“Tacos” is the name of the cafe I walked to yesterday, thinking some Mexican food would be great.  A western name for a more Chinese style cuisine.  Yes I did see an enchilada looking meal on the menu.  I am thinking does this waiter understand me well enough to explain to the chef I am wanting a vegetarian enchilada with a taco?  Probably not!  So I say I am vegetarian and he points to the pizza.  Ok a pizza it is plus garlic bread, lots of carbs.  There is reading material next to the table on a display rack, I check it out and some is in partial English.  I read there are five churches, and ten museums.  There is an article about local westerners not losing weight, cause the food is so good!  Yes, I can agree.  Pizza arrives, and it has corn on it, just like at S.I.T. (Sculpting in Time cafe)  This must a traditional recipe.  Cheese is blah, can’t even tell what kind it is, no Parmesan or mozzarella.  Oh well, it is still tasty.

Then I decide to walk to my fitness center to wear off the carbs.  Nice walk and a beautiful sunny cool day for a change.  I find the massage/spa area and ask if there is time for a massage.  Of course she speaks no English, and I somewhat show her I want a full body massage with hand gestures.  She points to 68 yuan.  Deal!  She hands me this Chinese cotton PJ outfit to put on — ok the top wraps around and ties, can do.  The pants are another thing, they look like a kids size 12 and I didn’t even attempt it.  Hopped on the table with a towel, underwear and Chinese top and in walks this young skinny Chinese male masseur.  Never had a male massage, first time for everything right?  My colleague Peter, had said he got a great massage the other day and it was “legit!”  So we will see!  No oil, and no skin to skin, ah that is why the PJ outfit.  Hope he can handle the no PJ bottom part and he seems ok with it.  He has a small sheet and works my back with his palms till I think every bone has cracked a few times.  Then we does some thumb pressure points and pushes a second time real hard, that can be painfully interesting!  I think he even tried to straighten my bowed legs by bending them entirely the other direction, wow!  Finally he rolls me over and massages the wrinkles off my face and then does the same to my ears and head.  Massage is over, it is legit and a mer ten American dollars for one hour.  I am calm and ready for a nap.  Head back to the hotel and sleep for hours.  Delightful.

Woke up to the TV running and a guy painting with  ink and a bamboo brush.  Wow, I can learn this easy enough.  He shows his mixture for ink and then starts with the bamboo stalk, then the branches and lastly leaves.  It was a great art demo and easy to follow.  I have ink and a ton of bamboo brushes at school, think I will give it a try tomorrow when I am teaching on Saturday.

Then the news showed three sick little children in the hospital, unconsciouses, on air and hooked up to an IV.  Now what is this about?  There is a peasant looking mom, bad teeth and tired eyes speaking.  Then mushrooms show on the screen.  Did she pick bad mushrooms and cook them for these kids?  OMG yes!  The newscaster is on the scene in the woods with her and she shows them the four kinds she picked, a yellow tree fungus, white toadstool , brown and one with polka dots on the inside.  None of these look edible to me…only hallucinogenic.  The scientist on the show, take four white lab rats and make a concoction serum  of each one of the mushrooms and inject into the poor little rats.  The clock ticks away two hours, four hours, ah at six hours we have some unsightly little rats!  There tails and feet are different colors, no longer sweet pink!  And one is spread out on all fours like a pancake, with eyes bugging out, I would say he is “tripping!”  Ah ha the mushroom that is the culprit was the plain white one.  Although the other three they marked with a big X too…….  The story ends happily, kids get treated and are smiling again.  Mom gets a lesson in mushroom picking along those of us who watched the story and the rats had an exciting day tripping in the lab!