Short Story 1

Langfang, Hebei, China

[CHINA] Surprising Encounters with Chinese Locals in China

December 2016

Introduction

The Kid and Two Babies

The Beijing Belly

Firecrackers

Introduction

In this short story, we'll encounter some unexpected moments during my six months in Langfang, Hebei, China, in 2013. Langfang was my first experience living and traveling abroad, and Corporate China is where I landed my first professional internship. All right, let’s dive in!

The Kid and Two Babies

There were three memorable moments at Yang Guang Jia He, the apartment/community where I was living in Langfang that took me by surprise.

On day two, a local woman was with her baby boy in the outdoor exercise area. From a distance, it seemed as if the infant was in a t-shirt and diaper. As I walked by, the female stood up, turned, and held the baby with his back and rear end planted on her chest. She lifted up his legs toward the sky, and the infant was urinating on the concrete floor. It was broad daylight and Chinese locals were present. The woman wasn’t trying to be private about her son’s public water fountain display.

After a week in Langfang, I observed another woman with her baby son outside in the community plaza. He was wearing a pajama. I could tell by the lack of coordination in the infant’s movement that he was in the beginning stages of walking. He had a large custom slit on the rear end of his pants. The baby wasn’t wearing a diaper or underwear underneath. My first assumption was that the pajama had been put on backward, but it wasn’t. Perhaps the slit on his rear end was an alternative version for easily defecating (going number two) rather than strapping on a diaper.

Another vivid moment at Yang Guang Jia He was the child that I saw at the front entrance on a Sunday afternoon. There were street vendors selling food and merchandise on the sidewalk. Cars, buses, taxis and locals were passing through, while street sweepers were sweeping the usual dust. As I was about to enter the community, I turned my head and caught a glimpse of the unforeseen: an elementary school kid in a deep squat position, defecating on the sidewalk. I continued walking with a poker face pretending I didn’t see what the child was doing.

The Beijing Belly

Paul, one of the American interns, had brought to my attention “The Beijing Belly,” which revolves around a niche group of local men in China, age’s thirty and above, who show off their stomach in public. The interns and I would witness random males, specifically in Beijing and Langfang, with their t-shirt rolled above their tummy, with a knot in the front (above the chest), or behind (above the lower back).

Interestingly, “The Beijing Belly” was displayed by different generational cohorts mainly during the summer. Generation X and baby boomer groups that were exposing their stomach weren’t attractive male models or studs with six pack abs. Instead, some of the local men were flaunting their Homer Simpson style gut.

Out of all the interns, Paul had the greatest laughs. He would occasionally emulate “The Beijing Belly” by walking around with his t-shirt rolled up to his chest humorously revealing his stomach. What was strange is how I observed heterosexual males, in particularly millennials, wearing tight capri jeans in public. At the underground mall in downtown Langfang, clothing stores that provided mainstream men’s apparel had mannequins displayed in tight-fitting capris. Sometimes I saw males wearing high capri pants while publicly showing off their stomach.

The lifestyle in the Hebei province was never a dull moment, even with the twists and turns.

Firecrackers

At the apartment (Yang Guang Jia He), firecrackers would go off during unexpected times of the day, mainly on the weekends. 0530 (5:30 a.m.) was the earliest time I heard them pop. Listening to booms that resemble the sound of gunshots for six months would make my body cringe sometimes.

The first time I heard firecrackers at night in my community, I made two profound assumptions: one, an armed lunatic was outside going on a rampage, or two, a mysterious vigilante was protecting the vicinity. After a few seconds, I realized that the two assumptions were false exaggerations, and the bangs were firecrackers. Dan, a Chinese colleague who worked in the same department as I, provided some clarification on the blasts that I would hear at Yang Guang Jia He.

Aldo: Why do firecrackers go off in my community?

Dan: When you hear firecrackers in Langfang it means a baby was born.

Aldo: No wonder. (Smiling) I hear them at least once every two weeks. Sometimes once a week.

Dan: The people are celebrating a new birth.

There is a recollection that I have of firecrackers at the apartment complex. On a Friday night, I felt exhausted from the workweek. I was looking forward to sleeping in and not hearing my alarm going off at 0530 (5:30 a.m.). On Saturday at 0615 (6:15 a.m.), I heard explosions outside of my window that sounded as if bombs were falling from the sky. I jumped out of my bed; my blood pressure was going up, and I let it all out.

Aldo: DAMN, MAN! I’M TIRED OF THIS SHIT!

I could barely hear myself shouting. My roommate was in her room, which was next to mine. I wasn’t sure if she heard what I said. The firecrackers were popping for about a minute. It was my angriest moment in Langfang. Talk about a rude awakening on a Saturday morning at Yang Guang Jia He..........