Foreigners

Last night I was in a restaurant with a Chinese friend enjoying a late-night snack after seeing the new Angelina Jolie movie (dubbed with no subtitles, of course). We got into a discussion about something or other and I found myself referring to 外国人 (foreigners) a few times. Referring to people as either 'Chinese' or 'foreign' is common in China, but it struck me as bizarre last night. Especially for an outsider like me, using those terms so naturally is kind of weird.

Of course, China isn't like America. This is a much more insulated and isolated place without any significant history of immigration. In America, it would be insulting to refer to someone as a 'foreigner' simply because they looked different or spoke a different language (such as most of the people hanging out in Chinatown), but here it's totally logical and makes a lot of sense in conversation. So last night, as I swilled beer and chomped chicken kabobs, I told my Chinese friend that she should drink some 白酒 (Chinese vodka) before bedtime to cure her sore throat. When she told me that that was a crazy idea, I replied that it was just a habit that we Chinese had, and a 外国人 like her probably wouldn't understand.