“Come here, girl. Look here,” she says to me as she fingers a shirt. “Very good quality, Hand-made.”

“No, I don’t want it,” I reply.

“Okay, I’ll give you a special price. Just for you,” she whispers back in my ear and plugs in an outrageous number into her Hello Kitty calculator.

I didn’t buy that specific shirt but I have done my fair share of shopping in China. From electronics to clothes to accessories, I’ve bought it all. Although I’m always wary whenever I leave the market, thinking that I could have gotten the same things for cheaper. Just because of the different texture of my hair, the different shade of my face, and the accent of voice, shopping at a market is ten times more difficult for me than a Chinese local. I am lied to, I am given higher prices, and I must argue with the vendor for a long time before the price is right. Often times, even that price is still too high.

2013年夏天，美国女孩Amirah Ahmad从太平洋彼岸远道而来，不可思议的是，在短短的两个星期里，不会讲中文的她却结识了几位不会讲英文的朋友，伴随她在北京度过了一段新奇而又难忘的时光。一年的光阴倏然而逝，让我们一起来回顾一下这个美国女孩在北京的见闻感受吧。