"The Dancing Bear" phenomenon. At least, that's what one podcaster called it. He described that, even today, in certain back streets and neighbourhoods of Asia, a white boy westerner would be gaped at like he was a dancing bear.
My sister described being in China. She is blonde with blue eyes. One local asked her if her eyes caused her pain. Her apartment was near a school, and she eventually decided it prudent not to go out on the street when the students were leaving or arriving. She didn't want to cause a mass bicycle jam-crash as the kids stared.
I am a blonde with blue eyes, but in China it was always my tall husband with bald head and green eyes that got all the attention, especially from schoolgirls.
Haha, this is so accurate. Once in the Singapore zoo an Indian guy wanted us to pose for a picture with her wife. I almost said him "I am sorry but we are not zoo animals" but refused the picture politely instead. But in Malaysia and Indonesia it was impossible to refuse the schoolkids crowding around us taking pictures whenever we visited a museum or a historical site.
"The Dancing Bear" phenomenon. At least, that's what one podcaster called it. He described that, even today, in certain back streets and neighbourhoods of Asia, a white boy westerner would be gaped at like he was a dancing bear.
ReplyDeleteMy sister described being in China. She is blonde with blue eyes. One local asked her if her eyes caused her pain. Her apartment was near a school, and she eventually decided it prudent not to go out on the street when the students were leaving or arriving. She didn't want to cause a mass bicycle jam-crash as the kids stared.
I am a blonde with blue eyes, but in China it was always my tall husband with bald head and green eyes that got all the attention, especially from schoolgirls.
DeleteHaha, this is so accurate. Once in the Singapore zoo an Indian guy wanted us to pose for a picture with her wife. I almost said him "I am sorry but we are not zoo animals" but refused the picture politely instead. But in Malaysia and Indonesia it was impossible to refuse the schoolkids crowding around us taking pictures whenever we visited a museum or a historical site.
ReplyDeleteWow, at the zoo! They should have at least given you a celery stick
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