Two weeks flew by thankfully, but kinda sadly too. I had little interactions worth retelling in Shang Palace, but the atmosphere definitely warmed up the longer I worked. The girls were thrilled to teach me any Chinese I could remember, and by the end we had a nice conversation of half English, acting and a little Chinese thrown in. I'm sorry that my first few days weren't as good as the last, and I didn't get to know the people there sooner. They are sweet, and very interested in what I'm about...they just can't express it, or really delve into with me. And yes... I realize that entire post about hating Shang Palace is being totally negated here..but I did warn you that I was tired and most likely unreasonable. But over all I really enjoyed working in the private dining rooms, getting that serving style down and being a helpful fly on the wall.
So chapter four, and incidentally the third to last chapter is now closed.
On to Lobby Lounge! My first day was gleefully made by two of my favorite people that work there; Samansa, and Ian. Ok first off its actually Samantha, but since that's nearly impossible for many Chinese people to say, they call her Samansa. Naturally, we do too.
She is hilarious.
Hilarious in a way that is completely off the wall, and constantly catches me off guard. I laughed all day today with her and her over-the-top dramatics. And her grasp of English is very good, even though her spoken words are few and normally oddly pronounced. I had the honor of differentiating between the words "ice" and "ass" for her today. Spoken aloud, with a strong Chinese accent, these two words are almost identical. So to help my friend out, and because it made me giggle, I explained the difference by pointing to my butt, and then pointing to my eyes. She looked bewildered, then a great grin spread on her face and she said, "Ohh I think if I say it wrong the guest will be afraid". I lost it, just imagining this girl asking a westerner if he'd like a glass of "ass water" and a look of naked fear crossing his face.
She never has a moment of 'eh', it's either she hates someone, or she loves them and she states these feelings with such conviction.
I started a list labeled SSS. It means Stuff Samantha Says (pg version) and I wrote down all her sayings. There's the ever helpful, "Be careful", only after I've done something wrong, or the dramatic, "No! I don't allow it!" when I inform her of an impending bathroom break. My personal favorite is, "I mees youu", to which she says every time I have to deliver a tray in the lounge. So its safe to say I will at least enjoy the shifts I have with that crazy girl.
Ian is our only boy in LL, and he's pretty cool. When the hotel had the outing at the mountain, he was in my group, so I got to know him before we worked together. He loves American music, can make any kinda drink you want and can eat whatever he wants without gaining a single pound. Also, we can discuss what kinda men are attractive and he has a very nice looking boyfriend. Basically he's one of the girls, he just gets to carry more trays and do all the heavy lifting.
He took me out for dinner to a little shop that serves Japanese food. We got a couple spicy dishes with tofu, chicken and an order of kim chee. The main entree was this conglomeration of a layer of fried chicken over rice and latticed with mayonnaise.
Have I mentioned the obsession with mayo the Japanese have?? Its weird and for being known as such a healthy culture, seems kinda contradictory! The food was ok, but the conversation was pretty fun. Then he took me to the supermarket to try 'li peng', or the fruit of a very spiny ball that grows on trees here. Its about like a potato texture, but a little drier and slightly sweet. We munched on them and chatted while walking back to my apartment. I thought to myself that this kind of spontaneous outing is really quite cool, and I know I'll miss it when I get back. I'm glad I can get to know people that will show me little things about China that I'd never know otherwise.
Last week in September...then there's a month of solid Lobby Lounge, projects, Chinese class tests and more projects.
Also, I'll be going to the gym for the first time in about two months...soo glad I bought that membership!!
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