xiamen holiday
Appallingly, I realized this morning that I've read three of the five books I brought with me to Shanghai. I need to have a set of pages to turn at all times, so I forced myself to examine the literature left behind in the models' apartment ere I cash my personal book stash. An archaeological excavation of the layers of left-behind shit in models' apartments will usually yield at least one solid, lengthy book, even if it's a (shudder) Clancy. Not here. Manshare, copyright 1984, anyone? Shattered Illusions ("A sweeping tale of tangled passions, scandalous secrets, and tender awakenings")? I chose California Holiday (by the British author of Spanish Holiday and Grecian Holiday!), about an au pair who will, as the plot develops, probably leave her post in Seattle and take the titular California holiday. The American characters have a certain, um, flavour about them: they say "clever" and "nursery school" and cook with kitchen scales instead of measuring cups. And they never say "why." They only say "how come." How come, I wonder? Britons, do you perceive Americans to say "how come"? I was not aware of that.
In other news, I went back to the public bathhouse tonight for a "help bath." This time, the attendant laid me on the table and rubbed down my whole body with an abrasive mitt. I'd never had this done before, so I have no frame of reference, but as she scrubbed, there were pea-sized balls of dingy squamous hailing down from my body. It was definitely a lot of dead skin, possibly even an unhygienic Swamp Thing amount that I should be embarrassed about having shed in front of a fastidiously exfoliated bunch of Chinese bathers. The attendant even gestured at it and chid me. Whatever. It was soul-satisfying to walk away and leave all that epidermis behind. Rise like a phoenix from the ashiness.
You guys, the pics I wanted to post with this entry are taking forever to upload and I'm ready for bed. Tomorrow, I have to get up early and fly to Xiamen, a city on the Chinese side of the Strait of Taiwan, for two days' job (excellent). So I'm going to leave you with this, hit the sack, and ch-check you on Friday. 'Night!
In other news, I went back to the public bathhouse tonight for a "help bath." This time, the attendant laid me on the table and rubbed down my whole body with an abrasive mitt. I'd never had this done before, so I have no frame of reference, but as she scrubbed, there were pea-sized balls of dingy squamous hailing down from my body. It was definitely a lot of dead skin, possibly even an unhygienic Swamp Thing amount that I should be embarrassed about having shed in front of a fastidiously exfoliated bunch of Chinese bathers. The attendant even gestured at it and chid me. Whatever. It was soul-satisfying to walk away and leave all that epidermis behind. Rise like a phoenix from the ashiness.
You guys, the pics I wanted to post with this entry are taking forever to upload and I'm ready for bed. Tomorrow, I have to get up early and fly to Xiamen, a city on the Chinese side of the Strait of Taiwan, for two days' job (excellent). So I'm going to leave you with this, hit the sack, and ch-check you on Friday. 'Night!