Got my first Chinese haircut yesterday: very short on the sides, with a little crown on top. Was shampooed before and after the haircut. The barber asked me if I wanted to buy a blue towel. Maybe it was to cover my bald spot.
I also had a nice massage. At one point, the masseuse kneeled on my back and dug her knees into my shoulders. I’m glad she was a petite woman. Otherwise, I would be a permanent hunchback. Before the massage, I was served a plate of cherry tomatoes, a bowl of sunflower seeds and a glass of hot water. No dessert, though. It was a health spa, after all.
***
When I walked into my apartment complex the other day, a security guard stopped me and emphatically gestured for me to wait. He went to his little booth and came back with a package that he insisted was mine. It contained a T-shirt from Liberty University in Virginia, and was addressed to another man. I tried to convey that to the guard, but he kept handing me the package and telling me to take it. I repeatedly shook my head from side to side to indicate no, and finally walked away as the guard shouted something to me in Chinese, which I think translated to, “You stupid foreigner. Why don’t do take your package?’’ I went upstairs to my room and saw two of my neighbors – a mother and son from Atlanta – standing in the hall. I mentioned what had just happened, and the wife immediately said, “That package is for my husband. He’s taking an online course at Liberty, and he was supposed to get that shirt months ago.’’
We looked out the window at the end of the hall, and the guard was frantically waving his hands for us to come down and get the package. The husband came out of his room, walked down the stairs and picked it up, which brought a big smile to the guard’s face.
Clearly, he had confused one tall American man with another. To the Chinese, I guess we all look alike.
