If I Get Hit By A Bus, Can't Say They Didn't See It Coming

Two times in the last two days, two men I know have done the 'soccer mom stop' to me as we are standing on a curb preparing to cross the street. You know, that gesture where you throw your arm across the person's body to prevent them going any further? And both times I thought to myself, am I really being unsafe? Or are you being paranoid? The thing is, I no longer fear oncoming buses and taxis. Chinese traffic is so chaotic and void of laws, people just dart back and forth across streets at will. And I've become one of them. I'll stand on the center yellow line with buses going past on both sides of me, waiting for an empty spot to open up. I'll stare down a driver as I cross in front of him, daring him not to slow down. (In daylight only!) And so far, I've been successful.

(Please don't tell my mom about this entry.)

Wanting someone to be safe while crossing the street means you are a kind, thoughtful person. I appreciate where they're coming from, even if I really don't need help crossing the street. (And I've been here a year longer than either of them, I'm sure that has something to do with their still-instinctive reactions; they're still scared of buses.) Next time either of them throw their arm up, though, I'm going to grab their hand instead and hold tight while I cross the street my way.

(Okay, I know in that picture I got killed by a Halo guy, not a bus, but the body layout would be about the same! Taken in Vegas a few months before I came to China.)