Yesterday, I ate dog...sorry Charly :( And actually, it was quite delicious. Better than beef. A friend I met just recently convinced me that I should try it. At first, I protested, but after she challenged my adventurous spirit, my ego stepped in and before I knew it, we were in the back of the restaurant picking out our meal. They even let us pet them to see which was the meatiest. Don't worry, I chose the dog who snapped at me. Lil bastard will think twice before he bites the hand that feeds..I mean, eats him. Hahahahaha, just kidding. You don't actually go to the back to pick out the dog. It was already butchered, so it just looked like meat. But it really was quite delicious. I couldn't keep my chopsticks off of it. To be honest, I did feel a little bad later that night at the thought of actually eating dog, but at the time, we couldn't help but make jokes. You know, like making dog whimpering sounds as we clenched the meat between our sticks. I know I know, bad taste... Also, I have given up getting massages as I haven't had a good one since the first one I had. Don't get me wrong. They're not bad, but the deep tissue therapeutic massage that my body craves is just too hard to find. You always get a different person and none have matched the master I first got. So, I was walking down the street with Candy, when this little shop caught my eye. Maybe it was the buddhist alter in the corner, or the left over scent of incense and oils, or maybe it was just the style of the Chinese caligraphy hanging outside the door advertising the shop, but I stopped and asked Candy what this place was. Judging from the pin filled drawing of a naked man that hung on the wall, I had the feeling that this was a shop for Traditional Chinese Medicine. Acupuncture!!! And that's exactly what it was. So, the next day, I showed up with Candy, expecting to be met by an ancient Chinese man with a long white beard, but instead, this young man, wearing jeans and smoking a cigarette was waiting in the lobby. Candy explained what I was there for, and he led me up a winding wooden staircase to a parlor filled with massage beds and oils and medicine books. I thought he was taking me up to the doctor, until I realized, he was the doctor. In the windows were wooden cages filled to the brim with grasshoppers and praying mantis bugs all climbing on each other and through the windows, I could see pet plants being kept on rooftop just outside the office. Candy translated that I've had lower back pain for the past decade and he said he could help, but it would take time. It was pretty much like going to the Chinese version of a Chiropractor. To the point even, that after he stuck about 8 needles into my back, he hooked up electrodes directly in the needles and gave me 30 min of electro therapy. After removing the needles, he rubbed an oil on my back, pulled out a shot glass, rubbed it over the oil and lit it on fire. Then he stuck it on my back and as the fire extinguished a vacuum was created that sucked my skin into the class. He used this technique to scrape down my back a few times before lighting and suctioning about 8 cups all down my back. It was amazing. Another thirty minutes of this, which while painful, is extremely relaxing and the therapy was done. And yes, it helped my back. So, now instead of massages, I go see my boy twice a week and I have huge purple circles all down my back. The Chinese call it a turtle back. Quick update, Lorne has gone back to England. It was a quick decision and now he's gone. Also, one of the English teachers at my university has recently been fired, so I'm taking over half of his classes starting next week. I've also got a side gig teaching 8 classes on the weekends at a 150 RMB a class. What this means is that I will no longer have a single day off during the week, but with the extra income, I've almost trippled my salary. This month, Im projected to pull in 13,600 RMB. Not bad for a Chinese salary.
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010
Gallery All Comments Edit
You must be working too hard ! What's happening ?
