Being a celebrity

I've never gotten all that much attention as a Westerner in Dalian. Other than small children, a few of whom have stared noticeably, people pay no more attention to me than to anyone else. But my friend Marcy has gotten constant attention since she arrived here a week ago. Here we are in Xinghai Park, along the waterfront, where people stared at her, asked to take their pictures with her, touched her hair as she passed them.

It's been even more extreme here in Shenyang. There seem to be fewer Westerners here. Even I have noticed more attention, and she is definitely a rock star. At the Shenyang Imperial Palace this morning, these people were

staring at her rather obviously.

The guy with the wild hair had been following her around, trying not to let her notice that he was taking her picture from a distance. It didn't work — she saw him — so finally she invited him to come take a picture with her. I had to take a picture of Marcy being a rock star.

A few people invited us both to get our pictures taken with them. Once they'd gotten their own pictures, I insisted that they take another picture with my camera.