2.27.2008
There is one phrase that is essential for expats living in Beijing. It isn't "ni hao"[hello] or "xiexie" [thank you]. It isn't "mafa ni" [may I trouble you?] or "bukeqi" [you're welcome]. In fact, it isn't even a Chinese phrase. It is a phrase that our wise Chinese-American friend Sixiao, who has been living here since August of last year, recently used in response to the endless questions we have bombarded her with over the last week: Why not?
"Sho," we say, "Why do the waiters/taxi drivers/masseuses work so hard when they don't get tipped?"
"Oh my god, Sho," we cry, "Why don't the cars stop for pedestrians? Or stay in their lanes?"
"Wow," we remark, "How can there be so many people living in one city?"
"Sho," we continue, "Why are there huge, modern skyscrapers next to old, run-down slums?"
"Sho," we pester, "Why do people wear the same outfits 2-3 days in a row?"
"Because it's extremely annoying doing laundry in China.. you'll learn this very quickly," she answers.
"Okay, we can understand not washing something every time you wear it, but why wear it 3 days in a row?" we persist.
"Why not?"
Silence. Laughter. The answer of all answers: Why not?
Sixiao's answer was a brilliant breakthrough for us. Our world has been turned upside down. We are illiterate. We might as well be deaf and mute. We know only one person [other than each other] in a city of 17 million people. We are in a new culture that is completely foreign to us. We see things every minute that baffle our Western minds. And after a full week of asking Sho, "Why?" we finally realized we need to say, "Why not?"
Last night, we accidentally got off the subway one stop too early. In a sea of buildings and people this massive, everything still looks the same to us and it took a long time to get our bearings and realize our mistake. In the process of figuring out where we were, we came across a massive building decorated beautifully in thousands of red and yellow lights in celebration of the new year. We took lots of pictures, enjoying our unintentional scenic route. Then we came across a dancing Mickey Mouse. Not a small toy, but a person dressed in a Mickey Mouse suit [just as one would see at Disneyland] seriously getting down to electronic music blasting from unknown origins. There are no street performers or beggars here, like NYC or SF, so, for no apparent reason, we stumbled across a life size Disney character shakin' his mouse booty in the middle of a Beijing sidewalk.
Why? you might ask.
We just looked at each other and said, "Whyyyyyy not."
