Day 11

July 29, 2012

After breakfast (apparently ants got into our brown sugar so Joel probably ingested a dozen of them) we started our morning by meeting up with several teachers to take a trip into mainland China. The city busses took us right to the border where we had to go through customs and immigration. Since we went so early in the morning it went rather quickly.

Once on the other side, we went to a very nice hotel restaurant where we had very traditional Chinese/Malaysian food. It was the best since food I have tasted since we have been here. The family style dining allowed us to try several dishes and share with our two lunch guests.

Before we left the restaurant I was advised to use the bathroom because I would not enjoy the ones I would find on the street. Of course, being there for 10 hours, I did have to use the toilet again and I found out why I was given the warning. Basically it is a hole in the ground with no toilet paper. According to Joel, it wasn’t nearly as bad as what he had to experience while on our mission trip to Peru. I luckily had tissue paper with me.

I had my first haircut today. They start by shampooing with a head massage lasting 15 minutes. After the rinse, my interpreter told the stylist how I wanted my hair cut. With the first cut I knew that it was not going to be the way I had intended. Instead of the 1 inch trim I had asked for, I received a 3 inch cut with layers. Not that I am too concerned about it. The total time was almost 45 minutes it was only 4 USD.

We then went to an underground mall that was more like a flea market. We were able to get great deals on clothes and American movies. Since we had Chinese speaking people with us we were able to bargain well. Joel was able to buy some nice work shirts for cheap.

 I stopped in a women’s clothing store and was instantly surrounded by 3 women with armfuls of clothes for me to try on. The sizes here are much different and not in a good way. I went up three sizes and was unable to fit into their largest size pants. I did feel like a VIP with all the help I experienced there.

While Joel was paying for some of the clothes we purchased, a woman with a young boy walked up to Joel and started talking to him in Chinese. She kept pointing at the boys’ mouth and gesturing with her hands. Man kin, our interpreter, listened to what she was saying and of course she wanted money to feed her son, though he looked well fed.

When we went into a CD/DVD store, a man took us aside and asked if we wanted English movies. When we said yes, he led us to the back of the store, into a hidden room with hundreds of DVDs. Later we found that this is because when immigration does the inspection, they close the back doors and it looks as though there are only legitimate items for sale. Joel and I got the latest season of “The Office” and “Modern Family” seasons 1-3.

We ate dinner at a Chinese restaurant before heading back home. I am trying to become fluent in chopsticks so I try not to request silverware through it is rarely available anyways. Joel is getting much better at using them. Then we headed back to border to go through immigration and customs again.

Once home I did a few loads of laundry and tested out our new DVD’s. They are not the greatest quality but they are what I expected for the price. And they will do the job I need. Now I go to bed for I have much planning to do for this next year. Every day I am given a new class to teach or new interest course to start. I am very excited about getting this show on the road.