Wash On, Wash Off

One of the most fascinating things about Beijing is all of the big high rise buildings that house the millions of people that live in this city.  There are no homes or neighborhoods like the ones we are familiar with in the states.  To see this city, you must look upward.  And as you look upward you find that all of these thousands of apartments anywhere you look have one thing in common, a big front sun facing window with laundry hanging to dry...... like curtains from Bed, Bath and Far Beyond!  

Shawn and I have the same strange aparatus in our living room window.  It consists of two long poles running the length of our front window.  It has a pulley system so that those of us with a shorter stature can crank it down to hang our duds and then proudly hoist it back up high so that they can dry for the day in full view of the world.  It looks like something from cirque du soleil!  Its so stinkin funny, I can actually look up and see Shawn's underwear from the playground! 

People from Shawn's office sometimes drop by the apartment and I have to stop myself from running to the window to pull down our unmentionables. Shawn assures me that it is totally acceptable that they are there in full view.  Still, I am just so grateful that I went shopping and "upgraded" a few pairs of my drawers before we left for our trip!

It does not end with the windows, however. You can walk along the streets and see comforters and towels draped over fences, on park benches....wherever.  I recently did some browsing at a lovely little sidewalk sale.....only to find out that it was someones laundry drying.  And, yes I did notice that everything was the same size. I thought it was haute couture!

Last Wednesday I was waiting patiently for Lil Kim, you know our housekeeper (ayi) to arrive for her weekly appointment. Well, when I rushed to answer a knock at the door, I found that Lil Kim's grandmother had shown up instead. I get it, the agency is going to send a new person every week. Lucky me!

This new woman seemed lovely though and she greeted me with the usual smile and many many words that I did not understand.  Having learned from my mistakes, I had suitable towels and rags for cleaning at the ready.  Then, I grabbed her gently by the arm so that I could point out Olivia who was sound asleep in one of the bedrooms. The ayi smiled and gave me the thumbs up. Many of the older generation here give Shawn and I that gesture as we walk through the streets and frankly it beats any gestures I had been receiving at home. 

So, off she went to clean. Still, not being particularly comfortable with having a housekeeper and not being sure what to do with myself while she is scrubbing,  I went off to the computer room to send emails to some of you.  Because I am unable to express what I would like the housekeeper to clean I kinda get what I get. The hardwood floors really needed to be cleaned because somehow the smog and funk make their way inside despite the closed windows.  I thought she would do this because 20 something had done so last week. This particular lady had other ideas however and headed right for the windows to clean in between the sills.  She showed me what she planned to do by doing the Karate Kid "wash on, wash off move". We are not exactly living in the Emporer's Palace and who can say when the window sills were last cleaned so I figured have at it....the floors can wait.  I was looking forward to getting a clear view of the city from my newly cleaned windows when she ran into the computer room giving me the stink eye and waving her filthy rag to show me the dirt she had removed.  After she did this for the second time, I grabbed my bible, "Mandarin Chinese for Dummies" and tried to find the words for "hey lady that isnt my dirty shit....we just got here"!  But there were no words and I had to just smile and nod...yes, yes it is my filthy mess.  

Shortly after, Olivia woke from her nap. I picked her up and brought her over to the ayi so that she could get a good look. The ayi smiled and reached out to touch Olivia's hand.  

Just then the unimaginable happened.  In a moment of East meets West chatter, in which neither of us could understand the other....the ayi decided to play charades and reached out and grabbed my boob, not once but twice!  After I picked my jaw up off of the floor, I realized that I was not about to receive the happy ending that Shawn had been hoping for. Instead, this woman shared the strangely inappropriate and apparently universal fascination about baby diets and was trying to inquire about whether or not Olivia was being breast fed. 

I so don't get this...in my lifetime I have seen thousands of babies with their mothers..... and their snacking habits have never crossed my mind.  Even though I am in the club now,  I swear, I see a baby and I don't care if they are sucking on a boob or a forty ounce!