1. Submitted to Man Repeller (2015)
It was the summer of 2012. I’d just graduated from high school, knew where I
was attending college in the fall and was excited to go on what I knew would be
the best trip of my life. What I didn’t account for were the people I would meet
and the experiences that not only myself but the people I would encounter would
have. By July 14, I was packed and ready to go.
The next 15 hours on the plane involved me being used as a pillow by the
impossible-to-shake-off woman and the little boy singing his ABCs while
simultaneously kicking the back of my seat. Fun fact about this moment was the
person who stopped the little boy from his hour long sing-a-long, wasn’t his
mother who was sitting next to him and ignoring him, but the woman who must
have thought my body was made of memory foam. She simply sat up, looked
between the seats at the boy and his mother and said something in Mandarin.
There was silence for the rest of the ride. I decided then and there that I would let
the woman use me as a pillow for the rest of the trip. The rest of the ride went off
without a hitch.
The first week in China was great. We were all taking classes at a university and
spent our free time roaming the area. While there were rules for being in the
program, the teachers gave us freedom to explore. We had a small group who
decided it would be a smart idea to drink (they were underage there) and go into
random bars talking about weed (also illegal there). Because their actions were
causing issues for group trips, a few of us decided to ask them to not do anything
else stupid. As we made our way to a nearby McDonalds where the group was, no
one knew how to approach them. Irritated, hungry and experiencing allergies, I
left.
I stopped in a nearby bakery that I had been frequenting all week to buy bread
and orange juice. As I went up to pay, I realized which “pocket” I had put my
money in. My mom and granny always told me that the best pocket was my
breast pocket. So in case of emergencies, I always put extra money in my bra. So,
here I was standing in front of the cashier realizing that I hadn’t put any money
into my jean pockets. The poor girl seemed confused until I gave her an
embarrassed smile and repeatedly said a mixture of ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘dui bu qi’ as
I reached into my bra and unfolded my money. She seemed to understand
everything that went down because she automatically began laughing and
nodding her head as if she had experienced the same thing. In that moment, all of

2. my irritation at people who didn’t matter disappeared. All that was left were two
girls in the middle of a bakery laughing; one in embarrassment and the other in
what I hope was understanding.