Monasteries on the top of a Chinese Buddhist Mountain

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You can check out some photos here of my trip. If you don't want to read the whole story just check out the monastery story at the end. I know this is really long and I apologize but for the very curious here's the full version!

We left at 7am from the Chengdu bus station. This was the start of quite the journey and adventure. Jackie and Lucy are cousins. Jackie works with us. She is a student of Prof Zhang. And Lucy is a freshman in college. It was the first trip that they took by themselves. I was so impressed with their scheduling. They didn’t tell us what we were doing a lot of the time but they knew exactly what we were supposed to do! They were so wonderful to be our guides. The whole three days was about $45 total!

Thoughts on the Giant Buddha: It is the biggest Buddha in the world. We walked up to the top and all of a sudden there was a huge stone head. Buddha has huge earlobes and a red dot on his forehead. His hair is in black knots above his perfectly shaped eye brows. His eyes are looking down over the three rivers and he is sitting upright with his hands on his knees. Buddha has changed a lot over the years and you can tell what dynasty or period each Buddha was built in.

After we decided to climb to the bottom we waited in a 30 minute line to make the “dangerous” trek down. The trek was made in about one hour down steep stairs and Chinese people pushing and shoving their way down. At every bend every person had to get their picture with the Buddha. So a combination of these things made it actually very dangerous. I started maneuvering my backpack so that no one could get in front of me and I created space for myself to get down very American of me!!

At the bottom I looked up at the magnificent Buddha and he was looking down at me with empty eyes. The incense was burning and I got a picture of me and his big toe. I looked over the edge at the three rivers that were fighting to go down stream. The Buddha was supposed to help the boats pass safely over the turbulent water. Apparently, a lot of people had drowned so a Buddhist monk started the construction of a Buddha. Legend has it that the boats started passing by without any trouble after the Buddha was carved. Evidence says that so much of the mountain was removed and put into the water that the current actually changed making the passing of the boats safe.

We were only at his feet for a few minutes before we were on our way again. The ascent was only to be anticipated with pain and a lot of sweat but we actually just walked along the river to some other museums including some burial caves from another dynasty. So it was just a sweaty trek! There were stone statues of dogs and guards in action posses in front of the burial sites. Quite impressively well thought out!

We negotiated a petty cab to take us to the front of the entrance to the Giant Buddha. On the way we saw the scenic route of Leshan. Riding by the side of the mountain, Jackie pointed out the sleeping Buddha. Thoughts on this range but in general I don’t understand how that could ever be a comforting idea to have a sleeping Buddha in the side of the mountain. His empty eyes are closed.

Emei Mountain

At 4 we took a bus to Emei Mountain. The first impressions were exciting. The mountain is one of the four sacred Buddhist Mountains in China. Amy and I waited while Jackie and Lucy negotiated with a bunch of people about our hotel situation. People see foreigners and they think “MONEY”. So I felt bad that they had to negotiate because of us. However, finally we got a room for $6. We left our stuff and went off to explore the base of the mountain. We climbed to a nunnery and a monastery. They were just beautiful and like out of a movie. The nuns and monks walked around so peacefully and quietly. The air was fresh and mixed with the incense that permeated every part of the temples. The natural landscape framed all of temples with a peaceful magnificence and splendor. They were everything Buddhist temples on the side of a mountain in China should be!

We started our trek up the mountain around 7 the next morning. Amy at this point had gotten sick and had to go back to Chengdu. Her migraine would not be helped by the high elevations and the physical demand of the steps up the mountain. So she stayed behind and caught a bus back to Chengdu. Saturday proved to be a day I will never forget in my life.

We jammed the day packed with climbing up and down the ancient stairs that outlined the mountain from the top to the bottom. We saw the mischievous, greedy monkeys who have gotten away with begging food from the travelers for generations. They will demand and without a stick in your hand you are left to hand over ALL of your food to these ungrateful creatures. So I bought my bamboo walking stick from a 90 year old woman for 20 cents. I consider it one of my better investments in my lifetime.

We walked to some other temples and monasteries but by this time I was getting a little bored with seeing the same things over and over. I was tired of the women telling me to buy incense and I finally learned how to say, “I do not believe in Buddha.” After understanding my toneless Chinese they would quickly go to the next unlucky tourist to try to sell their incense and candles.

