that the english professor from Duke who looked at my aids ribbon on my peacoat and handed us his business card was taking the elevator to the same place we were: purple haze bistro. a nice little spot with a bit of jazz, a bit of thai food, a glass of wine on a quiet cold saturday december evening.
but he wasn’t…..
when we turned left, he turned right. and headed straight towards Hooters. by himself with a pair of binoculars hanging around his neck.
very nice.
” i really think i can kill someone tonight!!!!!” i screamed into the phone.
then i realized it wasn’t my friend, but her brother making a work related call. oops.
” it’s okay, i understand–i’m having a china day too.”
China day. you utter those two words and it’s instant empathy from a fellow expat.
those living here all know what it means. china day means everything that can go wrong, does go wrong.
my day in China, was starting out okay. it wasn’t until getting off from work, that my day in China was turning into a China day. first, i find out that i probably have to wait in line at the bank for a good hour to make a currency exchange when i was the person doing the favor.
Then the taxi driver did not know where he was going and made me get out of the cab. Then I stood in the freezing cold and hailed another cab. This one actually did a drive by, cursing at me and speeding off because he was heading North and I wanted to head South. I finally get to my destination, the tailor, only to find out that she has just left for home ten minutes before my arrival.
so what’s a girl in china having a china day to do? shop.
i bought a pair of fake esprit linen shorts and 4 piggy banks. very necessary items. not.
then i come home and realize it’s almost 10 pm which means i have to eat out yet again because the grocery store won’t deliver goods after 9pm.
shiet. at least my ayi is coming tomorrow. and yes i sound like a spoiled expat brat right now. but when you get a pmsing jenny experiencing a china day, that’s just what happens. aiite?
now living in china for almost two years–seeing and experiencing weird, unimaginable, wacky, odd things is commonplace. but this weekend was sort of different.
going to a dinner party hosted by a fellow american saturday night—ordinary
playing freeze dance (haven’t done this since I was a kid) and watching his chinese roomate take off the two red fans hanging from the wall and then doing a private traditional fan dance in the comforts of their living room—-extraordinary
baking cranberry scones and other goodies with my friend chi jia on a sunday afternoon —pretty ordinary
getting an impromptu chi gong healing session from chi jia’s friend for my pinched nerve while coffee cake bakes in the oven. this chi gong student, btw, has obstained from orgasms for 1.5 years so he can build up his “chi” and use it to help heal other’s ailments with it —extraordinary
Name: Jenny Y Chu
Location: Beijing, China