Falling down a manhole is not the best way to make a good impression. Or so I thought before coming to China. One day, (36) on Heping Li Xijie--a potholed street crowded with taxis, bicycles, three wheel (37) , and fruit and vegetable sellers, my front wheel (38) down a hole and threw me over the handlebars. (39) , I waited for the unkind laughing comments of (40) . But when I rearranged myself and (41) to laugh at my accident, a crowd of onlookers broke into a round of (42) and gave me a double thumbs up. So I was able to ride away without (43) of face.
But (44) .Perhaps it’s because I’m a foreigner-- considered more of a spectator sport, than a respected member of the human race. (45) --mianzi. Had I been Chinese, or perhaps nose-dived in a less exaggerated way, people would not have registered my fall at all.
Stopping to help someone draws attention to the fact that they’re lying on the street in a terribly embarrassed manner. But, (46) .Yes, they may be physically injured, but their pride is held in one piece.