We walked along the pools of beautiful water. It is water that just looks crisp. The innocence of the water was inviting so we wadded into the river down steam and splashed around. I taught my companions a new word that day: Rejuvenating! It took me about 1000 stairs to finally explain the essence of the word but it kept my thoughts on the beauty of the water and not on the steps that I was climbing!!

Men carrying “wagons” on their shoulders would run past with the rich, lazy people riding up the mountain. I tended to feel sorry for them but they have been doing this business for years and it seems like they enjoy the competition of seeing who can make it up the fastest. The mountain people are very healthy looking and shockingly very old. Most of the people are in their 80s or 90s having lived their entire lives on the mountain walking up and down then steps and using the natural medicines to help any sort of ailments. We stopped for some water and a really old lady came up to me to sell me some trinkets. I smiled at her and told her in my best Chinese that she was beautiful. I was rewarded with a three tooth smile and a giggle. I didn’t buy any trinket but the smile was enough to remind me of the people on the mountain.

Later in the afternoon we boarded a bus to go to the top. It was a beautiful hour ride to the top. Ironically the bus tv was showing some sort of weird repetitive pole dancing girls. It was completely inappropriate for any audience but on a bus going to the top of a Buddhist mountain? Common. Anyway I kept my eyes glued to the scenery unfolding behind every bend in the road. The flora is everything you think Chinese flora should be. It all is connected in some way by vines or branches. The forests are so old and many of the trees look to be thousands of years old. They are not particularly tall but very mature and almost wise looking.

The top greeted us with a burst of cold, pure air. I quickly pulled out my sweater and jacket leaving my pack a little lighter. We immediately started climbing the stairs again. At this point my calves were about to scream at me but I ignored them and kept going up and up. The air was getting noticeably thinner. We climbed about 1000 ft to reach the cable cars at about 9,000 ft above sea level. We start seeing the top of the tree lines and I was getting curious about how much farther we have to go but I just looked down and let my bamboo walking stick lead me up the unending steps. We stopped many times to take pictures of the views, which were rather breathtaking.

The cable car took us the rest of the way up to the top of the mountain. At 10,000 ft China is cold. Just in case anyone was wondering!! My legs weren’t hurting anymore. I think they had just resigned to carrying me wherever I wanted to go. They realized they had no say in what was happening. So they took me up the last steps on the mountain to the golden Buddha. The golden Buddha sits on top of the mountain legs crossed, hands in the meditation position with 20 + heads looking all around. I almost considered how they had gotten such a structure to the top of the mountain but I realized I didn’t really care and probably wouldn’t find out. It was meant to be impressive and I resolved just to be impressed.

The top of the mountain is a euphoric experience. Looking over the blankets of green covering the mountains below with the rivers winding through the mountains was just incredible. I was promised that we would be back in the morning to see the sunrise so with that we started our trek to the monastery they had planned for us to stay. This is where the real adventure stared.

The monastery

An hour and a half later my legs were shaking and we had finally reached the monastery. Hard to describe the run down place but it is the most remote place on the mountain taking about 1.5 hours climbing or descending to get there from any place with transportation. I don’t know when it was built but it appeared it hadn’t been restored in the last 100 years. The grass was tall surrounding the incense tables outside and the monastery structure was uncharacteristically unimpressive. It was the most common monastery I had seen. I watched the monks walk in and out doing their nightly duties as my companions negotiated for a room.

Everyone kept looking at the weigouren who would come to this place. I was definitely not expected at all.

We were finally led into a wooden building, up a ladder and down a dark hallway to “the last room available”. I was standing in the room trying to get a grip on what was happening. The three beds in the room were dully lit by the one light bulb that hung from the short ceiling. The wooden boards gave with every step. Two other female students showed up and I was informed that they would be staying with us too. I looked at the three single beds and the five people and appreciated that it wasn’t my problem. I sat down listening to the Chinese that was whirling around me as my friends were getting to know the other two Chinese girls. We got some boiling water and ate our noodles, which were actually quite good and helped warm me up some. The shakes really started after that. Lucy looked at me and I understood, “face… red”. I felt my face and it was burning up coloring my whole face red as if I had a bad sunburn. I was a little delusional at that point and all of a sudden I was drinking some Chinese medicine with the 4 concerned Chinese faces starring at me. I was trying to will myself not to get sick and I knew I should be drinking water. But that would only punish me.

There was one squatty potty for the whole place and it was down the dark hallway and down the ladder.

