My Monkey Hat

It is amazing what a sock monkey hat can do.
Huh?
Yes, you read that correctly.  A sock monkey hat. 
I espied the hat in question at our local, crumbling mall called DeSheng.  Of course, there are newer, fancier malls right down the same street as DeSheng, but DeSheng has its own funky flavor, which I enjoy.  It is a 3-story yellow building, perhaps built in the 80s or early 90s, and designed to look like an old (Roman?  European?) structure.  It is complete with a mismash of stone elephant and Roman deity sculptures, and tall columns that rise to the Parthenon-like facade.  Inside DeSheng, you can find practically anything in the old, dingy shops, and can try to barter the price down (unlike at the local supermarket). 
Now that winter has arrived, many of the shops have rotated their stock to winter gear: hats, scarves, gloves, face masks, and other peculiar yet logical winter gear only to be found in China.  In the children's section of one such shop, amongst many other cute and playful things, I found my sock monkey hat.  After pretending not to be so interested in the hat, taking another tour 'round DeSheng, and returning to barter with the shop owner, I proudly took that hat home with me. 

Prior to wearing the hat, I was stared at constantly because I am a foreigner.  Children on the street, in the supermarket, and in the elevator either were shy and scared, or bubbly and curious.  More times than not, they were shy and scared in seeing someone different.
Now, the times that I wear my sock monkey hat, these reactions have changed.  Yes, I am still stared at, but now it is with a smile and friendly amusement; additionally, people will talk about the hat rather than just the fact that I am a foreigner.  Children who used to shy away in fright are now curious about this strange person wearing a funny hat, and they have ceased to shrink behind their mothers, fathers, or grandparents. 

 I much prefer to be stared at with a smile.  I think that my new hat is working out well for me!