A small view of two free days.

I was thinking about something this week. We’ve had the week off. Golden week. It’s the Independence Day combined with Dragon Boat festival. Seven days off. 

There’s this weird thing about holidays in China though. Basically, they just move days around so that everyone has the same days off, but you have to “pay” for those days. So, yes, I had seven days off, but then I had to work the following Saturday and Sunday, making my week, seven days in a row. I should be used to it by now, but it still gets me that free days aren’t free.

Anyway, I want to talk about two very “Chinese” days on my holiday. The girls were at youth group camp for three days. Mostly, I didn’t get out of my pajamas, but one day, I decided I would leave my apartment and do something.

It was about 1:15, so as I headed down the stairs, I booked an appointment for a massage at 1:30. There is a fabulous spa three doors down from my gate. I go several times a month. I had the best massage of my life, this time. This place was the best I had been to already, but they outdid themselves Thursday. I should have gotten the name of the guy, so I can only request him every time now.

After that, I was feeling amazing, so I crossed the street to Starbucks and got a Pink Drink. Rumi had gotten one the other day when we went on a very long walk around the neighborhood, and said I should try it. It was a good call.

Then I went next door to our Swiss butcher. It might be our new favorite place. They sell imported meat, especially steaks and stuff, but it’s not frozen. I got the girls hooked on their first steaks ever from here a month ago. They are expensive, don’t get me wrong. Can’t eat this every week or anything, but it’s a nice splurge once in a while. They also have perfect fresh vegetables, and jars and cans of more upscale imported sauces and condiments. 

I didn’t want to spent too much on a steak, but all the ones he kept weighing for me were around the $30 mark. I couldn’t justify that. Then he said, “I’ll just cut you one a little smaller.” And he did, the price was good and he gave me some herbs to cook it with.

I went home, made my melt-in-your-mouth steak with mushrooms and some grilled Brussel sprouts, took a shower, and went to my friend’s house for a wine and cheese party. She’s from Canada and cheese is a staple for her. I brought over some olive bread from the butcher, and an unopened. bottle of Prosecco that had been sitting in my fridge from some holiday.

As I was walking from her gate to her apartment, I was watching some videos that the girls sent from camp and it was a practically perfect day.

The next day was my last day of the holiday, Friday. The girls don’t have to go back to school until Monday, but I had to go on Saturday. I am currently teaching in the local stream of an international school. The girls are in the international stream, so that is probably the difference.

I have to eat something for breakfast, because I need to take pills before and after breakfast. I had these addictive, crack-laced Cheerios in America, some sort of Almond Crunch something. I finished by the box I had brought with me two weeks ago, and I’ve been trying to create my own. I add some kind of nut Musli to Cheerios. No concoction has been close yet. This time I tried Nestle Cheerios, and that was the worst attempt.

We had an appointment to get our dog Pumpkin fixed, but then she started menstruating. We’ve been trying to keep diapers on her, but she keeps ripping them off in pieces all over the house.

I needed to pick the girls up at a burger place when they got back from camp around 5pm, and it was only 1pm, so I decided to throw some laundry in, and take a nap. It would be my last nap for a long time. Just as I fell asleep, naked, windows open, maybe sleeping for about 20 minutes, the doorbell rings. 

The dogs go crazy. I’m not expecting anything. I can’t find any clothes. I’m yelling at the dogs to shut up while whoever is at my door is incessantly pounding, making the dogs bark louder. I’m yelling at them to wait a minute while still trying to find something to put on. When I answered the door, knowing full-well it was not for me, and I wasn’t expecting anyone, there was a man holding a window.

Raine’s window had shattered –in March. He was just now getting to it. It was currently shattered, but together. Anyway, now is the time he decided to fix it, on a holiday. I guess it was a good thing I was home. 

In the course of fixing it, he took the broken window, held it outside, and shook it out. So much glass falling six stories down. I heard him talking to someone so I assumed he had a workmate cleaning it up. Then he took the rest of the glass and shook it out on my hall floor! 

As I’m handing him the broom, because it was his mess, there’s another knock on the door. Its our Indian/Chilean neighbor from the first floor. “Are you throwing glass down?” he asked. I told him some man was here fixing my daughter’s window, and he must have done it. (I didn’t know at that time, I just saw him yelling to someone). The man said he was yelling to him from down there.

So we start talking, very nice guy, then he asks if he can talk to the worker, and he does, in Chinese! I know this guy speaks Hindi and Spanish, his English is flawless and without accent, and then he goes and speaks Chinese to the guy. Hats off to you sir. Before he leaves, he promises to invite us to his next barbeque. It does always smell good going past his door, so I’m looking forward to it.

By the time that was over, I was so hungry, so I decided to go to the burger place and have a spiked milkshake until the girls arrived. Then, when the group arrived, I got to sit with some wonderful mothers, and have a lovely conversation about our travels and experiences in other countries. Though it started out sucky for a while, it still turned out well, and that’s what it’s like to live in China.