At 8 I had brushed my teeth and made my last trip to the squatty potty (or so I thought). I climbed under the covers clothed in everything that I had. The sheets hadn’t been washed in ages and so I just decided I was going to not look. I blew up my traveling pillow and snuggled down where many people had been before and tried to get warm. The hot pad under the sheet provided heat that my body wasn’t producing so I was extremely thankful for that.

At 9 I couldn’t hold it any more so I asked if I anyone would go to the toilet with me. Jackie said she would and so the both of us tried to get the door open. The door was not meant for the frame that it was shoved into. The latch on the door seemed amusingly arbitrary as no one could really get in or out with a lot of effort. Finally after involving Lucy we got the door opened. So we turned on the flashlight to light the hallway and the ladder. This routine happened again at 12. I had actually fallen asleep between those times but the other girls hadn’t. When I stirred they told me that they had been waiting for me to get up so we could all go to the toilet together.

At 4 I woke up to the smell of incense and the bongs from the monastery. Unbelieveable. I thought that if you live on a mountain the whole point was to be relaxed and meditative. What the monks were doing up at 4 is beyond me. Anyway I was awake and so were the other girls. We turned on the light and I was instructed to put on all of my clothes, which wasn’t hard because I already had them all on! So we left the monastery and started our trek back up the mountain. I felt pretty good and was thankful for whatever the Chinese medicine had done to help me sleep the night before.

The Reward

At six we made it back up to the golden Buddha. We were rewarded with an incredible show. I staked out a place on the side of the temple stairs and watched with awe as the sun made its appearance. The lighter it got the more mountains appeared. They seemed to pop out of the clouds as the clouds rose. The sun splashed pink, orange and yellow all over the sky as it peaked through the clouds. I watched as the colors took over the clouds and I loved watching all of the people point and gasp in awe. Behind me rainbows scattered the sky. All around the sky was lit up with pure, magnificent colors— a show never to be replicated again. Every sunrise on the top of the mountain is different and special for each daily group of travelers. I looked at the abandoned golden Buddha behind me. It just sat there as people watched the show only a real God could create uniquely every morning. It was a fabulous Sunday morning. We sat and ate our breakfast after most of the show was over. I had brought my Skippy peanut butter that we enjoyed on the crackers that they had brought. For another hour we hiked around taking pictures and just watching the sun rise into the sky and the different ways it would shine on the mountains below. It was the best gift a girl could want.

I got back to Chengdu around 3 in time for a great shower and a nap! What a weekend. I thanked Jackie and Lucy again and again for taking me. I hope no story ever tops this on many different levels!

Swimming through the Air and Perfume

“It was a certain form of perfume they were looking for that made them not sweat; do you know what that is?” Apparently there had been some foreigners in the Supermarket looking for something that made them not sweat and it was a certain form of perfume. This was very confusing to Connie, who had decided to help these foreigners in the store. Connie is a graduate student who works with us. She came to my room tonight and the conversation came around to talking about hot days and what these wiegouren thought would stop them from sweating. She said that all of the store clerks were trying to figure out what these weigouren really wanted. They showed them all sorts of perfumes. They showed them bug repellent (because that is perfume-like smelling here). They showed them all sorts of perfume smelling creams. Finally I guess all of them gave up. Tonight she asked me if I could possibly know. I reached into my cabinet and pulled out my dove original clean deodorant and showed it to her. She looked at is with confusion and she said, “This makes you not sweat?” So I showed her how it worked taking off the cap. A smile crossed her face and she held it up to inspect it once again! I was told before I came that I could buy possibly anything I wanted in China… except for deodorant. So I came prepared and I have not been disappointed! I told her all about the different kinds of deodorant and she was amazed. “I think maybe in China we need this, because, you know, the hot days.”

Oh do I know the hot days? The last few ones have been so hot and humid I need my goggles and cap to swim through the air! So she said that tomorrow afternoon we should go looking for some deodorant for her. I don’t think we will find it but it could be fun! I think I’ve seen the roll on kind at one store called Watson’s. That's where they carry the 15 million brands of whitening face creams, face washes and face masks! However, they do have Herbal Essence Shampoo, which has come in handy.

Oh the things I contribute to the Chinese culture. I feel useful, affirmed, and valuable.

