The more I learn about Chinese people, the more I know that I’m not going to fit in easily over here. Aaron on the other hand is very Chinese. He doesn’t laugh in public or break the rules in any way. Nor does he say “no” if it’s going to make someone feel awkward or embarrassed. Now, if Aaron learned these character traits on his two year tour in Taiwan or if he was always this way is a guessing game for me. Either way, he knows how to act here while I feel like a fish out of water.
I’m not shy to admit that I sometimes embarrass Aaron in public. At least he hasn’t been to the pool with me yet. He’d be red for a week.
The pool of the Wangfujing Grand Hotel is designed as a lap pool, located on the basement floor. Both ends are about 4ft deep while the middle dips into 8ft. Bathing caps and sandals are required as well as a quick shower and a frigid foot bath. The on-duty lifeguards are very particular about these rules as I have found out through my own mistakes.
Yes, I’ve gone into the pool without my bathing cap, I’ve been inside the male sauna, and I’ve felt the lifeguards eyes watch my every move.
Every Chinese person I’ve seen at the pool does the exact same thing. They swim calculated laps in sets and with each new set comes a different stroke.
And then there’s me. I don’t wear goggles (I’m actually surprised that these aren’t mandatory since I’m the only one who doesn’t wear them). I start at one end of the pool and kick off into an underwater rage to the middle deep. When I get there I tread water for a while and do some somersaults, forward and backward. Then I do a series of strokes to the end and thus continue in no pattern whatsoever.
I must look absurd to the lifeguards who seem entranced at my erratic behavior. I imagine them thinking, “Look at the American who has ADD.”
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