Life of a Couch Potato

Episode 9: My One Day Stalker

This isn't meant to be a bad thing. Honest.

So in this school there's a program where kids from Shanghai come to visit the school to see how American kids learn. They're to follow a chosen student for 1 day to every class he/she goes to.

In this case, my AP Chinese class was picked to be the first group they follow because... Well it's AP Chinese. Everyone in the class can speak fluently.

So on the day they arrived, we were paired together by boy girl ratios (lol high school people be trying to ship us. XD. Sorry Mr. Principal, I live the single life with style), so I got paired with a girl named Li BaiYing. She was a rather small girl, but she was one of those shy ones too... Which made things awkward.

Anyways the whole ironic thing about AP Chinese being paired with the Shanghai kids was that the first class that the Shanghai kids followed us to was legit AP Chinese. No joke, our first period was AP Chinese so everyone just stuck together.

BaiYing and I were the last two to be paired (go figure, pair the potato last.), so we were a little behind the class... But because we were already behind I figured I might as well give her a quick tour of the school (though I myself am not too comfortable of the school)... And then we kinda got lost.

It was so embarrassing because as I showed her around I noticed that I was retelling her that this was the cafeteria and stuff. I tried my best to make it seem intentional, but eventually she caught on and asked me herself if we were lost... So I admitted that we were. I mean there's no point trying to hide it.

Amazingly enough she didn't get mad or anything. She just laughed. I mean I was a little embarrassed that she was laughing at me, but afterwards, she and I wandered around until we found a security guard. He said he'd give us a ride back to class, so it was cool to ride in the back of the little golf cars the guards drive. I think BaiYing enjoyed the ride too.

As for the rest of the day I think we got along pretty well. The short duration that we were lost sort of broke the barrier of awkwardness we had... I mean hey.. stranger meet stranger right?

If I had to pick one thing that I thought was funny... It's probably BaiYing's first time eating a cheeseburger... Apparently she had never tasted anything "so good, I can die for this taste again." It was going a little too far but it was my turn to laugh.

She also had this funny thing about taking a picture of everything she saw. She took a picture of our water fountain (drinking water fountain. This school isn't one of those fancy ones sadly), our lunch lines, all of my classrooms... And in the end she took a selfies of us together. I swear... If her friends in China see the selfies, they'll think all American kids look sleep deprived lol! My bags have gotten so dark these days...

I actually had a blast learning about schools are in Shanghai. Apparently everyone has to wear uniforms (yikes!) and they don't get home from school until it's night time! Then they have to do their homework that's due tomorrow... I was like.. damn... that's intense... Of course she just said that I should be glad our school gives us time to do honework.

And sadly, before we knew it, school had ended. I saw her off before she boarded the minivan with all of her Shanghai classmates. We exchanged emails (she doesn't have time for social media [Haha haha... Try that America...]) so we could stay in touch. Also, as a thanks for an awesome day, she gave me gifts from China. I got this really cool wooden fan that is scented... Not like sprayed scented either. The wood that the fan was made of is naturally scented. Also in addition to the fan, I got this small jar of Chinese medicine that works for headaches, pains and itches. I opened it later and it smelled kinda funny. But as long as it works I'll be happy.

It felt weird, but I felt like we knew each other for more than a day. It wasn't like I wouldn't see her the next day, but it would be sorta lonely.

The sad thing was that I really didn't see her yesterday, but I knew she was around since her classmates came up and told me she said hi.

By today, the Shanghai students should be on a plane back to Shanghai. I still have her email, so we're good. She actually sent me the selfie this morning (which is night time for her). I laughed when I saw it and downloaded it. For memories.

I just need to get the time zone thing down. Once I do that, I think I'll eat a cheeseburger... Just cause. I've never been stalked before, but I actually don't mind it... But don't get me wrong, I'm still not open to be stalked. This potato's life isn't that interesting.