a frustration

For once I'd like to go somewhere without being stared at. Everywhere I go, I mean EVERYWHERE they are always people staring at me, whispering, and sometimes giggling. The more bold ones will yell out, "Hello!" then laugh embarrassed as they peddle as fast as they can on their bicycles.


If it's not me....my hair, my height, my clothes, my face, that to Chinese people in my city, I'm a strange creature from another world....


it's my dog, Nina. People view Pugs at either cute or ugly, either opinion gets a big smiling or gasping reaction.



or people stare because such a (cute, ugly) dog is walking with a (cute, ugly, tall, curly) foreigner.



and people stare and whisper when Ned and I are together. Wow! look there are TWO of them... TWO foreigners walking down the street...look at them walk...look at their jackets. Two foreigners is always better than one. People stare because they wonder if Ned is my husband or father.



"He is neither," I told an obnoxious, nosey person. Apparently to some, what else could he be? The only two checkable boxes they have in their head are "husband" and "father."



The best staring we get is when it's all THREE of us together. Ned, Nina and I. WOW, we are quite a show. People stop what they are doing to elbow each other, giggle, stare until I sometimes want to poke their eyes out.



Somebody get me an invisibility cloak.



And fast.