What's in the word laowai?

Laowai is one of the first words that Western people learn if they're spending time in China, especially if they spend a lot of time socializing with Chinese people.

It translates to "foreigner" in English and to the Chinese it means anyone who is not Chinese. It's not meant to be offensive; it's actually more inquisitive in nature.

With the opening up of China there has been quite an influx of us foreign types and the word has become more noticeable.