stuff chinese people like

2. kobe bryant, 科比 (ke bi)

as i lived my quiet life in los angeles next to the staples center, i had no idea that kobe bryant, and the lakers, but mostly kobe bryant, were such an incredible phenomenon over in china. every day, kids come to the pavilion completely decked in the kobe basketball outfit. people ask all the time when 科比 is coming to the pavilion. the answer is never. last week i visited a shanghainese home in xuhui and the 20-year old girl living there had a huge poster of ke bi dunking on her door. i was at work one day walking the stilt walker, who measures a good nine feet tall on stilts, and one of the volunteers asked me if ke bi is that tall.