Housework and Cigarettes

We were invited a few weeks ago to a coffee shop to get free coffee and talk in English with Chinese! I’m always up for coffee because it is not cheap here! (They are way more into tea.) This sounded like a win- win situation. I would get a free coffee and I would be able to help some people practice their English in a controlled environment. We’ve gone to the coffee shop a few times and have learned many interesting things about Chinese culture! Today the leader had planned a debate about who should do housework. The men all took the side that women should do it. The women took the side the other side. Amy started the discussion saying that both men and women can have jobs outside of the house and that one gender shouldn’t be forced to do all of the housework. The men quickly replied saying, “Always female do housework.”

“It is female’s role.”

“Males are born with more capability and capacity (those were two hard words to say… but they did) than females so they should get the jobs outside of the house leaving the female to do housework.”

I had to sort out my intense emotions on this. So I spoke up and said that housework itself is not the issue. Housework has a stigma attached to it. With the confused faces I started to explain what stigma is. I said that it is like a reputation. Over time forced housework has been associated with inferiority. When I said forced I had to qualify myself. There are plenty of people who enjoy doing housework but that’s not what we were talking about. I explained that in America if one spouse is FORCED or EXPECTED to do the housework it is a statement of inequality and inferiority and sometimes control. I could see at this point that I had caught their attention. However, I was stopped to explain what inferiority meant. So I pulled out my sign language. I lifted my hands to the same level and explained what equal meant. Then I lowered one hand and explained that my lower hand was inferior, lower and unequal to the other. I saw that they understood this so I went on to explain that these characteristics are not healthy in family relationships and can result in abuse.

I was indeed proud of myself for having explained the issue so well. That didn’t last long as I asked the men if this went on in China. “Oh, no housework is the role of the female!” So I recoiled and resigned myself to thinking that maybe it really was a happily agreed upon role that the women take.

At that moment one of the Chinese women piped in courageously and said that recently women have become more economically independent by getting jobs. Because she earns part of the money she has more say in the family. This has resulted in splitting housework more fairly. She agreed with me and said that in China it is an issue of inequality too. The men just sat there blankly. I couldn’t pick up if they either just didn’t understand the issue or they had just never thought about it!

The next debate was about whether or not smoking should be banned. I was very interested in learning about the smoking culture here because it really does seem like EVERY man smokes. I was shocked to learn that everyone knows that it is bad for them. Not that this has stopped behavior in the past but… still. The men explained to me that cigarettes open up business opportunities between businessmen. At a business meetings smoking together is a sign of sharing a common bond or something along those lines. To refuse is to be impolite and rude. Also, they think that it is impossible to stop. The gov’t won’t do anything about it because they get the taxes from the cigarettes and because most of them smoke too.

I was appalled.

But then I quickly thought of all the “bad” things that Americans do in social situations because of pressure. I think we’ve all been in those situations where we are pressured to think that if we don’t participate then we think we won’t get the job, we won’t get respect, we won’t be included or we won’t make a friend. Of course this is bad logic but this is the smoking culture here in China. Because it is so ingrained in the culture one of the men resolutely said that the smoking issue will never be solved in China even though it is the biggest health problem in China. We tried to explain where America had been and where it is now with tobacco but I saw no hope in anyone’s eyes as I looked at the faces of these people.

They sat there with a disinterested look that said, “You just don’t understand.”

For one day I feel like we covered a lot of ground. Next time I hope we talk about abortion, the G. Bush, their president and homosexuality! Then I'll feel like I can come home having covered every issue.

Money and Rituals

Doe shou chien? (How much does this cost?) This is one of the most useful phrases we’ve learned since being here. We can’t get the tones down but for the most part people can understand what we say. In the last few weeks though we haven’t had to use it as much because have started to know how much things will cost. Money is an interesting part of China here. There are hardly any set prices and thus value is all relative. After about 5 weeks of being here we have found what is valuable to us and made it a part of our lives. A routine has helped create a sense of normalcy and ownership in a place that is foreign. Since all of our living expenses were paid up front we pretty much just spend money on food, buses, taxis (and earrings for me!!!).

