Guy taking my picture in Hangzhou
This might seem totally random, but stay with me:
I just read on one of my favorite celebrity gossip blogs that before she was famous, Rebel Wilson (who I guess is an actress?) got a Nicole Kidman scholarship to study at a drama school in Australia. Then she saw Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe eating together at a restaurant, and went up to thank Ms. Kidman, but before she could say anything, Russell Crowe told her to f&$* off. A lot of commenters thought that was horrible of him, and couldn’t understand why Nicole Kidman hadn’t intervened. But I have to say, I feel nothing but sympathy for Russell Crowe. Because now I know what it’s like to be famous.
My with my close friend, Random Girl I’ve Never Seen Before Who Wanted Her Photo Taken With Me
Everywhere I go, people stare at me. Sometimes they stare at me while they are driving a motorbike away from me and across six lanes of traffic! They like to shout things at me (“Hello!”) and laugh. If I go into a restaurant, the room goes silent. Everyone strains to hear me talk. When I go to the counter at the bus station, a crowd gathers around me. When I sit on the grass to play cards with my friends, we are surrounded by curious onlookers. Grandparents urge their grandchildren to talk to me. When I’m in public, I can almost see people judging every item of clothing I’m wearing. People take my photo all the time without asking how I feel about it. (If they ask my permission, I always say yes. But if they don’t, I either take their picture, or try to hide my face behind my Kindle or in some other way ruin the shot. I may have stuck out my tongue once or twice…)
Guy taking my picture in Nanjing
Most of the time I try to be a good sport about it. I say “hello” back. If they say, “how are you?” I answer. But sometimes I have just had enough and I want people to just leave me alone. I have changed my mind about going into a restaurant simply because someone inside seemed way too excited to see me standing in the doorway. I have left my earbuds in and looked blankly at people who try to talk to me. And sometimes, I’m (ever-so-slightly) ashamed to say, I have glared at people.
They’re not always happy to see me, either. Sometimes they seem downright hostile. One patron at our regular dumpling place seemed to have a lot of weird, negative energy aimed in our direction. We left quickly.
A crowd gathers to watch us play cards in Hangzhou
All of this, and I am not an A-list celebrity. (Or even a D-list celebrity.) So I can’t even imagine how annoying it must be to be Russell Crowe. And I know he gets lots of money to make up for it, but the right not to be stared at, pointed at, and giggled at is worth a lot too.
I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that sometimes it’s fun to feel special and get lots of attention from strangers. Much of the time I find it very amusing.
But mostly I would rather just be able to go to the grocery store without worrying that everyone there is judging the entire United States based on what’s in my basket. (Note to people who shop at my Carrefour: I eat dinner out every night of the week! The chips, Oreos, and Snickers bars are simply for snacking. And I need all this junk food because without any dairy or bread in my diet, I have been losing weight for months and I don’t want to look like I have an eating disorder. I eat healthy, balanced meals, I swear!)
Ok, that’s my rant for the day. I feel better already.
(In a few days a group of American students is coming to visit the school. I can’t wait to hear what they think of China—and what my students think of them!)
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Source:
http://www.withoutachaperone.com/2013/04/11/fame-whore/