Blue jeans, zip-up hoodie, faded baseball cap and a Coca-Cola

I am closer to Daivd Beckham than I've ever been before - I know what it feels like to be an international super-star. As I cruise the streets of Shanghai I usually get a glance here or there. I am after all, one of less than a few hundred thousand westerners in a country of more than a billion. But when I walked the streets of Suzou you'd have though it was Brad Pitt himself walking the street with the number of heads that turned. Dan was the center of attention, where ever he went.

People were obsessed with looking at me, taking pictures of me, having their kids speak to me. Aside from the numerous not so subtle photos taken of me as I passed on the street or through the temple, one man even asked to have his picture taken with me, as though I was a noteworthy person to show his friends that he met. Mothers brought children outside, prodding them to say 'nye' which we took to be a halfway point between 'hi' and 'ni hao'. With my new found knowledge of Chinese I could hear everyone talking about 'the American man' as I walked past them. While waiting for my train home in the train station, a group of 12 men, full grown men, gathered around me to watch me look at my pictures. I was the village celibrity.

My travel partner was a girl from England, and whenever we separated, nobody paid any attention to her, but continued focus solely on me. It wasn't until we realized this that we were able to pinpoint the true essence of why I was so popular: the baseball cap. Nobody wears a baseball hat like an American, its our passion, our pastime.

Perhaps more than any other nationality, the 'American' uniform is easily identified - blue jeans, zip-up hoodie, faded baseball cap and a Coca-Cola in hand. I fit into the ideal for the good American stereotype (not the shorts, socks and sneakers with a Hawaiian shirt and giant camera around my neck stereotype... no sir not me). If you ever want to wonder what its like to have the paparazzi follow you, doff a baseball cap on your head and head to Suzou; I bet Brad Pitt doesn't get half the looks.