It is snowing … styrofoam!

On our walk to Olivia's school one morning, we realized workers were hooking up man-lifts to the apartment buildings along the way. We could only guess what they were up to since they had just painted these buildings a couple of years back. I think washing the windows came to mind, but I thought the method was a bit much.

Over the course of a few days, all was made clear. They were cementing styrofoam squares to the outside of the walls for insulation. Seemed like a little bit of an afterthought, but hey, who am I to judge? 

I was really curious about the process and what they would do next. Sure enough, they covered it with cement to hold it in and make it as though it never was.

It was interesting to see the result of all this as little styrofoam balls were floating through the air and some pieces of styrofoam were falling off the wall leaving large globs of dried cement. I also wondered how much time and money was going into this job. 

I'm sure the workers appreciated having the work. That is one thing about China that has been very interesting to me. Sometimes the jobs I see seem so mundane. A machine could do it in about half the time (time oriented culture that I come from influencing that thought no doubt) but those 50- 100 people get paid and can go home and have a meal - perhaps a hot one or send money back to their families in the countryside. 

I'm glad that in spite of the lightening speed development, the street sweepers, tree planters and movers, grass cutters (at times with a basket) and such get to have a days work. In the winter, there are hundreds of people picking the ice off the road, and I am glad a snow plow didn't take their wages away. 

So, though I still wonder about the styrofoam, I find myself glad that those workers have something to do before the weather gets cold. Who knows where they are from, but I'm glad Harbin has welcomed them! And it just might be that those apartment buildings are a bit warmer this year as well. 

What would the pediatrician say about that!

This past summer in America, I took both my children to the pediatrician for a check-up. They gave me the rundown of where they should be developmentally as well as some 'tips' for their safety. 

Joel's was more along the lines of keep him away from the stove and power sockets. Olivia was more interesting as I thought about where we live and HOW we live. 

One of those tips was about crossing the street. I should teach her to look both ways and hold my hand. 

Um… Well, if she doesn't only look both ways and hold my hand and perhaps be able to move from one side of me to the other at a moments notice, be able to stop in an instant and in the middle of the street while a bus wizzes by inches from her little body… she might not make it across. It has been "fun" crossing the street with the new families on our team. I am reminded of how crazy an act it really is and how much danger I am putting myself and my children in just to get to the bus stop on the opposite side of the street. 

Another tip was to teach her not to talk to strangers, take things from strangers or go to strangers.

Um… Well, the picture below is a picture of a stranger that Joel reached out to hold on his own accord. They are always talking, touching, taking pictures of and giving treats to my children. It is not uncommon for a well meaning lady to give a sucker to my child who is under two (even before he had teeth this was common). 

The other day on our way home from preschool, Olivia is stopped by a young woman in her twenties. She had a bag of pop-corn and popped rice. She took Olivia's hand and stuck it in the bag and asked Olivia to give her a kiss. Olivia did so before I even realized what the girl had said. Then the woman returned the favor and Olivia went on with her hand full of popped-rice and the woman was squealing with delight that she had talked to my daughter. 

The pediatrician's tip playing in my mind, all I could do was laugh out loud and walk on home. 

And the tips go on… :) 

再见！ See ya later!

I paid 20 kuai for a free facial

Really, all I went to the store to buy were diapers. Okay, I chose to go to Carrefour because it also has an import section that sells good raisins, but really THAT was it. As I was leaving with my few goods in the bag, a man stopped me at the door. I believe this has happened before, but I managed to get away then. I felt weak today for some reason and I guess it showed.

So, as the man was telling me tales of "free.. won't have to pay anything to try… it won't take long…" I was being lead like a sheep to the slaughter and thanking him for it. Once I was hooked, another man talked to me long enough to know if he COULD talk to me in Chinese and then passed me off to a woman who was going to "take just five minutes. Don't you have five minutes?" about my skin or something or other.

She began asking me my age and telling me "oh you don't look THAT old. Russian women all age so very well…" I clarified that I am not Russian and the first and last English word "sorry" came up in the torrent of explanations why my skin is dry and in need of great repair. She poked my face with this wand that told me my skin moisture was a whopping 23.5% and then she went over my face with this special light that showed all the yuck on a tv screen. Talk about less than appealing! At this point she asks, "Won't you take some time to fix it? It is free. You don't have to pay anything."  Sure, why not? Who wouldn't after that?

The woman leads me through a hallway of rooms with curtains to a back room where she tells me the "skin teacher" will come and tell me what my skin needs. This young woman (24) bounds happily into the room and tells me to lay down. She then proceeds to wash my face, fuss at me for not doing more than I do, and giving me the spiel.

She explains that I should come in for an hour and pay 80 kuai to have her wash my face with this special stuff from Taiwan. I would also benefit from a massage on my head, shoulders and neck. She gave just enough of one that I felt the benefits without getting any. "Can't you spare one hour of your life for yourself?" That's where she missed a step with me perhaps, but we'll leave that for another discussion.

Right then, my face was washed, creamed and covered with a white face mask where just my eyes and mouth were poking out. Her voice was going on without stop as I was being convinced that I wasn't taking good enough care of my face and that she was the magical face fairy that would make all my pitiful dry cells disappear.

She talked on, "If you sign up for four visits, they are discounted to 50 kuai a visit. How much money did you bring today? Only 20 kuai, well, that can go toward your 200 prepayment. Haven't you decided you want to do it?" The more she talked the more convinced I was that I wasn't getting out of there with my face if I didn't give her in blood that I would come back and the 20 kuai. Only then did the mask come off and she let me see my very moisturized skin in the mirror and let me get myself together and we headed to the front to get my receipt.

I left wondering if it would have been better to have just walked out Carrefour with a "ting bu dong" [i don't understand] and a smile to that first guy. But then, I did get a free Chinese 'tutor' session, and free facial and skin inventory all for 20 kuai. Who knew so much could happen in five minutes?.… wait, make that an hour. ;)