We pass by several fruit vendors each day but we always go back to the same one at least three times a week. The vendor smiles as we approach and gets up from her seat in front of the fan to help us get our fruit. She gives me a bag to pick out my two peaches and one apple while she cuts off two bananas for me. Once a week I buy a small watermelon. I’ll pick one out and she’ll proceed to pat it to see if it is a quality melon. If not she will tell me something in Chinese, put it down and search for another one with a better “sound”! We always have a conversation. She’ll talk to me in Chinese and I’ll talk to her in English but that doesn’t stop either one of us. We definitely don’t understand each other but in the end it is a respectful conversation. The only thing that she understands is, “Do shou chien.” Amy and I play a little game to see how fast we can understand the number that she says in reply. Recently she’s only had to repeat herself once, maybe twice. I hand her the money, which usually is about $1. She teaches us our numbers.

Across the street is a tiny convenient store. That is where I buy my two bags of instant oatmeal for a total of $.50, which will last me the week.

Outside of the student’s dorm are a string of tiny shops. The third one down has tiny packets of milk packaged by none other than tetra pak. The label has become familiar to me in the many trips that I have taken overseas. The milk is reliable and the perfect size for my cereal in the morning. And my wonderful aunt also works for the company so I am in fact supporting her and the two ladies that own the shop. I come by, smile at the ladies, pick up the two packets, hand them the $.30, put the packets in my purse, smile again and leave only to come back 4 days later for more! I should just buy 10 and be done with it. But I like going and visiting the vendors!

The second restaurant outside of the campus is where we usually go for our Chinese meals. The fried rice with egg and tomato is $.50 and if I really want to spend money I’ll get the spicy tofu which will cost me another $.50. The owner always presents us with the English menu even though we get the same thing every time. Once we branched out and got the French fries on the menu. Let’s just say that French fries should be restricted to certain restaurants! But they know us and always give us the seats inside where the fans are. Curious customers will stare at our mad chopstick skills but for the most part it isn’t an adventure and I like that when it comes to Chinese food.

“Expectations are everything”—the great philosopher, Kari Wright. I like knowing that I take the 21 bus to get to the grocery store that has cheerios. I like knowing that at Peter’s Tex-Mex (which is the best Western food in Chengdu) I can get a smoke free environment and a veggie sandwich with fries for $2. And most of all I like knowing that on Sunday morning I will get scrambled eggs, a fruit bowl and 2 pancakes with unlimited coffee for only $3.50 and it will last me through most of the day including my 2 hour body massage!

4th of July: Oh Say Can You See

The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. I was sad that I wasn’t going to see fireworks or listen to the big bands play all of the national songs. I wanted to eat the baked beans served at the BBQs. We had resolved to go to the Shamrock (a western bar) that evening for a consolation western meal. However, we were in for quite the surprise. After meeting with Dean Ma for a short meeting about how things were going in China for us they told us that we had some “activities” for the evening. We looked at each other kinda bummed that we wouldn’t be able to celebrate our Independence Day.

They took us up the stairs of the old Public Health School Building and into a conference room. Immediately tears came to my eyes as I looked at the table and the realization came to me that they were throwing us a surprise 4^th of July party! I’ve never had a surprise 4^th of July party. On the table they had gotten “American” food plus some of the Chinese food that we liked. There were about 7 professors invited and about 4 grad students. After Dean Ma made all of the introductions we stood in a circle to start the party. Each of us were handed a cup of wine. They toasted to our Independence!

We had to work for our party though! Before they would start we were instructed to sing something from our country. I was totally up for singing “It’s a Grand Old Flag” because 1. It’s short and 2. It’s a fast song…but Amy didn’t know that one so we ended up singing the National Anthem. It is a very hard song to sing. In the middle of the table was a little stand with the Chinese flag on one side and the American flag on the other side! So we put our hands over our hearts, set our gaze on our flag and sang our National Anthem from the bottom of our hearts! It was followed by many compliments and clapping and then their national anthem! It was such an incredible picture of the exchange of respect. What better way to celebrate our 4^th of July?

The rest of the hour we spent talking with different professors and students as we ate potato chips and peanuts with our chopsticks! And we still got to the Shamrock around 9!

Second installment of photos I'd like to take

The traffic here is nothing short of a crazy game to be completely honest. In the driver's manual it explains that the driver is supposed to "slow down" when a pedestrian is crossing the road. It doesn't say anything about stopping and letting the pedestrian actually cross. And when the little walking man is green it means that the oncoming traffic is supposed to stop but the turning lanes are still free to turn. At major intersections there is a sea of people on foot, bikes, and motorcycles that congregate at the line waiting to cross. When the little walking man turns green it is like an army crossing the road and the other side has another army crossing. So between looking out for the cars coming into the sea of people from the turning lanes you have to look out for the people coming from the other direction. This is when the buffer system comes in handy.

