Being an American in China can really be an eye opening experience. The tables have turned and it causes you to think back to the Chinese tourists seen in America. They walk around in groups, usually are going into restricted areas because they can’t read the English warnings and typically can’t find their way around. When they come to you to ask for help, they speak in really simple words. Then, they nod their head as if they understand, but then they walk the opposite way you directed them.
I can honestly say that I have done all of these things, not once but many times since coming to China. I would be a hypocrite to say that I am not just as guilty. Talk about feeling like a little fish in a big pond, China is huge! It truly changes your perspective and removes you from the close-minded American mindset which tends to regard foreigners as oblivious. But I guarantee that if you put any American in a country that doesn’t speak English they would be just as lost. A different country is a different world with its own history, conventions, manners, and traditions. So be forgiving when you hear a Chinese tourist say “我听不懂” （Wo ting bu dong), I don’t understand, because we Americans are just as oblivious outside our “home of the brave”.
A Diabetic Abroad 