Am I a celebrity? I didn't know....

It all began at the Forbidden City.

My friend Yi-Ting and I were on the prowl, soaking up history and documenting ourselves standing in it.  Right after she took this picture of me,

I looked to my right and realized that the people standing next to us were gazing at me with polite shyness.  I smiled back in kind, and turned to walk away.

Suddenly, there they were, standing next to me.  Pointing at their camera and then back and forth to each other.  I took this as the universal sign for "Will you take a picture of us?" and said "Of course!".  I looked down as I fumbled to put my camera in my bag in preparation for my photographer duties, until I realized that one of the women was holding onto my arm.  Cuddling with me, for all intents and purposes.  I was a little shocked.  Then I realized she was looking toward her friend who--another unexpected moment--was pointing the camera at us.  I quickly smiled.  

As they walked away I thought to myself "What in the world?".  I thought perhaps they'd mistook me for someone famous.  I thought it was a bizarre but interesting anomaly.

Until.

It happened again.

This time they didn't even need to ask.  I recognized the look. I said "ok!", and put my arm around the mother as her son snapped our likeness for posterity.  I felt warm and fuzzy inside as we smiled deeply to show our mutual appreciation for each other.  I thought, "I should be an ambassador".  

 There were other interesting moments, like when I was taking this picture at the Lotus Market:

Yi-Ting came up next to me and said 

"They're taking your picture.  3 o'clock"

I turned to my right and sure enough, there they were, cameras pointed in  my direction.

[Caught.]

By the time I got to the Great Wall on the second to last day of my trip, I had decided I needed some documentation.  Some proof, so that people back in the States would believe me.  I told my friends (by this time Yu-Chen had joined us) to be at the ready.  We didn't have long to wait:

This lovely girl was the first.

 Then the rest of her family joined in on the fun.  

According to my Mandarin speaking friends, they were debating amongst themselves about who was taller.

I think they think I'm a freak.

Then this kid came running toward me.  

I would have taken him home with me--he was too funny.

Later, this guy saw me coming from about 20 feet away and made a bee-line for me.  

He spoke pretty good English, and welcomed me to China.  

(Apparently he wants to be an ambassador too.....)

By the time my trip was over, I had been openly gawked at, shyly stared at, blatantly pointed to, and randomly photographed more times than I could count.  

How will I ever settle back into a life of anonymity?