The buffer system is a science. When congregating to cross the road you scout out the biggest person or motorcycle and situate yourself carefully between that person and another person. When the walking man becomes green you just walk beside that person. So if the cars actually hit anyone it won't be you but your buffer! It's not the most altruistic science but my toes are still attached to my feet. I've actually not yet seen any traffic accidents but I've heard. The chicken game has had a few close calls.

The rule seem to be the buses have every right away. They can turn and go anywhere whenever really. Next are the cars. Pedestrians are supposed to get out of the way of the cars in EVERY situation even when the cars are driving on the sidewalks, which happens quite often.They can park anywhere including on the sidewalk. The pedestrians have the next right of way even though they are supposed to look out for the bikes. The bikes are the lowest on the totem pole it seems. They have to get out of the way of everyone. There are bike lanes but those are also for anyone that decides to walk or drive through them. I've seen bikes carrying everything from mirrors/glass to huge computers on their back racks.

Sorry if this seems cynical. We have had a few close calls but for the most part we grab each other's hand and go for it having no problem at all. Fortunately for us women hold hands with each other all the time!

So there are two photos that I'd like to take but can't quite capture the full effect. The first is the two armies of people that cross at the same time. I can't even imagine if all of the people had guns like they did in some of the wars that were fought that style. But sometimes I get some of that feeling. It is so intimidating.

The second photos would be of the traffic ladies. They are the funniest thing to me in all of Chengdu I think. They are they ones that are suppose to direct traffic!! HEHE.The all wear their hair in a bun that fits nicely under their cap that is supposed to shade them from the sun because they stand for hours in the middle of the streets. They have on bright orange vests and their whistles are an extension of their mouths. But my favorite part of the costume is the flag. The flag is also bright orange to match the vest and fits nicely in their right hands. I think this would be the most torturous job in the world next to digging up a hole and then filling it back in with the same dirt. They whistle as loudly as they can and they wave their flags with so much confidence and passion when the lights turn and yet almost no one pays any attention to them at all. The most feisty ones can get some cooperation. One made a cyclist back his tire up because it was over the "line". That was when I wanted to take the picture. In the chaos of the buses trying to run over people and cars she wanted him to back up 3 inches so that he would be behind the line. I guess that gave her at least some sort of purpose and control.

On a bad day just think... I could be one of those ladies directing traffic in Chengdu. Besides no one paying any attention to your performance they mock you by trying to run you over!

Sunless Tanner, Umbrellas and Cancer

Today I put on the makeup that the Maybaline sales person had picked out for me as the best match for my skin. We tried three colors and she started out the lightest color. This I have come to realize would be a huge compliment here. Clearly I did not have the lightest color of skin. So I shook my head and pointed to the darker color. So she grabbed for the next to lightest color, not the one that I had pointed at. Again it was clearly to light for my skin and the only thing that I could understand her saying is that my hand skin, where she was trying the makeup was a lot different than my facial skin. Hm… true but my face is really not that light. So finally after much persuasion in all the sign language I could help her understand I got her to try the next color. I was still not convinced but it had to be done. It seems she couldn’t be persuaded otherwise. I bought the color and I have officially been inaugurated into the culture of “white is beautiful”. Neutragena, Maybeline, Olay, Loreal… they all have whitening therapy for the skin. They sell Chinese women whitening cream.

Not only that but certain things are also supposed to make your skin white. I was eating squishy tofu (that’s code for fresh tofu in Sichuan spices) one day and a graduate student leaned over with a smile of approval not because the tofu would give me protein but apparently it would make my skin whiter… I almost dropped my chopsticks!!

The Sichaun spice is suppose to whiten your skin too! The pool isn’t open until 4 because the Chinese don’t want to be in the “sunshower”. The umbrellas and parcels are sold in mass and used in even more mass when even one ray of sun is sliding through the clouds! Amy had this idea that she could find sunless tanner here in Chengdu. After nasty or confused looks from about 10 shop keepers her dreams were dashed and she gave up on her mission to find it. The shopkeepers look at her as if she is asking for a huge bowl of Crisco so she can get fat quick! The sunless tanner is replaced by whitening cream. The yellow, polka dot bikinis are replaced by pretty, pink parcels. The tanning oil is replaced by SPF in the makeup and all moisturizers. And the skin cancer is replaced by esophageal cancer.

