Shoes Off When Entering Home; Perhaps Pants Should Be Shed At the Door Also?

Nine years ago when we lived in Singapore we found removing our shoes by the front door to our home or anyone elses to be a charming custom that was easy to observe.  For one thing Singapore is hot and the cool stone and wood under our bare or stockinged feet was a relief.  But, I'll admit that the cleaned and polished streets of Singapore didn't prepare us for the real reason Asians remove their shoes before entering a home.  As a generalization Asian streets are dusty and dirty;  in Beijing we discovered streets that were dusty, dirty and full of other people's spit.  Yes, big ol' luggies right there on the sidewalks, in the subway stations, and even the on floors inside the malls.  What used to thoroughly gross me out I now view as just a crass cultural habit that likely won't change while I live in China.  So, today removing our shoes at our front door is a habit born of sanitary necessity.

The new twist that I didn't observe much of when we last lived in Beijing (during the winter months when babies are not really out and about) is the pottying habits of  babies and the toilet training practices of parents.  Babies wear pants that are split wide open between the legs and when the little one needs to potty they do so wherever they happen to be:  on the street or in the subway stations.  (To be fair I think the families I've seen promoting this practice in the subway stations were out of towners, and not native Beijingers.)

Perhaps, we now have a reason to consider removing not only our shoes but our britches as well  when returning home from a days outing.  Yesterday, Tom and I had a long subway ride and were happy to get a couple of seats next to each other.  An extended family returning from the Beijing Zoo took up space next to us; Mama and Baby Boy, who was seated next to Tom, were charming and engaging.  Baby Boy watched us and waved when we waved; we said "Ni hao" and his parents encouraged him to say "Ni hao" to us. We asked Mama in our best Chinese:  "Ta you ji sui" (how old is he?)  Mama replied:  "Liang sui" or 2 years old.  Baby Boy was adorable, but he had one feature that made Tom cringe and move a little closer to me, and that was his pants that were open between the legs.  Well, no accidents occurred, but it made us wonder about the subway seats we sit on when given a chance.  Perhaps we should remove our pants at the door as well as our shoes...

Is My Blond Showing?

It’s been a while since I’ve written, and I hope to catch up a bit.  A lot has happened: we’ve had family visit us in Beijing, we went to Hong Kong and had a good visit with Calvin (our foreign exchange son of 9 1/2 years ago; and I went home to the States with the intention of helping my in-laws and of celebrating  my grandsons first birthday.  I no sooner arrived at  home when I called Tom to come home to say goodbye to his dad.  

Since we’ve been back in China we’ve celebrated Christmas and New Year’s, and started language lessons.  We’ve had some interesting encounters with local Chinese as well:  is my blond showing?

I guess I’ll start in the middle because saying goodbye to my father-in-law, Hal, was the last thing we expected to do this past fall.  It was also the most difficult.  The trip I’d planned to the States included spending a week helping Nancy and Hal followed by a week with the Bloss clan to celebrating grandson Ben’s first birthday.  The trip home took an unexpected turn hours before I landed as my father-in-law was taken to the hospital where he and many of the family spent his final days.

I learned from my sisters-in-law about loving care and courage.  l learned from my mother-in-law about grace, unwavering devotion, life-long love and perseverance.   Even in his final days my father-in-law taught me that there is hope and dignity and compassion and love in dying.   From my husband I learned that we should take each day to know one another and not let distance matter because distance can be a barrier to knowing those we care the most about.  We laid Hal to rest November 21, 2012.

On a happier note we had visitors in mid-October.  Tom’s sister Sue and husband Bob (of Kansas City, KS) and niece Alyssa (recently of Paju, South Korea) came for a visit.  We walked miles with Tom in the lead through the Forbidden City and Jingshan Park to the north (6 miles that day), the Great Wall with 1100 plus uneven steps up and 1100 plus uneven steps down (athletic Alyssa is the only one who couldn’t spell “tired” at the end of that day!), and the Summer Palace (another 5 or 6 miles that day).  Tom left for Hong Kong the day before our family departed and without Tom to lead us on, we took a rest.  All we could manage was shopping on Wangfujing Street right outside our door.  We took time for a DVD at home and dinner out.  Sue, Bob and Alyssa went home exhausted, and I traveled to Hong Kong “just plain worn out”.

