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(vaguely strange German versions of American sportswear: the proportions slightly off, the stitching thicker and too bright, the fabric stiffer, the brand names unheard of),
Other travelers slonked beer glasses together, shouted across the café, and tossed postcards to one another like Frisbees. Occasionally a local Chinese man trudged past, barefoot, carrying buckets of water suspended from a yoke around his neck, though no one seemed to notice him.
When Eckehardt and I stop and try to spot the constellations, everything’s skewed. We’re further south than I’ve ever been in my life, just above the Tropic of Cancer. Nothing is located where I’ve been taught it is.
The people in the hillsides around Yangshuo, Lisa has told us, often go hungry. But watching their night fishing is unbearable.
And in China, certainly, nothing seems normal anyway; even the constellations are skewed.
“I’m from New York City. I’m supposed to be tough.” I sniffle.
I really do want to believe that I’ll return to Yangshuo one day if only for Lisa: that I will rescue her the way that she has helped me.
I suppose all Westerners look alike to her.
The “Western” dishes turn out to be caricatures of themselves, peculiar Chinese approximations using local ingredients.
his shampoo, his shaving cream, his bottle of aspirin, all these mundane products labeled peculiarly in German.
“Christ,” I snort. “How much you wanna bet this guy isn’t even at the right hotel? Sometimes it seems like this whole country is run by the New York City Department of Motor Vehicles.”
“I don’t need Valium,” I say. “If Claire’s like this, I need to remain as clearheaded as possible. I’m from New York. I’m tough. I’ll deal with it.”
Sandy sighs. “Yeah, but, honey, we’re not in New York City now,” she says delicately. “We’re in China. Trust me. I’ve lived here a year. You have no idea what you’re up against.”
It’s like a tropical New York City, I think, exuberant with commercialism.
He is barely Claire’s height and compactly built, a sort of miniature man with sad, watery green eyes.