If only they could make smoking (including second hand) culturally as ugly as dark skin then they would be able to do a paradigm shift in public health.

I had a whiter face today, something I’ve never said in the middle of the summer! Maybe I’ll start using my new SPF moisturizer!

A Rough Day in Chengdu

Indian Food and reading at the Yummy Indian Restaurant down Renming Road ($5 for both of us). Foot massage (a.k.a. 2 hour full body massage with an emphasis on the feet) while watching a movie (less than $9). Shopping… I had to buy another pair of earrings ($2). Amy has not been good at holding me back even though I tell her that it is her job. I think I need a quota! Veggie Pita and Minty-Mint milk shake at Peter’s Tex-Mex for dinner ($4)! Pretty good day! Almost perfect. I think I can get used to Chengdu.

Disclaimer: This is not what I would consider a normal day for us but then what is normal here? This serves two purposes… for you to be completely jealous of Amy and me and a consolation price for the 100 year old egg that Amy ate a few weeks ago. We may have exacerbated the consolation prices for that but I think they are all worth it! For all of those green with jealously we do have to work the rest of the week. The graduate students are in the middle of studying for their exams now and are otherwise diverted so we had this day to do a little “Chengdu…ing”. You enjoy your 4^th of July!! Think of me while you’re watching the fireworks and I will get some watermelon and think of you!

Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer and shopping

At 9:15 this morning I got a text message from Egg, one of the graduate students working with us. She wanted to know if we wanted to go shopping at 9:30! Two things are true: 1. I need much time to prepare to go shopping. 2. But this is how most things work here… you never really know what’s going on until a few minutes before it happens or when it is actually happening.

So this wonderful Monday morning we set out to find me a bag/purse/anything that will carry my wallet and a book. I was shocked at the sight of the market place. People were everywhere. It was like the routine Saturday morning shopping crowd. So we squeezed through the people, safely crossed the street using the “buffer” method, which has become very popular with us lately, and entered the first market. This market is a little hard to explain. There are about 7 floors of shops all squeezed in like sardines. The first floor is just bags, the second is shoes, the third is a combination of jewelry and shirts, the fifth one is dresses and I don’t think we made it up any more floors. The shop keepers will stand at the front of the shop and clap. This is quite annoying but apparently quite effective since they all do it still or maybe they just haven’t gotten enough rotten stares or letters of complaint. I just want to poke them but I’ve refrained.

The colors are magnificent. The styles are bold and very unique. There are sparkles and bling are everywhere but mostly on the shoes! We weaved our way in and out of the shops with little success in bags but too much success with earrings, which was not the goal of the trip but oh so tempting. So we marched onto another huge market.

One of my most amused moments in Chengdu was about to happen. Many of the shops along with clapping have apparently had success with loud music as a means of drawing people into their shops. As we were about to cross the street we came upon the shop on the corner of two very busy streets. Then I heard it, “…sleep in heavenly peace.” I stopped and walked up the stairs to the shop and I was not disappointed because the next song was none other than “Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer.” My smile stretched off my face and I started singing right there. Amy and I were chiming in all the extra parts… “like a light bulb”. I wish I could say that we were singing at the top of our lungs for all to hear because that would have made the story so much more interesting but alas it was actually quite soft. I was so highly amused that I started laughing and I closed my eyes to try to imagine the snow, the scarf, the hot chocolate but the humidity and got a big whiff of “the” smell brought me back quickly. The smell that is a combination of crushed red pepper and the other really spicy spice only found in Chengdu. I opened my eyes and I was clearly the only one besides Amy that had stopped to listen to the music. Everyone else was scurrying around getting to the next place they were going pretending that Christmas music in July blaring from the corner shop was just as normal as the humidity in July. Egg looked at me in confusion, grabbed our hands, and led us across the street just in time to miss the car that was headed strait into the crowd of people. I guess that shop had no idea the delight they brought to a few meigouren (Americans) today but I’m glad that experience happened.

Tonight I’m still smiling because I remember one time in mid July I went to a Chinese restaurant in Boone. In the background they had Christmas music playing. I laughed then too! What a good idea… Christmas music in July!

For those who are still worried about whether I found a bag or not… I did. Unfortunately, it was not in the Christmas music store. I’m ashamed to say that I don’t even know what they were selling. But the bag is exactly what I was looking for and it will carry the book that I’ve been reading: River Town.