture with the superstar. Or maybe you just try to snap a quick picture without asking. You can only hope that your child will remember the day they saw Mickey walking down the street. When you go home that night you might tell your family and friends about how you saw Mickey around town and show them the picture the two of you took together. How exciting!

When in China, I am Mickey Mouse. My Caucasian skin and bone structure serve as my costume. Even my huge feet parallel Mickey’s oversized feet.

From the moment I step out my door in the morning until the second I return home in the evening I am stared at. It’s not that I’m conceded; it’s just a fact of life for a foreigner living in central China. It would happen to you as well if you were here. And sitting at your computer in your American home with insulation and indoor heating, you may think you know how this feels, but unless you are a celebrity, this is almost impossible to imagine. Every single movement you make is scrutinized by the on-looking public. You can’t feel lost, confused, or upset without many other people knowing and commenting to their friends about you. To compound the matter, staring isn’t considered rude in Chinese culture. Thus Chinese people stare unabashedly, the way many Americans would if they saw Mickey Mouse shopping at the local grocery store.

I don’t mention this phenomenon to complain or fuss about it, but rather because I just thought of the Mickey Mouse analogy this morning and I think works quite well. I admit that at first it was bothersome having my every move watched, but I’m over it now. I don’t particularly like everyone watching me all the time, but there’s nothing I can do about it, so I might as well not let it trouble me. For the sake of Mickey’s feeling, however, you might consider not staring if you see him at the mall. I know how he feels and he would probably appreciate the short break from stardom.