They are, but the degree really varies. I remember being flabbergasted in a small town in eastern Germany when a woman not only willingly gave us directions, but even stepped out of her shop (where we hadn't bought a thing) into the rain to walk us to the curb, point out the landmarks, and make sure we understood where we were going. I have trouble imagining that occurring in most parts of western Germany, let alone generally.
That's actually pretty close to what happened in Paris. A woman saw us looking at the Metro map, got our hotel address from us, and proceeded to lead us onto the correct, train, ride with us (incidentally telling/reminding me that the proper thing to say when I bumped into someone with my suitcase was "Pardon", not "Excusez-moi"), get off the train with us, and make sure we were headed up the right street. (I've felt duty-bound to speak up for Paris and Parisians against the usual travel stereotypes ever since.)
But we had good luck in China too, aside from being intimidated by the very aggressive style of the vendors. I suspect that in our case, they thought it was cute that we were trying to use our handful of Chinese phrases (Ni hao; xie xie; maybe zai jian if I could remember it). I'd bet that they were even more pleased by your more extensive vocabulary, even if it didn't seem like much to you. (As they say about the dancing dog, it's not how well the laowai speaks Chinese so much as that he tries to do it at all.)
Though one other point for the comparison, independent of how friendly or aloof the people are: there are a lot more Roman-character signs in Beijing (especially street and Metro signs) than there are Chinese signs in Chicago. That alone makes a big difference. (As it was, it was interesting to experience just what nigh-illiteracy could be like.)
no subject
That's actually pretty close to what happened in Paris. A woman saw us looking at the Metro map, got our hotel address from us, and proceeded to lead us onto the correct, train, ride with us (incidentally telling/reminding me that the proper thing to say when I bumped into someone with my suitcase was "Pardon", not "Excusez-moi"), get off the train with us, and make sure we were headed up the right street. (I've felt duty-bound to speak up for Paris and Parisians against the usual travel stereotypes ever since.)
But we had good luck in China too, aside from being intimidated by the very aggressive style of the vendors. I suspect that in our case, they thought it was cute that we were trying to use our handful of Chinese phrases (Ni hao; xie xie; maybe zai jian if I could remember it). I'd bet that they were even more pleased by your more extensive vocabulary, even if it didn't seem like much to you. (As they say about the dancing dog, it's not how well the laowai speaks Chinese so much as that he tries to do it at all.)
Though one other point for the comparison, independent of how friendly or aloof the people are: there are a lot more Roman-character signs in Beijing (especially street and Metro signs) than there are Chinese signs in Chicago. That alone makes a big difference. (As it was, it was interesting to experience just what nigh-illiteracy could be like.)