I've had a few people ask, "Do you feel really tall there?" I'm above average, I think, but I don't feel super tall. Chinese people are taller than they get credit for. I don't feel as tall as I felt in the Philippines. That's where my shorties at.

Now, if you asked, "Do you feel super white there?" Well, that's a different story. And the answer is yes.

People stare at me here. Let me rephrase that. People STARE at me here. And they aren't shy about it. You know how when sometimes you feel a person is looking at you, and you look back at them, and then they look away? Yeah, not here. I can tell someone is looking at me, so I look at them, and they keep looking. Like, right into my eyes. They don't care. It's like they've never seen a white person, and they want to see if I will disappear if they look hard enough.

It's odd. I expected that in the Philippines. I was in some pretty rural areas, so a pasty white guy is reason to stare. But in Beijing, one of the biggest cities in the world, it feels kind of odd. You'd think people have seen white people before, at the very least on TV. Granted, I am VERY white, but still. They just stare. Now I know how hot chicks feel.

When I was leaving the Temple of Heaven the other day, these girls were walking near me and kind of being all giggly. I could tell they were talking about me, but didn't know exactly why. Was it because I am insanely handsome? Maybe.

Turned out they wanted me to take a photo of them. One girl came up and gave the international sign for "Can you take a photo of us, white boy?" So I did. Then after that, she said, "Now you." So she wanted to take a photo with me. There were three of them, and they all got their own photo with the white guy who is five foot ten and a half. Now I know how New York firemen feel.

So after that, I said, "OK, now YOU." I had to take a photo with the girls who wanted to take a photo with me. But out of context, it just looks like I'm going around taking photos with young Chinese girls. Which, I totally am. But this one was totally IN context.