Wednesday, November 05, 2008

View from the People

With the election officially over and having watched the re-broadcast of the Daily Show's election coverage, I headed out to Carrefour for food (a necessity for most people).

On my way home, I stopped to buy corn from the sidewalk vendor across the street from the supermarket. His first question as I poked through the corn to find the best ears was, "What country are you from?" When I responded that I'm from the US, he congratulated me on the election of Obama. I was rather surprised that the common, unlicensed street vendor in China knew the election result only a few hours after it was officially announced (there aren't any TVs near this street corner).

The vendor then asked if I liked Obama. My response was he was OK and I liked him more than McCain. I wanted to say more, but I have no idea what the Chinese word is for "politician." My intended phrase would've been, "I don't like any politicians."

This should be a note to Obama that China is watching. For now, they actually like him. Who knows how long that will last.

2 comments:

jhuber7672 said...

Very interesting the street vendor learned so quickly. I think for the most part, most of the world is happy with our choice. I am, means no more apologizing for the President when I travel abroad :)

K said...

政治家 zhèngzhìjiā
a statesman / politician