Guilty Pleasures
Trip Start
Feb 10, 2009
1
30
Trip End
Apr 10, 2009
Wanli, Liaoning Province, China
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Kirsty organized for us to go to this little place in Jinshitan for a message, and I was really excited. For Y80, we would get pampered for nearly an hour—one of the strongest motivations to moving to China.
We walked there after school, and I wasn't totally sure what to expect. The lady led us to this backroom that was decorated... I am trying to come up with the most accurate adjectives... like a little kids room, meets misprinted fabrics, meets dim lighting and an attempt at cozy. We stepped in and I howled with laughter.
On the two little cots that were side by side, lay little cotton pjs, which we changed into and waited for our masseuse. When the gentlemen came in, they introduced themselves and started by placing warm pillows on our stomachs and rubbing our faces, necks and shoulders. It was heaven.
It wasn’t until he started moving to my arms, that I realized that my masseuse may be blind, as he had to 'look’ around with his fingers to find the part of my arm he was looking for. At one other point, when he started to massage my arm, he let my hand fall in his lap—and I instantly tensed—not because I was in an inappropriate place, but more because I was caught off guard. All he said was "relax, you must relax." I almost laughed, but did manage to relax.
Without a doubt, it was one of the most amazing massages I have ever had, head to toe.
Unbeknownst to me, Kirsty had called ahead and specifically requested one of the fellows who is particularly well skilled at targeting troubled areas, and is also blind. I felt guilty after when she told me, and she didn’t fess up right at the beginning. She was happy with her massage, but after some comparisons I definitely think I got the more skilled masseuse.
To top off the evening, we headed to Susan’s, one of the only true western restaurants in this part of China. I went all out and ordered an orange Julius and a poutine. It is not quite the same, but a pretty darn close replica, especially for China. The husband of the owner, who is also the school’s librarian, told us how long it took him to teach the local bakery to make real hamburger buns, both in shape and taste—they couldn’t understand why he didn’t want sugar in the recipe like their sweet buns.
It is amazing what kind of impact ‘comfort’ food can have when you are travelling, or away from home.
Yum... cheese.
~Ashley
