Standards of beauty

The first thing I noticed about China was the gorgeous women. Tall, slender, stylish and exotic. But it's amazing how beauty standards differ.














Pale skin is lovely...most skin products include bleaching agents and whiteners. Women carry parasols in summer to protect themselves from the sun. My friend Lily complimented Patrice and I on our "big noses"! Girls here get their noses enlarged!

They do know luxury! I went with a group of friends to a foot massage spa... It felt like a zen retreat. Suddenly, the door opened and 10 young Thai men marched in - precision step. Like a group of Asian Chippendales! I couldn't wait to see what happened next....

Even the massages were in unison -- almost choreographed. An hour long...the entire room was asleep in 20 minutes.

Last weekend, John and I had an adventure at the local hot springs spa. We can see it out our apartment window. It's very Chinese -- no one speaks a word of English.

John headed to the men's side -- I was shuffled to the women's. Unlike the delicate massages I've had in the US, this was a full frontal assault. It's a new definition of vulnerable when you have on no clothes and someone is jabbering at you. Not to mention being the only pasty weiguoren (foreigner) in a room of Asian beauties... On the men's side, they helped John back into his clothes...even his underwear! We quickly fled and laughed about it the rest of the day.

Bumbling through Beijing....

Those of you who have been reading our blog since the beginning may recall that we began by "Bursting into Beijing". We're now to stage two...bumbling through. My brain often feels like a bowl of yesterday's congee (rice porridge).

It ain't easy.

• Trying to order water and getting four bottles instead of one.
  
• Having the cash card in the US shut off because of a purchase in China...leaving us stranded.





• Tipping -- when it's not the custom -- and making people uncomfortable. Or even worse, fear for their job!
• Telling Yan Shifu to come at 10 a.m. and having him think you need him at 4 p.m.


• Finding a laundry that will pick up and deliver...only to discover that not only is it expensive (think hotel laundry prices...) but they staple a tag onto every item -- even underwear! Poor fatso!
  
• Gong to a restaurant -- only to have the one person who speaks English come over and tell you that you've ordered enough food to feed 15 people!

Sigh... it just ain't easy.

But here's the bright spot -- you feel tremendous accomplishment when you do get something right! When the water comes as ordered...someone actually understands your Mandarin. When a girl in the store brings your cart to you because she's concerned about your purse being stolen....

Because the brightest spot is the Chinese people -- smart, friendly, willing to help -- and so hard working.

I'm at stage two in my Mandarin lessons...my brain has absorbed about as much as it can. Every morning I get up -- I put on my work clothes and ride with John to work. But I don't get out of the car. Instead, Yan Shifu and I head to school.

The minute John is out of the car, Yan Shifu starts to drill me -- helping me with my tones!

My new system is flash cards for phrases and vocabulary...all in lovely Chinese books. But it's amazing how they've multiplied!

The adventure that is China!