OK, it was a long day at work...we've all had them, but the therapy for a hard day here is a little different that at home. Our schedules were changed for the fourth time (I bought Amy- the buxom tattooed wonderful girl she is- a beer because she negotiated for me to keep my third, fourth and fifth graders!!) And every 45 minute period just takes so much energy. Today I taught them some emotions and had them practice for the camera...they loved it. However, I thought I might be spoken to by the principal because I'm sure you could hear them "laugh" because they were "happy" all the way to Beijing! Sunny and I are working well together; she loves to have fun and play games. Any moment that lags, she says, "How about a game?" I'm with her! By the way, the assistants are mostly girls who are going to the university in Shaoxing; Sunny is studying English and is thrilled to have this part time job. She tells me every day that she is grateful for how much she is learning.
Anyway, after work (I haven't even been back to the hotel yet) we went in search of dinner. I had not yet tried the street food, but was mesmerized by a woman cook tonight. I stopped everyone to watch her; she had cooking grace. She had some thick cut noodles, oblong and about three inches, a bunch of vegetables, tofu and meats to choose from for her stir fry. I watched her make three dinners in her big wok and she cleaned everything so well that I couldn't stand it any longer...I announced "I'm eating here" and two of the five stayed with me while the others went to a restaurant. You are going to get tired of hearing me say "unbelievable"- but it was!! We will see in the next few days if I have to pay the price, but I have a good feeling about her and her business. She loved cooking for us, smiling shyly the whole time. Our dinners cost fifty cents each.
Just now, I walked along another street to come to this dark smoky cafe where Hotmail works (after my foot massage which I will tell you about) and I was checking out another street chef. Each one has a large assortment of ingredients behind glass to choose from for your stir fry...this one had long necked clams, mussels, calamari, beef strips and...what is that? I look closer. Bullfrogs! And yes, they are still breathing. And that is where my sense of adventure ends!
"Carol LeGore" and I then went to the foot massage place two others had experienced the night before. That word again, unbelievable! We walk in to the smell of bamboo and are taken to a private room with reclining beds and a tv. We are given sliced watermelon and crysanthemum tea as two young men dressed in white shirts and black ties enter the room with big wooden bowls. What followed was a combination of reflexology, massage, stretching, acupuncture and pedicure (and to think I thought I needed one before leaving Seattle!). The guys were so polite; they left the room about ten times to fetch different things and each time they returned they tapped three times on the door and kept saying something like "shi shi lou." They wanted to communicate with us, so we tried for a while but then succumbed to the hot rock treatment at the end. This entire treatment cost about six dollars and we were there for over two hours. My feet have never felt so good!
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