October 6, 2010

Looking out the living room window I see a wedding at the 5-star hotel across the street.  It looks like a magnificent event with two or did I see three chefs?  Wish I had a pair of binoculars so I could see what’s happening up close.  Remember the TV show “Friends” and how they always looked out of their New York apartment window and would see the naked guy in the apartment across?  I think I could do that here, looking into thousands of apartment windows and seeing what’s happening.  Or they could be looking at the blonde western girl running around in her apartment in a purple night gown!  Ha which is funnier?  Ok back to the wedding, I hear something in Chinese from loud speakers, are they married yet?  What fun, maybe there will be a firecracker event to follow?  Maybe I can take some photographs.  Hey Alex, I need some help with night exposures and fire crackers.  I remember your wonderful photos last year in HL art class.  Gee I wish you were here to help me with my photography.  This is the fourth wedding party I have seen around the city in the last few days.  I was told it is good luck and good fortune to marry during the week of the National Holiday (remember this is China’s 4^th of July!  Well sort of, I don’t they are celebrating independence from Britain.  Maybe it is just a happy week to be Chinese.  I’m happy to be in China and to be living the oriental lifestyle.  Shoot some firecrackers, would you!

Speaking of culture, Patti has been curious about the laundry issue in China, so I am devoting this blog to doing Chinese Laundry.  My little washer is nice, except it is written in Chinese, so I had it deciphered onto a green post-it.  (By the way “post-its” doesn’t exist here; I brought these from the states!)  My laundry detergent smells great and we all know how I like good smells.  The washer is only connected to cold water and I was told to do a warm wash, you boil water and pour it in.  Ok I did that for towels, seems to work.  Then after it is “dry”, that’s what the Chinese say, actually it is the “spin cycle” in America.  It is now ready for the dryer.  Don’t have dryers in China, ok they do but not in my apartment.  I actually haven’t seen one here, but know they do exist.  Where, I don’t know?  So in my case it is a walk upstairs to my master bedroom, open the sliding door and out onto the balcony.  This is where I have a clothes line pulley system.  You turn the lever and down comes one line which I bought a couple little hanger thingies to hang unmentionables on.  Then when this line is full you move the handle to the other lever and roll this pile up in the air and the other line rolls down.  I know what a wooden clothespin is, do you?  I actually bought some at the Suguo!  Cheap ones at that, cause they sprang apart, and I have bits and pieces in my nightstand drawer.  My balcony faces the south, which is good luck.  This side gets all the sun so clothes dry faster.  I like the balcony it is enclosed with glass panels which move and let you open them up and get a nice breeze.  Hanging clothes reminds me of my childhood in Plano when my mom did laundry.  She hung it out on the clothes line and the sheets and towels would get so stiff.  I remember the wind blowing them and me having to hang and bring them in.  I am reminded of hanging Ruth Ann’s diapers one after another.  Mom will recall when I was three I had a “blankie”, she would wash it for me and I would go hold onto it as it hung to dry.  It had a satin border and I recollect how cool it was on my face when I was warm.  Now that is a long time ago, and I still like blankets, as I brought my down comforter in the satin coverlet with me to China.  Still like that cool feeling when it is hot.  Since I don’t have anyone to hang onto, this is a good replacement, soft, cuddly and no emotional attachment.