Routine Routine Routine

Between school, mandarin, and weekly planned outings, I'm getting a really good routine down. Just in time to come home for the holidays:

Hair Washing Friday!
It's only 10 kaui, which is maybe $1.50 ish to get your hair washed with good smelling things and hot water, your head massaged, and some fun curls. Such a relaxing way to end the work week and start the weekend! This time around however, there was no shyness. The guys openly walked up and just started touching my hair and playing with it. My hair stylist this time was not amused and he kept glaring at every guy who approached. It cracked me up. I took this picture trying to show the pillow in the hair washing bowl, but Alice and Shelly and the hairwashers immediately started laughing uncontrollably the moment they saw my camera. I feel like a silly tourist, but so many of you have been asking for more pictures. So, this one is for you.

Muslim Noodles Shop:
I'm still trying to find a local restaurant that doesn't make me feel sick. The Muslim Noodle Shops are the most popular. They're like a starbucks for Seattle. There's 4 on Shin Da Road alone. And they're popular with the teachers at the school. At the closest location, their menu is posted in pictures on one entire wall. And one of our school board members translated other basic requests like "extra rice" and put them up on the wall too.

Alice was a little disappointed in the "simple" noodle dish that I chose to order. I asked her if she could request no bones in the chicken. Usually they just slice the chicken, bones and all, and you just have to spit out the bones as you find them, but sometimes they're willing to scrape the meat off for you before they cook it. By the looks of the conversation between Alice and the waiter, they were not willing to meet this request. But then at the next table over, 4 gentlemen started talking to the waiter. The waiter looked very frazzled and indignant. It got worse when the next table down, another 4 gentlemen, started talking very sternly to the waiter as well. Of course when I go anywhere in China, everyone knows that a "lao wai ren" is present, and apparently they were all arguing on my behalf. Alice was giggling and told me they were all telling the waiter to have the kitchen staff suck it up and give me boneless chicken! I asked Alice to tell him not to worry about it and just switch it for lamb, which already comes without the bones.

Mandarin:
- On Tuesdays, I work with June at Cup of Joe for about 2 hours. She's been insisting for weeks and I've finally givin in. I'm learning the Chinese characters. She keeps telling me it will be easier than "pinion" which is the phonetic spelling of Chinese words using English letters... we'll see. I'm memorizing 6 a week. She's given me a work book that most 1st graders use. Awesome.
- The general way to say Christmas is "Sheng Den", but another way to say it is, "Ping An". "Ping" is a root word meaning safety, but it's also a root in my favorite word "ping guo" meaning apple. Hence, on Christmas Eve, many Chinese friends give each other apples as a way to wish their friends good safety and show that they are important to them. Consequently, apple prices also skyrocket around Christmas time.
- Even though the Chinese don't technically celebrate Christmas, there are Christmas displays everywhere. They always get so excited when they see a tree, or a reindeer, but no one seems to know the name of Santa Claus. They always ask me his actual name, because they just call him"Sheng Den Lao Ren", which literally translates to, "Christmas Old Man".
- Similarly, the Chinese also have a name for the logo guy on KFC. They call him, "Ken De Ji Ye Ye", Which literally translates to, "Kentucky Grandfather". 
- KFC brings me to the family names, like grandfather. Grandfather is "ye ye", but that would be your dad's dad. Not to be confused with "wai gong", which also means grandfather but that would be your mom's dad. It starts getting more complicated when you talk about your mom's older brother's wife, who really should just be your aunt, but it's a different name than your dad's younger brother's wife, who should also just be your aunt. Ner. Don't get me started on the cousins. Depending on whose side of the family, and their parent's age, and their own age, your cousins will have different names. There is no generic, "Hey there cousin! That would be too easy :)
- Also, at some of the Mandarin lessons, the Chinese have been showing up to learn more English and Western Culture. I don't remember how it came up, but we got to explain the phrase "Go dig to China" to them. I'm not sure a reverse joke from this side of the world seems as funny.