Dear old Mitchell had his share of interesting experiences. Being proudly Chinese (that is, both sets of grandparents were born in China ;) ) Mitchell was a less common sight for many Albanians. Mitchell took most of it in stride, though I’m sure some of the “China, China!” or “Kinez!” ruffled his feathers a bit.
But one of our favorite funny stories: Mitchell was walking with a few others when suddenly an older man caught him by the arm. “Excuse me! Are you from America?” Mitchell said that he was, and the man seemed very excited. “Oh! Listen. I have two nieces. One in Chicago, and one in Los Angeles! Would you like to have coffee?” It quickly became apparent to Mitchell that the man was very interested in setting Mitchell up with one of his nieces… Others who were there may even say that the man practically proposed to Mitchell for his nieces. Hey Mitchell, come on, live a little! (…though perhaps he was waiting not for an Albanian, but for a lovely German girl… ;) )
We also shared a few giggles and eye-rolls when a few of us were approached by an Albanian man who was a Jehovah’s Witness. He didn’t speak much English at all, but tried animatedly to give us some informational pamphlets, quickly sorting through to find English ones. Seeing Mitchell, he pointed his finger as if to say “Aha—wait—“ and then proudly produced a pamphlet in Chinese. Mitchell doesn’t really read Chinese, besides a few numbers and the word for “Japanese person” which he taught me… “No,” explained Mitchell over and over. “I’m from America, I speak English! I don’t read Chinese! …English!” Finally the man understood and gave a resounding “Ah!” continuing, “I’m sorry. I thought, because, you know—“ and he proceeded to gesture towards Mitchell and then stretch his eyes with his fingers to make them look squinted. A few of us suppressed our surprised laughter, catching one another’s glances. Mitchell just sighed as he often does when exasperated, rolling his eyes good-humoredly.
Mitchell once had the experience of substitute teaching Kendra’s class… unfortunately, the poor guy had been given the wrong book to prepare and found himself in the class as if he were up a creek without a paddle! …Though according to Kendra, the students appreciated her that much more when she returned.
Finally was the infamous time when Stephen and Laura were chasing Mitchell around a pool during our VERY windy day at the beach in Durres, commanding him to get in the pool (clothes and all). When he refused, he was struck by a haphazard piece of pipe, blowing in the wind, which cut his head open (not bad, but enough to bleed quite a bit and have all the girls in quite a stir). Indeed he survived, and of course his fuzzy Asian hair quickly grew to cover the scar.
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