Parsing international communication

One of my favorite parts of traveling is meeting people from across the world and realizing that, ultimately, I can strike up a conversation with anyone. Granted, my lack of foreign language skills means they probably need to speak English, but I’m not opposed to using hand signals.

On Sunday, within two hours of waking up, I met a Malaysian-born, Texas-living Dell Computers support tech living in Houston. Since I’ve been to Houston before, we shared a brief conversation about the suburbs, as well as where exactly the Northern Mariana Islands is located. Later in the day, I met four Germans from Frankfurt, which just so happens to be the one city in Germany that I’ve ever traveled to. We bond over Apple Wine and the country’s cuisine.

Seeing them, as well as the few other white people around the city, reminds me that most Caucasians do tend to be taller and larger than Asians. I forget that while living on Saipan. Height seems to be a characteristic most Asians think about when they picture Americans. One of my tour guides asked if most people in the U.S. are as short as me. I laugh. If only….

The day began with a trip to the top of the Shanghai World Financial Center Observatory, one of the tallest buildings in the world. Riding the elevator to the 95th floor at 8 meters per second—ears popping—felt a little bit like an attraction I might have experienced at Disney World. Once finally up to the 100th floor, every angle of Shanghai was visible.

Nearby, I, along with my travel companion, KSPN2 TV news reporter Lannie Walker, and our two tour guides, visited the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium, where we viewed aquatic creatures from around the world, including penguins and an alligator only found in China. Next up was the Oriental Pearl Television Tower, a building similar to the SWFC Observatory, which allows people to go to the top to see great views of the city.

But before the Television Tower was lunch. It was Lannie’s and my first time to eat actual Chinese food in China, and it was an experience in and of itself, at least for me.

“You like spicy food?” I’m asked. “Sure,” I half-heartedly respond. Too bad ice water isn’t really available in most restaurants. My idea of swallowing each bite with big gulp of cold water failed when they brought steaming hot water to the table.

And, unfortunately, I failed to master the fine art of using chopsticks while growing up. I blame the lack of Oriental restaurants in Oklahoma, and the fact that the few restaurants in the state have forks readily available. However, there were no forks in sight at this restaurant, which served Sichuan-style Chinese food. I think I added a little entertainment to the group, though, as I desperately tried to get the food from my plate to my mouth. I have vowed that once back on Saipan, I will improve my finger dexterity by practicing with chopsticks 10 minutes each day.

As I’ve traveled through Asia, I’ve learned I can sometimes experience more Americana on that continent than on Saipan. I had one such moment Sunday night when we headed to the Blue Frog, a local expat bar reminiscent of a popular bar in my hometown. Sipping wine and eating chips and hummus, I felt like I could be back on the other side of the world. That is until I got in the cab and once more reverted back to using the tried-and-true technique of hand signals in order to communicate with the driver.