Things change fast around here
So I had to sit in the conference most of the day. That is a pretty tough thing to do when you know that there is so much to see out in the city and you know that it might be a long while before you can come back for a visit. But the conference is why I'm here and I had to support my boss, Pat, in getting things going today. He is one of the two main organizers of the conference. Most of the day was taken up by 6 or 7 Chinese folks presenting all about how they do weather forecasting here and how they educate their forecasters. It was a real struggle for some of them to present in English. I have lots of respect for their willingness to do so.
The real fun was after the official dinner ended. Being kind of tired of talking so much with so many people today, I decided to head out for a walk in the local neighborhood on my own. Walking out of the nicely air conditioned dining hall was like walking into a wall of wet cotton balls. The sun had just set but it was still at least 90F and very humid. Being dressed up for the formal dinner didn't help. But the heat is easy to forget: it is just so much fun to walk down a busy city street. I can't wait to take you gals to New York sometime soon. Make mom and I do that!!!
Like in many parts of New York, here there is one little shop after another for miles up and down the street. Most of them are little convenience stores selling sodas, chips, and popsicles, small clothing stores, tobacco and tea shops, and beauty shops. I logged my two miles and passed the last set of shops on my way to the hotel entrance when the beauty shop there caught my eye. Hmmm. It's hot, my hair is all pooofy and I'd been thinking of getting it trimmed before I even left the States for Beijing. Why not. It's only 8:50, they must be open at least until 9PM and it shouldn't take long to trim my thinning hair. So I walked in, didn't even attempt to say anything in Chinese (like I would actually would know how to say "haircut") and did the universal gesture for cutting hair with my index and middle finger (snip snip snip). They knew what I needed. One of the many teenagers in the shop took my coat while another draped towels over my shoulders and sat me down. She then gave me a nice head massage while shampooing my thin wisps. A different girl than brought me over to a different chair where a young guy wearing a really fashionable sweater and slacks did the actual cutting. It was a pretty drawn out cutting. Snip. Snip. Snip.
Bet your thinking: "ah, the punchline here is that he cut ALL your hair off!!!". Nope. He actually did a really nice job giving me a trim. While he was doing it, I kind of noted that 5 or 6 other folks in the shop were moving the plants and furniture in the front of the shop to the rear room. No big deal, I thought, they must be getting things put away for the night. Kind of funny that there are so many people in here. Are they here because this white guy is here? Nah, us Westerners are not all that special here. I put it out of my mind while the guy finished cutting. Then the first girl came back and took me over to her chair and... ...washed my hair again. I guess there is the before wash to make the hair wet for cutting then the after cut wash to get rid of any loose hair clippings. Nice. Except that on the way over to her chair, the guy emptying the fish tank with the 24 inch, 12 pound carp (that's big!) dropped the hose and spilled fish water all over the rear of the store. Odd, where there was a whole rack of beauty products when I first came in, there was now bare walls. And the other five barber chairs where gone. And why were those two guys over there disconnecting the air conditioning? The whole place was being stripped to the bare walls right before my eyes! The only thing left in what was a fully equipped beauty salon not more than 10 minutes ago, was the washing chair, the chair I had just gotten up out of, and a half empty fish tank with a huge carp in it. Everything else was gone! Stripped. Empty.
The gal washed my hair again while the last of the fish water was drained. The carp was plopped in a bucket and whisked away. I smiled and paid my $3. And as I stepped of the front door, the hammers started falling on the inside walls and floors. All this flurry of activity at 9 at night. I can't wait to see what it gets transformed into over the next few days. Having seen how fast things move around here, I wouldn't be surprised if a restaurant opens by the weekend. In any case, it's fun to think that I was the last customer to have had their hair cut in the place.
Anyways, ramble, ramble, I no new pics today and I need hit the sack. Talk to you soon,
Love,
Dad
The real fun was after the official dinner ended. Being kind of tired of talking so much with so many people today, I decided to head out for a walk in the local neighborhood on my own. Walking out of the nicely air conditioned dining hall was like walking into a wall of wet cotton balls. The sun had just set but it was still at least 90F and very humid. Being dressed up for the formal dinner didn't help. But the heat is easy to forget: it is just so much fun to walk down a busy city street. I can't wait to take you gals to New York sometime soon. Make mom and I do that!!!
Like in many parts of New York, here there is one little shop after another for miles up and down the street. Most of them are little convenience stores selling sodas, chips, and popsicles, small clothing stores, tobacco and tea shops, and beauty shops. I logged my two miles and passed the last set of shops on my way to the hotel entrance when the beauty shop there caught my eye. Hmmm. It's hot, my hair is all pooofy and I'd been thinking of getting it trimmed before I even left the States for Beijing. Why not. It's only 8:50, they must be open at least until 9PM and it shouldn't take long to trim my thinning hair. So I walked in, didn't even attempt to say anything in Chinese (like I would actually would know how to say "haircut") and did the universal gesture for cutting hair with my index and middle finger (snip snip snip). They knew what I needed. One of the many teenagers in the shop took my coat while another draped towels over my shoulders and sat me down. She then gave me a nice head massage while shampooing my thin wisps. A different girl than brought me over to a different chair where a young guy wearing a really fashionable sweater and slacks did the actual cutting. It was a pretty drawn out cutting. Snip. Snip. Snip.
Bet your thinking: "ah, the punchline here is that he cut ALL your hair off!!!". Nope. He actually did a really nice job giving me a trim. While he was doing it, I kind of noted that 5 or 6 other folks in the shop were moving the plants and furniture in the front of the shop to the rear room. No big deal, I thought, they must be getting things put away for the night. Kind of funny that there are so many people in here. Are they here because this white guy is here? Nah, us Westerners are not all that special here. I put it out of my mind while the guy finished cutting. Then the first girl came back and took me over to her chair and... ...washed my hair again. I guess there is the before wash to make the hair wet for cutting then the after cut wash to get rid of any loose hair clippings. Nice. Except that on the way over to her chair, the guy emptying the fish tank with the 24 inch, 12 pound carp (that's big!) dropped the hose and spilled fish water all over the rear of the store. Odd, where there was a whole rack of beauty products when I first came in, there was now bare walls. And the other five barber chairs where gone. And why were those two guys over there disconnecting the air conditioning? The whole place was being stripped to the bare walls right before my eyes! The only thing left in what was a fully equipped beauty salon not more than 10 minutes ago, was the washing chair, the chair I had just gotten up out of, and a half empty fish tank with a huge carp in it. Everything else was gone! Stripped. Empty.
The gal washed my hair again while the last of the fish water was drained. The carp was plopped in a bucket and whisked away. I smiled and paid my $3. And as I stepped of the front door, the hammers started falling on the inside walls and floors. All this flurry of activity at 9 at night. I can't wait to see what it gets transformed into over the next few days. Having seen how fast things move around here, I wouldn't be surprised if a restaurant opens by the weekend. In any case, it's fun to think that I was the last customer to have had their hair cut in the place.
Anyways, ramble, ramble, I no new pics today and I need hit the sack. Talk to you soon,
Love,
Dad
