A taste of things to come

Hi there,

Getting settled into the swing of things now. Whats the date... March 22... that means I have been here now for almost a month. Wow.

Finally, I have some time to catch my breath and summarise a few observations and experiences. Might as well start in the present and backtrack a bit.

Today was a strange day with a number of "1st" experiences which is usual. Sarika is starting a traditional Chinese medical treatment to detox herself from a couple of niggling ailments and as my body could do with a bit of a fresh start i've decided to join her in the process. This means first getting a blood test to ascertain my needs then a trip to the local traditional doctor for a look into my eyes etc after which he will issue me prescription of herbs, roots and spices that need to be boiled with water until the liquid has reduced down to a cupful or so- tastes really bad.

Anyway, this morning I found myself in a sparsely decorated hospital that had been recommended to Sarika, i'm sure not for any other reason than that it was a cost saver. Turns out it was a military hospital and to be honest, after seeing the facilities, I hope I don't get sick over here. It's probably then, a good idea that we are both doing this bit of maintenance and I must say that when she mentioned the whole idea to me I was interested for both health and curiosity reasons.

That done and feeling a little sluggish from the experience we were picked up by Sarika's new school friend Zin Zin, who was in the area and she happily deposited us to a massage room she knew. Zin Zin is really nice and I'm really happy Sarika has befriended her and is also beginning to mix socially with her other school friends as this has been a big move for her, probably more so than me. Breaking away from her home city, family and friends for the first time is difficult.

The massage places in China vary in quality, appearance, price and services more than I'd anticipated. I guess as It is a regular activity for many regardless of their wealth there are places for all budgets. From lavish salons that cater for 'all' tastes to beauty centers to retreat and relaxation centers where the massage is only part of the service. There are also many more economic services at street side shops equipped with only a couple of well worn armchairs and a foot stool. One such place just down the road employs only blind masseurs and they are quite a famous franchise of sorts throughout China. I'll visit them one day however today we went into a shabby but cleanish (nothing is clean here) shop with a floorspace big enough for two armchairs side by side plus three thinish massage tables similar in comfort level to those found in country league footy change rooms.

We were met by three well worn old blokes smoking cigarettes and wearing the uniform of the enlightened, equally well worn and cleanish, or should I say off-white dust coats. An hour later and feeling remarkably revived I paid the princely sum of $12 USD for both Sarika and me!
It turns out they aren't far from our home so I forked out the equivalent of $60 USD which will entitle us to ten more massages between us. The one today being gifted as service!

The next thing I did may (or may not) surprise you but I went into the skin care shop on our apartment complex for a facial. That's right... a facial and I feel much better for the experience. I feel compelled to justify this by saying that during my time in Korea its fairly standard to get a face massage and moisture and cleaning treatment as part of the service at many massage places. To be honest its probably my favourite part now.


I also found a nice coffee shop that serves real and varied coffee's, got a haircut and saw a street side brawl that involved about ten assailants before being dispersed by security. So as I said before a normal day, but full of '1st's'.

This week just gone was crazy. It started off normal enough however a week prior to this week just gone. In their infinite wisdom the school decided that they should have an overnight camp for 200 kids. They didn't know where or what they would do. But it was decreed from on high that in a weeks time the camp would take place. A weeks time, being Thursday and Friday just gone. It sounded like a failure from the get-go and armed with the knowledge of how everything else has been organised lately I avoided getting embroiled in it as much as possible.

Without going into to much detail ( i'm trying not to be too negative on this blog). 200 kids and about 15 teachers went to two rooms and a carpark at the foot of a mountain for two days and a night. It was terrible and I'm glad to get it over with. The only good thing to come out of it is that my kids were great and I feel really close to them now, although they hate getting their photo's taken. Must be the age I think.

I guess thats the reason for my desire to spring clean myself today with a massage, a facial, a haircut, a coffee and a streetfight!

As I mentioned in a previous post the Chinese new year celebration was spectacular. I edited a bit of the footage that I shot near the hotel on the 15th.

The link should be just below, but if not you can see it on my youtube page. Also my photo album has some new China photos of the camp as well as Qingdao and our apartment complex. enjoy!