Whelmed and No More Pantyhose!

Here's a list of things I'll miss at iCafe when I rotate out:
1. The people who work there
2. Being told I'm beautiful every day
3. The outfit (let me finish... it's kinda comfy)
4. Being busy
5. The people I meet and talk with
6. The view of the Garden when its raining
7. Singing to pantry people
8. Easy shift times
9. Knowing what I'm doing (mostly)
10. Getting juice whenever I want


Things I won't miss:
1. Cleaning up tables with food that has been chewed and spit out on the placemats
2. Clearing tables with lots of beverages (it gets heavy after two glasses. I'm weak ok??)
3. My feet dying a fiery painful death
4. Waiting for the shift to end
5. The outfit (comfy or not, its hideous)
6. Watching people handle food without gloves
7. Listening to guests who insist on talking in Chinese, while laughing at me
8. Learning new "standards" every day
9. Watching people eat crab and shrimp then spitting out the inedible bits
10. Steaming milk for cappuccinos

With that said, I will overall miss iCafe. Just like I would miss any job, which means the people are the reason I stick around, the work just happens to coincide with me being there. I have three weeks left for this part, and I'll tell you this right now...its depressing. My friends all work there! I have so many people that I'm getting to know better each day, then BAM I'm gonna have to move on. Telle es la vie! (Yes. French. Why not? I'm pretty global now!)

Two more things:
 I made friends with an old Chinese lady merely by standing next to her for more than 30 seconds. She leaned over confidentially, covering her mouth daintily and whispered (in Chinese) that I was her pengyou, or friend. Don't ask me if I'm sure that she said friend, because I know it is! There are a few important Chinese words that I've learned and "friend" was one of the first! I think she's about 90 something, and she probably wore something her granddaughter left at her house, and she ate about five plates of food. Just gotta say, Granny's got Swag!!

Secondly, there's a girl I work with who has a thing for rotund men. I kid you not. She tells me very seriously, and in very clear, unaccented English, "I think they're beautiful".
I'm not talking about slightly hefty men, I'm talking someone who casts a shadow roughly the size of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Ok one last rant, then I'm done. For tonight.
China is a place where anything is possible. Its even possibly to wear sheer clothing, and still consider it being clothed. Don't ask me why, or who came up with that rule...I greatly contest it! Women dress up 24/7 here. Even when "casual" they wear brand name sweats paired with high heels. Does it always match? No. Do the clothing match the age of the person? Normally mostly not. Do women take on the day with wet hair, or jeans? Never. I've seen ONE woman with wet hair in public, but she had a two year old with her...so it doesn't count. Everyone dresses up! They can't be slouchy, or if they are it's carefully arranged to appear so. Guess how us girls go to the gym? Yep. Like normal people! In GYM clothes. With gym shoes! How do Chinese women go? Like their attending a summer garden party. They wear flip flops, sequined shirts, jean shorts and/or nice blouses. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong! How can you willingly sweat in your nice clothes? I don't even like putting on nice clothes in the summer because I know my body will do its best to dissolve them.  Explain this to me! After they work out, they shower and get dressed up again. That is soo much work...why do they do that to themselves??
Panty hose, never bare legs, and high heels or flats, rarely sneakers, never gym shoes. Hats, glasses, and outerwear like sweaters for decoration purposes only, and opaque shirts optional. Skirts and dresses, long and flowy are more common than pants, and I've never seen anyone without some kind of well known brand sticking out, or a cluster of celebrity influenced fashion choices. Dalian is known as a "fashion city",  buut they never specify if it's either "good" or "misguided".
I must admit...I own a few pairs of panty hose ankle socks. *gasp. Before you judge however, you must know that I'm cheating so I don't have to wear full panty hose under my gouchos. I do promise to never pair them with my sandals and shorts...that fearful sight has been forever burned into my retinas, and I get a little convulsive when I think about wearing it in public. I might give into the dress phenomena though, and accept the ways of staying breezy in the summer...just no panty hose. I promise.