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I had a great time at KFC the other day.  I’m not a regular there, even though it is the only link to the west that we have here in Xinjiang, but I found myself doing some shopping nearby so I thought I’d drop by for a quick visit.  Pretty much the only thing that I find worth ordering at KFC is the Mexican chicken wrap, called the 墨西哥鸡肉卷 (pronounced “muwah shee guh gee row jewar”).  It’s really not too bad, even if it is overpriced.  I have no idea if they even sell this item in American KFCs because frankly I’ve never stepped foot in a KFC in the U.S. – this is one of the many embarrassing things that living in China can lead you do.

So as I confidently walked up to the counter the other day I was more than ready to order exactly what I wanted.  I’ve done it many times before and have become very quick and fluent saying the Chinese phrase for the only item I order here.  “I would like the Mexican Chicken Wrap, please!”

Unfortunately, over the past month, I’ve also become very quick and fluent with another phrase, 魔鬼城 (pronounced “muwah gway chun”), a nearby park of crazy looking rock formations known in English as “The Ghost City“.  I’m sure you can see where this is going.  Because the Chinese words for “Mexico” and “Ghost City” both have three characters and both begin with a similarly spelled first character (I know, I know…different tones), I could easily justify my brain making this simple mistake.

I could…but I just couldn’t stand allowing it to remain a simple mistake.  Upon ordering a “Ghost City Chicken Wrap” instead of the normal “Mexican Chicken Wrap”, the woman taking my order looked at me quizzically and asked me to repeat my order.

Why couldn’t she understand me, I wondered?  I had spoken clearly and correctly.  So I repeated myself, this time slowly.  Again, she looked at me weird and asked me one last time for my order.  Out of frustration I spoke loudly – a bit too loud, maybe – alerting every person in the restaurant that yes, I want a ghost chicken wrap, and yes, I have no idea what I’m talking about.

All activity stopped as everybody strained to find out which creative genius would actually order such an item and then snickered as they realized it was just a crazy foreigner.  Thanks to the fact that I actually pointed to the picture on the last try, the woman understood that I was making a mistake and input the order, quietly repeating the correct way to say the wrap with a “you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me” smirk on her face.  I don’t blame her.

So although stepping foot in a KFC here in China should be embarrassing to any foreigner, I now have to say that ordering a tourist attraction chicken wrap might take the cake.