Hong Kong was amazing.  Even though Tom was there because of work we had a great time exploring.  We caught up with Calvin one evening and he treated us to dinner at a very nice restaurant overlooking the harbor and Hong Kong Island.  Unfortunately, we weren’t able to see Calvin’s parents or girlfriend as they were at an important event at church.  After spending a couple of days in Hong Kong all I could think to ask Calvin was, “what in the world did you think when you found yourself far from this magnificent city and into the wilds of West Virginia?” 

Somewhere, between Hong Kong and Arkansas I learned about the Melbourne Cup.  I got gussied up and attended a fancy luncheon sponsored by the Australia New Zealand Association.  For those not in the know, the Melbourne Cup is a 3 minute horse race that stops everyday life on an entire continent for a day or two. 

In December I flew to Slidell, Louisiana to help my grandson, Ben celebrate his first birthday.  I loved being with my grandchildren:  I really want to be around Emily as she grows up: as she marches to her own drummer.  I never met a happier boy than Ben; and I think Ben takes after his mother.

Tom and I celebrated a quiet Christmas, our 36^th wedding anniversary and New Year’s in Beijing.  We vowed not to be away from family over the holidays again.  We got out to see local sites in Beijing, and focused on one bridge.  We spent several days taking pictures of the bridge and we plan to go back on regularly over the next year.

Life is picking up with language lessons, Bible study and knitting; and of course my weekly adventures foraging for food. 

Is my blond showing?  I’m fairly sure it is…

Tom and I stumbled onto a singles mixer at the Fortune Mall while exploring a way to walk from the subway to a western grocery store by staying inside for as long as possible.  I attracted the attention of two Chinese men before I knew what was happening.  It’s not usual for Chinese men to strike up a conversation with westerns, let alone a conversation with a western woman. 

On another day we went to Taimiao, a temple for ancestral worship and animal sacrifice.  It was COLD and we were bundled up to the tops of our heads with scarves and hats; I felt invisible in my layers of clothing and went on to prove that point by wearing sunglasses.  Still, I was approached by two gentlemen who requested that I pose for a picture with them, which I did.  With all the recent attention I've gotten I had to I asked Tom: “is my blond showing?”  

Wednesday with a Beijing Twist

There are days that should proceed  according to plan because the plan is so mundane.  Today is Wednesday and it should simply have unfolded according to plan,  but today it was served with a Beijing twist. 

It started with a one transfer subway trip to Bible Study with a great group of women. Then a two transfer subway trip to the Beijing United Family Clinic in the CBD to pick up a prescription, and since I was in the area of a DVD shop and the best Jenny Lou's grocery I picked up a few DVDs and did a little shopping.  As I was checking out at Jenny Lou's I spotted Gillette Foamy Shaving Cream in the red can, proud product of the USA.  Tom has been looking for weeks for shaving cream, so I picked up a can.

Now in every subway station there is a security check manned with two guards.  All bags must go through the x-ray machine and if the guards think you should open your coat, that's what you do.  It's been our experience that as foreigners we get only light scrutiny.  Well, not today! The the x-ray screener saw something suspicious in one of my bags, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out what it could be:  my Bible?  oh, perhaps 6 months worth of new drugs! surely, it wasn't the paper towels or frozen pizza.  As I stand there scratching my head I open the bags and they have a look.  Low and behold the guard pulls out the shaving cream.  The three of us have a poorly understood conversation before I get lead off to the ticket booth where the agent on duty laughs hysterically before calling in a more senior guard who explains to me in broken English that I cannot take shaving cream on the subway.  I put on my best foreign and helpless old lady look, only to no avail, then I whimper  "how am I supposed to get home?"  The first guard suggested the bus, now I'm laughing hysterically.

Well, I went back outside into the smog and pollution and I flagged down a taxi:  Wednesday with a Beijing twist.  My trip home turned into a 45 minute taxi ride in the above ground pollution. And a simple can of shaving cream cost 56.80 RMB plus the 26 RMB taxi ride; in USD that's about $13.80.  I think once this can of shaving cream is empty, Tom will just have to grow a beard!