I'm Foreign Not Dumb

I think there are a number of people in China who confuse being foreign with some type of disability. Yes since I can't speak the language I often have trouble doing simple things but that does not make me stupid. I learned that the school told some of the teachers I knew not to take me down to the Tarim river in case I fell in. I just want to know exactly what they think of me. Do some people have this image that I'm going to see a fast moving brown river and just think "oooh how fun" and jump in. This isn't just an Alaer thing either. Teddy's a great guy but he also had the habit of treating me like I was stupid. I'd be walking with him and he'd go out of his way to remind me not to fall in a pond or walk into a bush. I think some of this comes from the fact that the people in the school probably get some pressure to be responsible for my safety, since no one in China seems to be responsible for safety that must be quite novel, but still I'm foreign not dumb.