A language the Chinese understand well

I don't speak Chinese, but I have traveled all over China, sometimes alone, and I have had marvelous experiences because I do speak the universal language - a smile. A smile is not only "your umbrella", but a passport to as many wonderful exchanges as you have smiles to give.

Many people stare at my foreign face, it's true. That I get tired and annoyed with it is also true. However, most of the time and in most of my interactions, I confess to being a smiler.

Usually a smile acts like a boomerang and comes right back at you but sometimes it can be a challenge. For several years I walked by a man who made keys. I'd smile and he'd scowl. I nicknamed him Grumpy. Returning to the area after a year, I walked by, caught him off-guard and by golly, before he could stop himself, he smiled. I gave myself the Gold Medal for Perseverance on that one.